From: Dik de Heer 
Date: Fri Dec 26, 2003 7:47am
Subject: Born To Be With You : Harry Choates
 
HARRY CHOATES

Born Harry Henry Choates, 26 December 1922, Rayne, Louisiana
Died 17 July 1951, Austin, Texas

Harry Choates was not only one of the most influential musicians
in the history of Cajun music, but one of its most tragic figures.
A wild and imaginative fiddler, Choates wrote such classic tunes
as the Cajun national anthem, "Jole Blon," and popularized such 
songs as "Allons à Lafayette." Recording for Gold Star, DeLuxe, 
D.O.T., Allied, Cajun Classics, Macy's, and Humming Bird, 
Choates introduced Western swing, blues, jazz, and country
music to the two-steps and waltzes of southwest Louisiana's
bayous, influencing nearly every Cajun musician who followed
in his footsteps.
Like Hank Williams, Choates balanced his musical talents with
painful struggle in his real life. An acute alcoholic, he sold the rights
to "Jole Blon" for $100 and a bottle of whiskey. His habit of missing
concerts led him to be blacklisted by the musicians union in San 
Antonio and resulted in his band breaking up. His death was equally
tragic. Failing to make support payments of $20 a week for his son
and daughter following his divorce, he was jailed by a judge who
found him in contempt of court. After three days of being forced
to curtail his drinking habit, he began beating his head against the
cell bars and fell into a coma. He died a few days later on July 17, 
1951.
Born in either Rayne or New Iberia, LA, Choates moved to Port 
Arthur, TX, with his mother in the 1930s. Rather than going to school, 
Choates spent much of his childhood in bars and taverns, listening to 
honky tonk and blues records on the jukebox. By the age of 12, he
was playing fiddle in barbershops for tips. A natural musician, he not
only mastered the fiddle, but also the guitar, mandolin, and accordion.
Launching his professional music career in Cajun bands led by Leo
Soileau and Leroy "Happy Fats" LeBlanc, Choates formed his own 
group, the Rhythm Boys, in 1946. The same year, he rewrote the 
classic Cajun tune, "Jolie Blonde," for his daughter, Linda, and recorded
it for the Gold Star label. Although the tune became a country hit in
four versions in 1947 - Choates's own version (# 4) and covers by Roy
Acuff (# 4), Moon Mullican (# 2) and Red Foley (# 1) - Choates had given 
up all rights to the song and received no further compensation for 
his composition. Choates and the Melody Boys continued to record 
at a prolific rate, releasing more than two dozen songs for Gold Star
in 1946 and 1947. Adapting the Western swing of Bob Wills & His
Texas Playboys to Cajun music, Choates became known as "the fiddle
king of Cajun swing."
Although he performed with Jesse James & His Gang on radio station 
KTBC after the disbanding of the Melody Boys in 1951, Choates 
suffering ended a few months later. His grave was left unmarked until
1980, when money was raised for a gravestone with the bilingual
inscription, "Purrain de la Musique Cajun - The Godfather of Cajun 
Music." In the mid-'60s, Cajun musician Rufus Thibodeaux was one 
of the first to pay homage to Choates' influence when he recorded an 
album of Choates' songs, A Tribute to Harry Choates.
Although Choates was a brilliant instrumentalist, he never actually 
owned an instrument. The fiddle that brought him fame was a cheap
seven-dollar instrument that he once borrowed from a friend and 
"forgot" to return. 

(Adapted from All Music Guide)

Further reading: John Broven, South to Louisiana (Pelican, 1983).

CD's: The Fiddle King of Cajun Swing (Arhoolie, 1993). 26 tracks
from 1946-1950.
Devil in the Bayou : the Gold Star Recordings (Bear Family BCD
16355, 2 CD-set, 39 tracks, released in 2002).