Songwriter Part II

Let’s go to the movies!

May 8, 2019

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May 9, 2019

It was 1968.

My brother-in-law was visiting for a few days and walked in one morning at 1 a.m. He found Vin and I writing songs with a bottle and tape recorder cm the table. Vin had a Cajun album to record at Cosimo in New Orleans. Out of original songs we decided to put Cajun lyrics to great country songs. Good idea and great record sales although the original writers got the B.M.I. song writers fees.

We had completed “Wild Side of Life”. “Cold, Cold Heart” and “The Last Letter” and were working on Bob Wills’ “Maiden’s Prayer.”

Writing the last chorus I said,

“Vin. we have to kill the girl like in “Honey” and “Patches”.

Vin said, “No Lee, we can’t kill her.”

We had another drink, I stood up and said: “Yes. we will” and he replied: “No. we won’t.”

We got pretty loud. My brother-in-law got up and said, “You guys are crazy? I’m going to bed.”

Well, Vin won! The girl survived! We concluded that the boy loved her sister, instead of her … still a Bad but happier ending. Even in a fictional song with a fictional girl, Vin couldn’t bear her demise. That’s love. It sold a lot of records, too.

The Eddie Powers affair:

KTIB fellow announcer Jim Swiler had approached me about his cousin, Eddie Powers, a young New Orleans rocker seeking a recording contract and needed a demo record.

By this time I was back playing country and Cajun music with and managing “Vin Bruce and the Acadians”. I had gotten him a recording contract with Floyd Soileau’s Jin/Swallow Records Company and be and I formed a great new touring band, our last one

I had also reformed my Swamp Pop band The Vikings”, consisting of me on bass. Lloyd Toups and Don Stevens on sax, Pat Curole on trumpet, Lanny Boudeaux on piano and Sherill Rivet on drums. We were back at Cosimo’s Recording Studio!

Record producers liked our South Louisiana sound (known today as Swamp Pop).

In the 1960s we backed dozens of recording artists like Mickey Gilley, Joey Long, Jimmy Donley and Phil Bo. resulting in three million selling hits, including my productions of Joe Barry’s “I’m a Fool To Care,” Barbara Lynn’s “You’ll Lose a Good Thing” and Jerry Raines’ “Teen Age Love”.

For his demo. Eddie Powers recorded two of my compositions. “I’ll Dream No Mare” and “No Cure for the Blues,” and Jim began shopping it around. Meanwhile Powers, without our knowledge, had signed a contract with another label and recorded a New Orleans hit called “Gypsy Woman Told Me.”

Cosimo Matassa remembered our demo, called me and we made a deal to release Powers on his label. He reworked the recording; took out the horns; added a girl chorus. The Dixie Cups who had a national hit with “Chapel of Love”, got Earl Stanley to record two instrumentals to back the two songs and “voila”. we had two of Eddie Powers145s to release.

Such was the recording business then, done with 3-tract recording, then s. 24 and 32, and with digital, innumerable tracks.

Cosimo released “I’ll Dream No Mare,” which was an instant hit in New Orleans, going to number 5 in one week, and major labels began knocking on his door to lease the record for national distribution Then the stuff hit the fan! On his new label’s advice, Eddie Powers got an injunction and stopped the radio stations from playing the record.

It had already sold over 10.000 copies but the radio plays and record sales hit a brick wall.

My lawyer and friend Charles Leblanc, now deceased, and I went to court and WE WON! The judge ruled we retained ownership, but the record died and so did Eddie Powers’ career.

Lesson learned … always sign contracts!

My friend Charles Leblanc (later a Thibodaux city judge and father of Lafourche Parish Judge John E. Leblanc) did this Pro Bono and all he earned was my eternal gratitude.