Octogenarian Johnnie Allan never thought he would step into a recording studio again at the twilight of his career. That is until Jin Records’ Floyd Soileau approached him about waxing a French version of Ernest Tubb’s 1965 hit “Waltz Across Texas.” Surprisingly, this had never been covered in Cajun music before, even with the scads of country songs Belton Richard translated into French during his heyday. Nonetheless, “Waltz” was a brilliant Cajun music candidate since waltzes are popular in Lonestar and Pelican State dancehalls. The next day Allan had a beautiful translation of Tubb’s classic titled “Valser” la Louisiane.” He also informed Soileau he had written two new French songs, so, with his topnotch crew of musicians, Allan found himself back in the studio.
Emotionally speaking, Allan’s two originals, “Sunday Morning Streets” and “Pure, Pure Cajun,” couldn’t be more opposite of each other. The former is a sad, slow waltz about a distraught, lonely widower who drinks himself to death while the latter, a lively two-step, which finds a happier Cajun living life large.
To finalize the Something Old, Something New concept, Allan selected 10 previously recorded songs, a mixture of swamp pop, country and R&B, that had never been released on CD. Included in this treasure trove of rarities is the oft-requested “Polycarp Phillip Pecot #2,” the theme song of the popular Lafayette children’s ‘60s television show Polycarp and Pals. Fifty-five years later, the reggae-ized tune (melodically similar to “Hang On Sloopy”) remains as infectious as ever.
Also featured is the original version of “Cajun Man” that was recorded by High Performance for its 2017 Cajun Cool album. With UJ Meaux’s rollicking piano accompaniment, Allan’s version still sounds great in a cool retro sense. (Meaux can also be heard pounding along on the swamp popper “I’ll Be Waiting.”)
Of special interest to George Jones fans is Allan’s rendition of “Big Fool of the Year,” the flip side to the Possum’s 1962 ‘45 rpm’ “A Girl I Used to Know.”
Considering there’s a 60-year span between the earliest song (“I’ll Be Waiting) and the three Allan wrapped up last fall, his pipes are still remarkable and exude respectable power. Whether Allan ever records again is immaterial. This is a good one to close out an eight-decade legacy.
