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Jole Blon

January 01, 1970

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[clarification needed] 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.[1]

Music edit

Origins edit

 
The 1929 recording of "Ma blonde est partié" by the Breaux Brothers

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.[2][3]

The earliest recording of the song is believed to be a 1929 version by the family trio Breaux Brothers entitled "Ma blonde est partié", recorded in Atlanta.[4] 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")[5] during World War I and Cleoma rewrote the lyrics,[3] 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 traveled to Louisiana and recorded several artists, including the Segura Brothers and their version of "La Fille de la Veuve".[6]

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 and his Three Aces. The title was "La Valse Gueydan [Jolie Fille]", recorded by Bluebird (B-2086) on January 18, 1935.[7]

  • "La Valse de Gueydan" by John Bertrand Listen (MP3)

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 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)[8] and the Hackberry Ramblers simplified the name to "Jolie Blonde" (Bluebird B-2003).[9]

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 traveled to New Orleans and recorded "Nouveau Grand Gueyan" for Bluebird (B-2024).

In 1951, Amede Breaux formed the band Acadian Aces 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 Breaux Listen (MP3)
  • "Jolie Blonde" by Amede Breaux Listen (MP3)

Rod Bernard recorded an English-language adaptation of the song in 1964 on the Tear Drop label.

Country popularization edit

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) Listen (MP3)

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 “Jolie 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: "(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: "Slippin' Around With Jole Blon" (Billboard Country Top 100 1950)
  • Waylon Jennings recorded it as his first single in 1958 with Buddy Holly on guitar and King Curtis on saxophone.

Late 20th century and recent covers edit

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":

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's 2000 song "Errol's Song".

Art edit

In 1974, artist George Rodrigue 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.[11] Rodrigue claims the origins of "Jolie Blonde" stem from a prisoner in Port Arthur, Texas, whose lover left him for someone else.[12][13][14]

References edit

  1. ^ "McNeese Athletics History". McNeese State University Athletics. McNeese State University. 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  2. ^ Horstman, Dorothy (January 1996). Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy. Country Music Foundation. p. 182. ISBN 978-0915608195.
  3. ^ a b Sullivan, Steve (October 4, 2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Scarecrow Press. p. 462. ISBN 978-0810882959.
  4. ^ a b . cajunradio.org. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  5. ^ Horstman, Dorothy (January 1996). Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy. Country Music Foundation. p. 171. ISBN 978-0915608195.
  6. ^ "Segura Brothers. La Fille De La Veuve". John and Alan Lomax in Louisiana, 1934. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  7. ^ . KnowLA, Encyclopedia of Louisiana. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  8. ^ Te Ma Lessa Jolie Blonde-waltz. OCLC 82887042.
  9. ^ Yule, Ron; Burge, Bill (October 5, 2009). Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy. University Press of Mississippi. p. 94. ISBN 978-1604732955.
  10. ^ "Jole Blon". Brucebase Wiki. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  11. ^ . Jolie's Louisiana Bistro. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  12. ^ Rodrigue, George; McAninch, David (1999). Blue Dog Man: Chapter One: BLUE DOG'S BLUES. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 1-55670-976-5. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  13. ^ . George Rodrigue Studios. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  14. ^ Rodrigue Magnus, Wendy (December 16, 2009). "From Jolie Blonde to Bodies: Paintings of Women". Life & Legacy Foundation & Art Tour. Retrieved August 5, 2014.

External links edit

  • Joli Blon by The Rosinators - Jolie Blonde / Jole Blon - lyrics, song history and tab links
  • Covers at WhoSampled

January 01, 1970
jole, blon, jolie, blonde, traditional, cajun, waltz, often, called, cajun, national, anthem, because, popularity, cajun, culture, song, popularized, nationwide, scale, series, renditions, references, late, 1940s, country, songs, been, subject, occasional, cov. 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 clarification needed 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 1 Contents 1 Music 1 1 Origins 1 2 Country popularization 1 3 Late 20th century and recent covers 2 Art 3 References 4 External linksMusic editOrigins edit nbsp The 1929 recording of Ma blonde est partie by the Breaux Brothers 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 2 3 The earliest recording of the song is believed to be a 1929 version by the family trio Breaux Brothers entitled Ma blonde est partie recorded in Atlanta 4 Some mystery exists to its origin While Amedee Breaux is credited with writing the song his sister Cleoma actually wrote the lyrics and Amedee 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 5 during World War I and Cleoma rewrote the lyrics 3 allegedly about Amedee 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 traveled to Louisiana and recorded several artists including the Segura Brothers and their version of La Fille de la Veuve 6 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 and his Three Aces The title was La Valse Gueydan Jolie Fille recorded by Bluebird B 2086 on January 18 1935 7 La Valse de Gueydan by John Bertrand Listen MP3 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 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 8 and the Hackberry Ramblers simplified the name to Jolie Blonde Bluebird B 2003 9 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 traveled to New Orleans and recorded Nouveau Grand Gueyan for Bluebird B 2024 In 1951 Amede Breaux formed the band Acadian Aces and recorded the song with the title Jole Blonde for J D Jay Miller s Feature Records F 1023 Ma blonde est partie by Amedee Breaux and Cleoma Breaux Listen MP3 Jolie Blonde by Amede Breaux Listen MP3 Rod Bernard recorded an English language adaptation of the song in 1964 on the Tear Drop label Country popularization edit 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 Listen MP3 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 Jolie 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 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 Slippin Around With Jole Blon Billboard Country Top 100 1950 Waylon Jennings recorded it as his first single in 1958 with Buddy Holly on guitar and King Curtis on saxophone Late 20th century and recent covers edit 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 Gary U S Bonds and Bruce Springsteen 4 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 Subsequently Springsteen has occasionally performed the song live 10 The Flatlanders Joan Baez included a recording of the song on her 1970 album I Live One Day at a Time 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 s 2000 song Errol s Song Art editIn 1974 artist George Rodrigue 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 11 Rodrigue claims the origins of Jolie Blonde stem from a prisoner in Port Arthur Texas whose lover left him for someone else 12 13 14 References edit McNeese Athletics History McNeese State University Athletics McNeese State University 2018 Retrieved March 23 2022 Horstman Dorothy January 1996 Sing Your Heart Out Country Boy Country Music Foundation p 182 ISBN 978 0915608195 a b Sullivan Steve October 4 2013 Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings Scarecrow Press p 462 ISBN 978 0810882959 a b Early Cajun Music cajunradio org Archived from the original on April 20 2012 Retrieved April 23 2012 Horstman Dorothy January 1996 Sing Your Heart Out Country Boy Country Music Foundation p 171 ISBN 978 0915608195 Segura Brothers La Fille De La Veuve John and Alan Lomax in Louisiana 1934 Retrieved July 23 2014 Le Valse de Gueydan KnowLA Encyclopedia of Louisiana Archived from the original on July 14 2014 Retrieved January 7 2014 Te Ma Lessa Jolie Blonde waltz OCLC 82887042 Yule Ron Burge Bill October 5 2009 Sing Your Heart Out Country Boy University Press of Mississippi p 94 ISBN 978 1604732955 Jole Blon Brucebase Wiki Retrieved April 29 2020 Jolie Blonde 1974 Jolie s Louisiana Bistro Archived from the original on September 3 2014 Retrieved August 5 2014 Rodrigue George McAninch David 1999 Blue Dog Man Chapter One BLUE DOG S BLUES Harry N Abrams ISBN 1 55670 976 5 Retrieved August 5 2014 Jolie Blonde George Rodrigue Studios Archived from the original on January 28 2015 Retrieved August 5 2014 Rodrigue Magnus Wendy December 16 2009 From Jolie Blonde to Bodies Paintings of Women Life amp Legacy Foundation amp Art Tour Retrieved August 5 2014 External links editJoli Blon by The Rosinators Jolie Blonde Jole Blon lyrics song history and tab links Covers at WhoSampled Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jole Blon amp oldid 1221075650, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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