Harry Choates
| Harry Choates | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | December 26, 1922 |
| Origin | Cow Island, Louisiana |
| Died | July 17, 1951 (aged 28) |
| Genres | Cajun |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Fiddler |
| Instruments | Fiddle |
| Years active | 1934-51 |
| Labels | Gold Star, Modern Music, Starday, D Records, Deluxe, Macy's, O.T., Allied, Cajun Classics, Humming Bird |
| Associated acts | The Melody Boys |
Harry Henry Choates (December 26, 1922 - July 17, 1951) was an American Cajun music fiddler known as Fiddle King of Cajun Swing.
Choates' place of birth is disputed, though his State of Texas death certificate lists his birthplace as New Iberia, Louisiana. His baptism certificate lists his place of birth as Cow Island, Louisiana, a small community which is south of the town of Kaplan. His baptism lists his parents as Clarence Choate and Idolie Menard. He was born Harry Henry Choate, and he added an "s" to his last name at some point after his first marriage. He moved to Port Arthur, Texas, in the 1930s, and received little schooling, instead spending time in local bars listening to music on jukeboxes. By age 12 he started playing fiddle for spare change in barbershops.
He gained early professional experience playing in the bands of Leo Soileau and Leroy Leblanc, then split off to form his own group called the Melody Boys in 1946. His 1946 song "Jole Blon", a top 10 hit (Billboard position #4) for Choates, was recorded by Quinn Recording under the Gold Star Records label (#1314). Since Gold Star could not keep up with the demand for "Jole Blon", the record was co-released under other labels, such as Modern Music (#20-511), Starday (#187), D Records (#1024) and the Deluxe label (#6000). Later, it was recorded by country singer Moon Mullican and became a major hit, but Choates had waived his rights to the song and was never compensated for its success.
Choates remained with the Melody Boys from 1946 to 1951, recording for Gold Star Records in 1946-47 and later for Macy's Recordings. The Melody Boys disbanded over Choates' chronic problems with alcoholism and his frequent missed concert dates, and shortly after the dissolution he played with Jesse James & His Gang on KTBC radio.
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