There’s a strong argument to be made for sentiment in commerce. What names spring to mind when it comes to roots music? Sharp, Lomax, Hammond, Smith… none made a fortune, but the fruits of their passion have survived better than mere lucre. To that roll of honour we can add JD Miller.
Perhaps best remembered as the composer of It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels for Kitty Wells, Miller had an earlier career as a record producer. His Fais Do Do and Feature labels captured the Cajun music that was still prominent in Louisiana after the second world war.
This collection of Cajun stars, recorded between 1946 and 1959, makes something else very clear – just how impossible it is to codify a musical genre. The 78 tracks move from traditional fiddleand- accordian two-steps to arrangements featuring the instrumental essence of country music: steel guitar. Chuck Guillory’s Chuck’s Waltz (1950) is a good example, and Papa Cairo’s Big Texas (1952) will sound even more familiar, since Hank Williams borrowed heavily from it for Jambalaya.
As always with Bear Family box sets, the packaging is superb: lively sleevenotes by Lyle Ferbranche are complemented by wonderful photographs of the artists and the dancehalls they filled night after night.
