Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, December 29, 1998

Harry Choates was one of the most popular musicians of day

He played first in barber shops for small change

by Jim Bradshaw

A singer, composer, and fiddler, he recorded for the Gold Star, De Luxe, D.O.T., Allied, Cajun Classics, Macy's, and Humming Bird labels, and appeared in the 1940s with the Rayne-Bo Ramblers.

His repertoire included not only Cajun songs, but songs like "Louisiana Boogie," sung in English, and with the western swing standards that were influencing all of the Cajun musicians of his day.

His 1946 recording of Jolie Blonde became the standard version played by all of the dance bands at that time.

According to John Broven's "South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous," "Jole Blon (sic) was recorded in 1946 for Bill Quinn's Houston based Gold Star label. ... The reaction was such that the tiny Gold Star pressing plant could not keep pace with demand and work was farmed out in all directions, leading to widespread bootlegging. Eventually, Quinn was forced to lease his hot record for national distribution to Modern of Los Angeles, who advertised the song as 'Nation's sensational hillbilly ....'"

Choates learned to play the fiddle as a youngster in Port Arthur and began playing publicly when he was 12 years old. He played for small change in barbershops in the area.

According to Broven's book, "During the late thirties Harry joined Leo Soileau's group in Ville Platte, adopting the Eh ... ha, ha! vocal cry that later became his trademark. Crowley record man Jay Miller played with Harry around this time and remembers that Choates would never stay long with one band, 'but he was a great musician. Never had a good instrument in his life. I often wondered what he could do with an instrument that you could purchase today. Harry couldn't speak French, but he could sing it.'"

According to police accounts, Choates suffered an epileptic seizure while in jail in Austin, where he was being held pending trial for failure to meet his wife's non-support claim of $20 a week. He died on July 17, 1951. He was 28 years old.

Happy Fats LeBlanc told Broven another story. "In a way, he just lost his mind. He was a very bad alcoholic. ... he just had to have it, that's all it took, one little bottle of whiskey. But they put him in a jail there in Austin (and) he just killed himself hitting the bars with his head. At least that's the story I heard, there is a possibility that the police killed him. I don't know. There was a big question about that when it happened."