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" (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]

References

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

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v t e Johnny Winter
Studio albums	1968 The Progressive Blues Experiment 1969 Johnny Winter Second Winter 1970 Johnny Winter And 1973 Still Alive and Well 1974 Saints & Sinners John Dawson Winter III 1977 Nothin' but the Blues 1978 White, Hot and Blue 1980 Raisin' Cain 1984 Guitar Slinger 1985 Serious Business 1986 Third Degree 1988 The Winter of '88 1991 Let Me In 1992 Hey, Where's Your Brother? 2004 I'm a Bluesman 2011 Roots 2014 Step Back
Live albums	1971 Live Johnny Winter And 1976 Captured Live! Together (w/ Edgar Winter) 1998 Live in NYC '97 2007 Breakin' It Up, Breakin' It Down 2009 The Woodstock Experience (w/ various artists) 2010 Live at the Fillmore East 10/3/70 2011 Rockpalast: Blues Rock Legends Vol. 3 2015 Live from Japan
Compilations	2009 The Johnny Winter Anthology 2013 The Essential Johnny Winter 2014 True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story 2015 Remembrance Vol. 1
Singles	1964 "Road Runner" "Gangster of Love" 1967 (as The Traits) "Parchman Farm" "Tramp" "Harlem Shuffle" 1968 "Rollin' and Tumblin'" "Forty-Four" 1969 "I'll Drown in My Tears" "Johnny B. Goode" 1970 "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" 1971 "Jumpin' Jack Flash" "Good Morning Little School Girl" 1973 "Silver Train" 1974 "Boney Moroney" 1976 "Soul Man" "Let the Good Times Roll"
Other songs	1968 "Help Me" "Tribute to Muddy" 1969 "Tobacco Road" "Slippin' and Slidin'" "Highway 61 Revisited" 1971 "Rock and Roll Medley" (incl "Great Balls of Fire"/"Long Tall Sally"/"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On") 1973 "Rock Me Baby" "Luciile" "From a Buick 6" "Let It Bleed" 1974 "Stray Cat Blues" "Riot in Cell Block #9" 1976 "It's All Over Now" "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" "Baby Whatcha Want Me to Do" 1978 "Messin' with the Kid" 1980 "Like a Rolling Stone" "Bon Ton Roulet" 1986 "Shake Your Moneymaker" 1988 "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" 1998 "Just a Little Bit" "Hide Away" "Got My Mojo Working" "The Sky Is Crying" 2007 "Come On in My Kitchen" 2008 "Crossroads" "Red House" 2011 "Honky Tonk" "Dust My Broom" "Maybellene" "Further On up the Road" "Bright Lights, Big City" "Short Fat Fannie" "Come Back Baby" 2014 "Unchain My Heart" "Can't Hold Out (Talk to Me Baby)" "Killing Floor" "Who Do You Love" "Death Letter" "My Babe" "Blue Monday"
Related articles	Johnny Winter discography Billy Branch Bobby Caldwell Rick Derringer Dan Hartman Randy Jo Hobbs Paul Nelson Steve Paul Ken Saydak Tommy Shannon Edgar Winter

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