| Bon Ton Roula | |
| Cover: | Bon Ton Roula single cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Clarence Garlow |
| B-Side: | In a Boogie Mood |
| Recorded: | Houston, Texas, 1949 |
| Genre: | Blues, zydeco |
| Length: | 3:19 |
| Label: | Macy's |
| Prev Title: | She's So Fine |
| Prev Year: | 1950 |
| Next Title: | Bound to Lose My Mind |
| Next Year: | 1950 |
"Bon Ton Roula" (alternatively "Bon Ton Roulet") is a zydeco-influenced blues song first recorded by Clarence Garlow in 1949. The following year, it became a hit, reaching number seven in Billboard magazine's Rhythm & Blues chart[1] and introduced the style to a national audience.[2]
"Bon ton roula" (pronounced "bahn tahn roolay") is a phonetical approximation of "bons temps rouler",[3] Louisiana Creole French for "good times roll" as in "Laissez les bons temps rouler" or "Let the good times roll", a regional invitation to join in a festive celebration.[4] A song with a similar theme, "Let the Good Times Roll", was recorded by Louis Jordan in 1946,[4] that became a R&B chart hit.[5]
In 1949, Garlow recorded "Bon Ton Roula", using a different arrangement and lyrics. The song was recorded as a sixteen-bar blues[6] with "an insistent, swirling rhumba rhythm".[4] Singer and music writer Billy Vera commented on the song's lyrics: "The song featured some of the same kind of broken Cajun-isms as Hank Williams's 'Jambalaya'":[7] The song's success prompted Garlow to record subsequent renditions.[4] A newer version with singer Emma Dell Lee titled "New Bon Ton Roola" was released on Feature Records and in 1953, he recorded a version with the Maxwell Davis Orchestra for Aladdin Records, titled "New Bon Ton Roulay".[8] The song retains most of the elements of the original song, but some new lyrics are added and the arrangement does not include a progression to the IV chord.
"Bon Ton Roula" (with a variety of spellings) has been recorded by several artists often associated with Louisiana music, including Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias, Phillip Walker, and BeauSoleil. Blues-rocker Johnny Winter, a native of Garlow's adopted home of Beaumont, Texas, also recorded a version for his Raisin' Cain album in 1980.[9]
A "Bon Ton Roulet" credited to Clifton Chenier was recorded in 1967 and released as the title track of his album Bon Ton Roulet, on Arhoolie Records.[10] Producer Chris Strachwitz notes "You will perhaps recognize the song as 'Let the Good Times Roll', which in recent years has become an R&B standard".[10]