Harry Henry Choates (December 26, 1922 – July 17, 1951) was an American

Cajun music Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tande ...

fiddler known as the "Fiddle King of Cajun Swing" and the "Godfather of Cajun music." The scholar Barry Jean Ancelet called Choates "undoubtedly the most popular Cajun musician of his day."

Early years

Much of Choates' early life is disputed. Most sources list his birthplace as the south Louisiana town of Rayne. But his State of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

death certificate lists his birthplace as New Iberia, his

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

draft card says

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

, and his baptismal certificate lists his place of birth as

Cow Island, Louisiana Cow Island is an unincorporated community in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. Cow Island was the subject of controversy over suspected arsenic releases from cattle dip tanks; residents of the city sued a pharmaceutical company for U ...

, a small community located south of the town of Kaplan. Choates' baptismal certificate lists his parents as Clarence Choate and Idolie Menard. He was born Harry Henry Choate, and added an "s" to his last name at some point after his first marriage. The Choates had moved to

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County, Texas, Orange County; it is east of Housto ...

, by 1930, part of a large migration of

Cajuns The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana '' Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described a ...

to the

Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area The Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan statistical area is defined by the United States Census Bureau as a three-county region in Southeast Texas. The metropolitan area shares borders with the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan ar ...

for jobs in the oil patch. Harry received little schooling, instead spending time in local bars listening to music on jukeboxes. By age 12, he was playing fiddle for spare change in barbershops.

Career

Choates gained early professional experience playing in the bands of

Leo Soileau Leo Soileau (January 19, 1904 – August 2, 1980) was one of the most prolific Cajun recording artists of the 1930s and 1940s, recording over 100 songs, which was a substantial amount considering the reluctance to record the music during its earl ...

and Leroy Leblanc, then split off to form his own group, called the Melody Boys, in 1946. His 1946 song "

Jole Blon Jole Blon or Jolie Blonde is a traditional Cajun waltz, often called "the Cajun national anthem" because of the popularity it has in Cajun culture. The song was popularized on a nationwide scale by a series of renditions and references in late 194 ...

," a top 10 hit (Billboard position #4) for Choates, was recorded by Quinn Recording under the

Gold Star Records Gold Star Records is an American independent record label, which was founded in 1941. Gold Star Recording Company and Gold Star Sound Services Gold Star Recording Company originated as a recording studio in Houston, Texas, and was founded i ...

label (#1314). Since Gold Star could not keep up with the demand for "Jole Blon", the record was co-released under other labels, such as Modern Music (#20-511),

Starday Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record d ...

(#187),

D Records D Records was an American record label located in Houston, Texas, United States. It was founded by Pappy Daily. The label closed in 1965, though George Strait recorded his first songs under the label's name from 1978-1980 until he signed to MCA R ...

(#1024) and the Deluxe label (#6000). Later, it was recorded by

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

singer

Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...

and became a major hit, but Choates had waived his rights to the song and was never compensated for its success. Choates remained with the Melody Boys from 1946 to 1951, recording for Gold Star Records in 1946-47 and later for Macy's Recordings. The Melody Boys disbanded over Choates' chronic problems with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

and his frequent missed concert dates, and shortly after the dissolution he played with

Jesse James & His Gang Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ...

on KTBC radio.

Death

In the middle of 1951, Choates was found to be in

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

for failing to pay his support payments for his children. He spent three days in the Travis County Jail, at which time he began hitting his head against the bars of his jail cell, eventually knocking himself into a coma. The condition persisted for several days before Choates died of the effects of his alcoholism on July 17, 1951.

Legacy

Choates is known as the "Parrain de la musique cajun" ("Godfather of Cajun music") mainly because of his introduction of vocal wailing throughout his music. In 2014, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine ranked Harry Choates' version of "

" number 99 in their list of the 100 greatest country songs.

Discography

Compilations

* ''Jole Blon'' (DLP-7000 D Records, 1979) * ''Fiddle King of Cajun Swing'' (5027 Arhoolie, 1982) * ''Five-Time Loser'' (KK-7453 Krazy Kat, 1986) * ''Fiddle King of Cajun Swing'' (CD 380 Arhoolie, 1993) * ''Five-Time Loser'' (KK CD-22 Krazy Kat, 1998) * ''Jole Blon: The Original Cajun Fiddle Of Harry Choates'' (CD 7000 Glad, 1999) * ''Cajun Fiddle King - Harry Choates'' (AIM 1205 AIM, 1999) * ''Devil in the Bayou - The Gold Star Recordings'' (BCD 16355 Bear Family, 2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Choates, Harry 1922 births 1951 deaths People from Vermilion Parish, Louisiana Musicians from Louisiana Cajun fiddlers Gold Star Records artists Starday Records artists Alcohol-related deaths in Texas 20th-century American violinists