My passion in music has always been Southern R’n’R of the 50s in its various forms and its roots. In the spring of 2010 I was part of a group touring South Louisiana and South Texas visiting gigs and festivals from New Orleans to Austin and all points in between. The fact that the music still existed there blew me away.
Back in the UK the idea of re-issuing a little of the fabulous music from the area gradually formed and I approached Roger Armstrong of Ace Records with the idea. I was encouraged to put together a rockabilly CD for him to consider. It was a green light but the immediate problem was that Ace only issue legally leased material and with just the Jin/Swallow and Goldband catalogues immediately available I needed to get more material – so it was back to Louisiana. I managed to sign up both the Hammond and Carl labels plus artists Vince Anthony and Gil Giroy then, with the assistance of John Broven, secured the rights to the JD Miller tapes. This was the biggie and all systems were go.
Once into the Miller tapes it was no problem to compile the first CD - “Boppin’ By The Bayou” and it was instantly obvious that there was more to be had than just rockabilly. I also managed to sign up the La Louisianne and Montel labels and over the next four years the series grew, encompassing other but associated music forms and it hasn’t stopped growing yet – with no loss of quality.
During the many months that I spent in Louisiana and South East Texas I discovered a number of more recent recordings with a good ole sound. These were compiled into the “Louisiana Saturday Night Revisited” CD which is recommended listening to anyone who gets into the “By The Bayou” series.
By Ian Saddler; researcher and compiler
