Bon Ton Roula

"Bon Ton Roula" (alternatively "Bon Ton Roulet") is a zydeco-influenced blues song first recorded by Clarence Garlow in 1949. The following year, it became a hit, reaching number seven in Billboard magazine's Rhythm & Blues chart[1] and introduced the style to a national audience.[2]

"Bon Ton Roula"
Single by Clarence Garlow
B-side"In a Boogie Mood"
Released1950 (1950)
RecordedHouston, Texas, 1949
GenreBlues, zydeco
Length3:19
LabelMacy's
Songwriter(s)Clarence Garlow
Clarence Garlow singles chronology
"She's So Fine"
(1950)		 "Bon Ton Roula"
(1950)		 "Bound to Lose My Mind"
(1950)

Background

"Bon ton roula" (pronounced "bahn tahn roolay") is a phonetical approximation of "bons temps rouler",[3] Louisiana Creole French for "good times roll" as in "Laissez les bons temps rouler" or "Let the good times roll", a regional invitation to join in a festive celebration.[4] A song with a similar theme, "Let the Good Times Roll", was recorded by Louis Jordan in 1946,[4] that became a R&B chart hit.[5]

Composition and lyrics

In 1949, Garlow recorded "Bon Ton Roula", using a different arrangement and lyrics. The song was recorded as a sixteen-bar blues[6] with "an insistent, swirling rhumba rhythm".[4] Singer and music writer Billy Vera commented on the song's lyrics: "The song featured some of the same kind of broken Cajun-isms as Hank Williams's 'Jambalaya'":[7]

Eh toi ...
You see me there, well I ain't no fool
I'm one smart Frenchman never been to school
Wanna get somewhere in a Creole town
You stop and let me show you your way 'round
You let the bon ton roula, you let the moolay boolay
Now don't you be no fool-ay, you let the bon ton roula

The song's success prompted Garlow to record subsequent renditions.[4] A newer version with singer Emma Dell Lee titled "New Bon Ton Roola" was released on Feature Records and in 1953, he recorded a version with the Maxwell Davis Orchestra for Aladdin Records, titled "New Bon Ton Roulay".[8] The song retains most of the elements of the original song, but some new lyrics are added and the arrangement does not include a progression to the IV chord.

Legacy

"Bon Ton Roula" (with a variety of spellings) has been recorded by several artists often associated with Louisiana music, including Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias, Phillip Walker, and BeauSoleil. Blues-rocker Johnny Winter, a native of Garlow's adopted home of Beaumont, Texas, also recorded a version for his Raisin' Cain album in 1980.[9]

A "Bon Ton Roulet" credited to Clifton Chenier was recorded in 1967 and released as the title track of his album Bon Ton Roulet, on Arhoolie Records.[10] Producer Chris Strachwitz notes "You will perhaps recognize the song as 'Let the Good Times Roll', which in recent years has become an R&B standard".[10]

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References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 164. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Santelli, Robert (2001). The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia (2nd ed.). London: Penguin Books. p. 177. ISBN 0-14-100145-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Differences in spelling have been attributed to Creole French being "primarily oral and aural traditions" with few written works.
  4. Sandmel, Ben; Oliver, Rick (1999). Zydeco!. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-1-57806-116-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. Whitburn 1988, p. 229
  6. Wood, Roger; Fraher, James (2006). Texas Zydeco. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-0292712584.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  7. Vera, Billy (1996). Louisiana Swamp Blues (Compilation notes). Various artists. Hollywood, California: Capitol Records. p. 8. CDP 7243.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  8. Minton, John (2008). Ramblin' on My Mind: New Perspectives on the Blues. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. p. 372. ISBN 978-0252032035.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  9. Ruhlmann, William. "Johnny Winter: Raisin' Cain – Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 15, 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  10. Strachwitz, Chris (1967). Bon Ton Roulet (Album notes). Clifton Chenier. Berkeley, California: Arhoolie Records. Back cover. F1031.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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