Jole Blon
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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 1940s country songs. It has been the subject of occasional covers later in the 20th century by Cajun and classic country revival bands. McNeese State University adopted "Joli Blon" as their official fight song in 1970, having been a part of the university band's repertoire since 1951. It is played by the "Pride of McNeese" band upon scoring at athletic events.


Music


Origins

The original Cajun version is a brief address to a "pretty girlfriend", who had left the singer and moved back in with her family, and is also now in the arms of another man. The singer concludes that plenty of other pretty women are around. The fiddle-based melody dates to before the 1900s. The earliest recording of the song is believed to be a 1929 version by the family trio
Breaux Brothers Breaux Frères or Breaux Brothers (Amédé on accordion, Ophé on guitar, and Cléopha on the fiddle), were Cajun musicians. They were the earliest to record the song " Jolie Blonde", under the title of " Ma Blonde Est Partie". Amédé Breaux w ...
entitled "''Ma blonde est partié''", recorded in Atlanta. Some mystery exists to its origin. While Amedée Breaux is credited with writing the song, his sister Cleoma actually wrote the lyrics and Amedée sang the song. Dennis McGee claims the original song was written by Angelas LeJeune as "''La fille de la veuve''" (also "''La valse de la veuve''") ("The Widow's Daughter/Waltz") during World War I and Cleoma rewrote the lyrics, allegedly about Amedée's first wife. Lejeune and Ernest Fruge eventually recorded this song on November 19, 1929, in New Orleans (Brunswick 558, Melotone M18052). In 1934,
Alan Lomax Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...
traveled to Louisiana and recorded several artists, including the Segura Brothers and their version of "''La Fille de la Veuve''". In January 1929, John Bertrand and Milton Pitre traveled to Chicago and recorded "''La Valse de Gueydan''" for Paramount Records (12748A), using the same melody. It appeared again in a 1930 recording of "''La Valse de Gueydan''" (Brunswick 513) by Amade Ardoin. Dennis McGee and he traveled to New Orleans and recorded this song discussing a "small young girl". This version was re-recorded with slightly different lyrics by
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 his Three Aces. The title was "''La Valse Gueydan'' 'Jolie Fille'', recorded by Bluebird (B-2086) on January 18, 1935. :*"''La Valse de Gueydan''" by John Bertran
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The following year, the song appeared with the title "Jolie Blonde" for the first time on two records. Both the Hackberry Ramblers and
J. B. Fuselier :For the Louisiana sheriff, see ''Charles Fuselier''. Jean Batiste "J.B." Fuselier Savoy 1984, p. 142. (April 17, 1901 – August 16, 1976)The Eunice News, Eunice, Louisiana, 19 Aug 1976, Thu • Page 5 was a Cajun musician most remembered for ...
and his Merrymakers traveled to New Orleans and recorded the song on October 17, 1936, for Bluebird Records. J.B. Fuselier named the song "''Te Ma Lessa Jolie Blonde''" (Bluebird B-2006) and the Hackberry Ramblers simplified the name to "Jolie Blonde" (Bluebird B-2003). By 1937, the melody was popular among very small regions of Louisiana. On Feb 21, the Jolly Boys of Lafayette traveled to Dallas and recorded "Jolie (Brunette)" for Decca (#17032), a similar take on the song with different lyrics. Later in the year,
Happy Fats Leroy "Happy Fats" Leblanc (January 30, 1915 – February 23, 1988) was a Cajun swing musician that recorded with RCA Records in the 1930s and 1940s. He is known for his recordings with Harry Choates and his broadcasts on KVOL. Next to the Hackbe ...
traveled to New Orleans and recorded "''Nouveau Grand Gueyan''" for Bluebird (B-2024). In 1951, Amede Breaux formed the band
Acadian Aces The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the desc ...
and recorded the song with the title "Jole Blonde" for J. D. "Jay" Miller's Feature Records (F-1023). :*"''Ma blonde est partie''" by Amedée Breaux and Cleoma Breau
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:*"Jolie Blonde" by Amede Breau
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Rod Bernard Rod Bernard () was an American singing, singer who helped to pioneer the musical genre known as "swamp pop", which combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun and black Louisiana Creole people, Creole music. He ...
recorded an English-language adaptation of the song in 1964 on the Tear Drop label.


Country popularization

During the late 1940s, as country's nationwide market had solidified, a number of country artists popularized the song "Jole Blon". The popularization began in 1946 with Harry Choates and his French version of "Jole Blon" for Goldstar records. Later, he recorded an English version and several different versions for different labels. : "Jole Blon" (1946 recording
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As is not infrequent in country music, once a song is popularized, several other contemporaries covered it. In this case, covers commonly were not so much reproductions as they were songs in the same spirit, making use of the same subject, melody, or Cajun theme. Several of them used "Jole Blon" as the name of subject of the song, instead of using the original “Jollie blonde” meaning pretty girlfriend. Many of the covers included self-referential humor in regard to the production context of the song. A popular rendition, first published by Moon Mullican (and Moon Mullican's first major hit), consists of a purposeful mix of unrelated English, French, and nonsense words: a joke attempt at "translation" of the original. Johnny Bond's "The Daughter of Jole Blon" exemplifies this contextual humor, describing the titular character as "so round, so firm, so fully packed" (itself the title of a popular country song at the time), and "Jole's only daughter... but she knows all the tricks that Jole taught her." The following contemporary artists' renditions or songs make reference to "Jole Blon". Listed next to each song is if, and the year when, that version reached the ''Billboard'' 100 for country at the time (The country ''Billboard'' charts began in 1946). *Harry Choates: "Jole Blon" (''Billboard'' Country Top 100 1947) *
Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...
: "(Our Own) Jole Blon" (''Billboard'' Country Top 100 1947) * Red Foley: "New Jolie Blonde" (''Billboard'' Country Top 100 1947) *Moon Mullican and the Showboys: "New Pretty Blonde (New Jole Blon)" (''Billboard'' Country Top 100 1947) *Moon Mullican: "Jole Blon's Sister" (''Billboard'' Country Top 100 1947) *Johnny Bond: "The Daughter of Jole Blon" (''Billboard'' Country Top 100 1947) * Cliffie Stone: "Peepin' Through The Keyhole" (''Billboard'' Country Top 100 1948) - in this song, the chorus announces that the singer learned how to dance by "peeping through the keyhole at Jole Blon". *
Bud Messner In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be specia ...
: "Slippin' Around With Jole Blon" (''Billboard'' Country Top 100 1950) * Waylon Jennings recorded it as his first single in 1958 with
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
on guitar and King Curtis on saxophone.


Late 20th century and recent covers

Some recent covers of the song have been made by Cajun revival and popular artists, though these have not enjoyed the same widespread popularity. The following are some of the artists who have covered "Jole Blon": *
The Balham Alligators The Balham Alligators were an English band from London that mixed rock 'n' roll, Cajun music, cajun, Country music, country and R&B. The band centred on singer and instrumentalist Geraint Watkins. Career The band came together by chance at ...
*
Gary U.S. Bonds Gary U.S. Bonds (born Gary Levone Anderson, June 6, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, known for his classic hits "New Orleans" and " Quarter to Three". Career Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Bonds lived in Norfolk, ...
and
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
(Springsteen had originally recorded the song for his 1980 album, '' The River'', but it was never released and he decided to re-record the song with Bonds for his 1981 album, ''
Dedication Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church, or other sacred building. Feast of Dedication The Feast of Dedication, today Hanukkah, once also called "Feast of the Maccabees," is a Jewish festival observed for eight days fr ...
'')
. Subsequently, Springsteen has occasionally performed the song live. *
The Flatlanders The Flatlanders are an American country music, country band from Lubbock, Texas, United States, founded in 1972 by Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock. The group garnered little success during their brief original incarnation from 1972 ...
* Joan Baez included a recording of the song on her 1970 album ''
(I Live) One Day at a Time ''One Day at a Time'' is the 11th studio album by Joan Baez, released in January 1970. Recorded in Nashville, the album was a continuation of Baez' experimentation with country music, begun with the previous year's ''David's Album''. It is signifi ...
.'' In 2002, Bear Family records released "Jole Blon: 23 Artists One Theme". In 2009, an unknown publisher, T. Basco, released a three-volume set called ''Peepin' Thru the Keyhole'', which contains virtually every version of "Jolie Blonde" that has ever been recorded and popularized. In 2013, Goldenlane Records released ''Jole Blon and the Cajun Music Story'' compilation CD with many of the popular versions. The title of the song is referenced in Mary Chapin Carpenter's 1991 song " Down at the Twist and Shout" and
Adam Carroll Adam Carroll may refer to: * Adam Carroll (racing driver) Adam Carroll (born 26 October 1982) is a Northern Irish professional racing driver. He last raced in the 2016–17 Formula E season for Jaguar Racing. He has also raced for Team Ireland ...
's 2000 song "Errol's Song".


Art

In 1974, artist
George Rodrigue George Rodrigue (March 13, 1944 – December 14, 2013) was an American artist who in the late 1960s began painting Louisiana landscapes, followed soon after by outdoor family gatherings and southwest Louisiana 19th-century and early 20th-centu ...
painted several iconic portraits of his vision of what Jolie Blonde would have looked like. His paintings can be found in "Jolie's Louisiana Bistro" in
Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...
. Rodrigue claims the origins of "Jolie Blonde" stem from a prisoner in
Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United Sta ...
, whose lover left him for someone else.


References


External links


Joli Blon by The Rosinators - Jolie Blonde / Jole Blon - lyrics, song history and tab linksCovers
at WhoSampled {{authority control Cajun folk songs Songwriter unknown Year of song unknown United States National Recording Registry recordings Waylon Jennings songs