Dewey Balfa and his Musical Brothers- "Valse De Balfa"

                            
When talking about the revival of traditional Cajun music, it's hard not to mention Dewey Balfa. Together with his brothers, Dewey helped introduced the sound of traditional Cajun music to people around the world.

During World War II, Dewey  left home to work in a Texas shipyard followed by a stint in the Merchant Marines. He played Texas swing, maintaining a heavy swing influence. It was here, being away from home where he felt the missing connection with his cultural music. In 1948, he returned to Louisiana and formed the Musical Brothers, a popular string dance band, with brothers Harry, Will and Rodney. By then Dewey had developed his own sound with his accurate, flowing style and was often requested to gig with other musicians.

By the 1950's, Dewey was a in demand musician. He began a lifelong association with Nathan Abshire. But it wouldn't be until the 1960's that Dewey would make a recording career with Floyd Soileau and Swallow Records. In 1963, Dewey approached Floyd about recording traditional Cajun music on his label.

At the first session for Swallow Records, Dewey and his brothers recorded a number of traditional songs. The second record they released was a number written by his brother, Will called "Valse De Balfa".

Quand j´ai parti de la maison,
J´avais fait mon idée,
J´étais parti pour te chercher, cher,
Où mourir au bout de mon sang.

Quand j´ai arrivé à ta maison,
J´en ai trouvé -z-un autre avec toi,
Ça, ça a cassé mon coeur, cher,
J´aimerais mieux mourir que voir ça.

Si j´aurais cinq jours dans ma vie,
J´en donnerais trois dans les cinq,
Pour passer las deux autres avec toi,
J´amerais mourir tes dans tes bras.

Like many traditional Cajun songs, the song is a haunting tale of one's love for another and his agony of seeing her with someone else. The song has had a lasting influence  and is still played by many to this day.

Louis Michot and the Lost Bayou Ramblers also recorded the song recently. Louis describes the song:

"La Valse de Balfa is one of those songs that draws anybody in who hears it. The pain and emotion is palpable, and the lyrics go straight to the heart."

 Later in 1964, he played at the Newport Folk Festival and played in front of 17,000 people. He continued recording traditional Cajun music for Floyd and others through the 1960's and 1970's. The Balfa Brothers played together until 1978, when Dewey’s brothers Will and Rodney were killed in an automobile accident. Dewey continued to play, and Rodney Balfa’s son Tony joined the group.


                                     

DEWEY BALFA AND HIS MUSICAL BROTHERS (10172, 10185)
Dewey Balfa (v/fdl), Will Balfa (v/fdl), Rodney Balfa (v,g), Harry
Balfa (g), Burke Balfa (triangle)
Swallow Studio, Ville Platte, LA; 1964

Valse de Balfa-1 Swallow 10185,

Resources:
Early Cajun Music Blog
with thanks to Louis Michot
Folkways.com
Lyrics-cajunlyrics.com

Dewey Balfa and His Musical Brothers- "Drunkard's Sorrow Waltz"

 Dewey Balfa was born March 20th 1927 near Mamou. At a young age, he learned most of his songs from his father and grandfather. In 1948, along with his brothers Harry, Will and Rodney; formed the Musical Brothers. By then Dewey was well known for his style on the fiddle and was often requested to play with other musicians.

He made his recording debut in 1951, with Elise Deshotel on Khoury's. One of those early sides was "La Valse de Bon Baurche". The song tells the tale of a sorrowful drunkard. The song warns of the evils of drink and high living. It was an old melody, first recorded by Dennis McGee as "La Valse Du La Penitentiaire" and again Leo Soileau in the 1930s known as "Quand Je Suis Bleu". Around this time Dewey began his association with Nathan Abshire. This musical friendship lasted until Nathan's death.

Floyd Soileau opened Floyd's Record Shop after high school. He released his first records
with the help of Ed Manual, who was a local juke box operator. That first label was Big Mamou. He went with the name Vee Pee before he finally settled on the name Swallow.

After he started the label, local artists came to him to release their work. Dewey was one of those artist. He approached Soileau about recording traditional Cajun music. But in the early 60's traditional Cajun wasn't too popular thanks to rock and roll and R&B. George Khoury released some of his last Cajun records a couple years earlier. Soileau recalled:

              In the early 60's, Cajun music wasn't cool. You had those who liked it and thought it was ok and you had those who thought it stunk.

But Soileau had alot of people requesting the song "La Valse De Bon Baurche". When Dewey mentioned this song, Soileau agreed to record him and his brothers. Released in 1965,  this recording marks the first release of The Balfa Brothers. Floyd gave it the English title "Drunkard's Sorrow Waltz". 
It was a good seller for Swallow Records and marked the return of traditional sounding music back into the scene. 

                        Resources
                                       Early Cajun Music Blog
                                John Broven-South To Louisiana