As recorded by Hank Williams, the song Jambalaya (On The Bayou) has long been one of my favorites. The pace, intonation, and instrumentation are all pitch perfect. Who ever thought two chords and some silly words could sound so good?
Hank Williams - Jambalaya (On The Bayou) MP3
Jambalaya (the food) is the Louisiana version of paella, a rice-based dish with a variety of vegetables and meat. Other Cajun/Louisiana-related items in the tale inlcude the pirogue, the bayou, filé gumbo, Thibodeaux, and crawfish pie. Of course, Jambalaya (On The Bayou) is not an authentic Cajun folk song, but instead would be more accurately described as ´mock´ cajun. Nevertheless, it's a lot of fun. While Hank's version is certainly the most enduring, it's not alone. Jambalaya has been one of the most often covered (and mangled) tunes in Hank's catalog. I've got 35 different versions in my computer. Most really aren't very good, but a few are worth mentioning.
After Hank's version, the next most noteworthy take on Jambalaya (On The Bayou) comes from Moon Mullican. Moon Mullican was a legendary pre-rock 'n' roller whose dynamic style mixed elements of the blues, country, R&B, and western swing. Reliable sources credit Mullican as being co-author of the song. All Music Guide explains: ´For decades, it was an open secret that he'd co-written Jambalaya (On The Bayou) with his fellow Grand Ole Opry member Hank Williams, collecting a 50 percent share of the royalties on the sly because of his contractual relationship to King Records´. With Mullican's version, you can hear a few extra verses that Hank left out.
Moon Mullican - Jambalaya (On The Bayou) MP3
The mainstream version of Jambalaya was the pop rendition by Jo Stafford, which hit no. 3 on the Billboard singles chart in 1953. If my ears aren't playing a trick on me, it sounds like Stafford tried to mainstream the lyrics a bit by changing ´Jambalaya´ to ´John
Balaya´. Maybe she was just jazzing it up:
Jo Stafford - Jambalaya (On The Bayou) MP3
What you may not realize is that the melody for Jambalaya (On The Bayou) comes from an old Cajun folk song called Grand Texas. Here are two versions of that tune:
What you may not realize is that the melody for Jambalaya (On The Bayou) comes from an old Cajun folk song called Grand Texas. Here are two versions of that tune:
Aldus Roger - Grand Texas MP3
Hackberry Ramblers - Grand Texas MP3
Like I said, there are many versions of Jambalaya, but most of them are kind of bad. In looking for a few covers to highlight here, I discovered that the best cover versions come from Louisiana artists playing Louisiana music. I suppose that makes sense. Here are three good ones:
Fats Domino - Jambalaya (On The Bayou) MP3
Professor Longhair - Jambalaya (On The Bayou) MP3
Jo-El Sonnier - Jambalaya (On The Bayou) MP3
P.S. The ´fruit jar´ is to be filled with whiskey.
