Lagniappe 

Sweet Susannah’s writer: Gib Guilbeau

Barry Ancelet — folklorist, author, Grammy-nominated musician, and founder of the Center for Acadian and Creole Folklore at ULL — writes that Sweet Susannah “was written by Floyd ‘Gib’ Guilbeau, a singer-songwriter originally from Sunset, Louisiana, who had moved out of the state in pursuit of a bigger musical career in the 1960s. He played with a number of people, including Linda Ronstadt (who recorded a version with Guilbeau and Swampwater, her backup band after the Stone Poneys), and the Gram Parsons in the Flying Burrito Brothers, among others.”

He also informs us that the new President-Mayor of Lafayette, Louisiana, Josh Guillory, is a son of Clint West. Which brings us to the next bit of lagniappe.

Name check

We heard from Clint West’s eldest son, Clinton Joseph Guillory II. His Facebook text was the kind of thing a writer never wants to hear: I got the subject’s first name wrong. I wrote that he “was born Maurice Guillory” When his name was really Clinton Guillory. How that happened or what made me think that was Clint West’s real name I have no idea. Here’s the text his son Clinton sent:

“My only request: please correct the "Maurice Guillory" thing, if possible. lol. That has confused people for years. Many have copied your info without consulting Dad. My Dad's name is Clinton Joseph Guillory II. Maurice is a different person, no relation. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it upset Dad or anything, it's just confused biographers and historians over the years. The rest of the info is correct (well he's from L'anse Gris, not Vidrine, but they're both right there, and he did go to school at Vidrine High.) Also, he didn't "form" the Boogie Kings, he joined and took the bandleader spot in an already established local band that was formed by Doug Ardoin, Bert and Harris Miller from Eunice.”

Nice to be able to set the record (notes) straight. Sorry it took 46 years.

Swamp Pop, Cajun, and Zydeco — in tokyo

When the liner notes page first went online, I couldn’t remember the name of the man on the right.

Not long after the J’Étais au Bal page was posted, we got some positive identification. Japanese Swamp Pop entertainer Count D correctly identified Kenny Tibbs in the photo of the foursome at a Boogie Kings reunion. Here’s Count D wrote to me: “I found the unidentified man who he is on the picture ​of Johnnie Allan and others. ​​He is Kenny Tibbs. ​He played with Willie Tee in 1960s and ​had a local hit, "Holly Beach (Under The Boardwalk)" in ​1980s. ​I met him in the last year, he was very kind to me. ​I found the other picture took on the same day ​on the book, Memories by Johnnie Allan.”​ 

Turns out Count D is an encyclopedia of Louisiana roots music. He makes periodic journeys to southwest Louisiana and has played onstage with many of his heroes, including Johnnie Allen and Warren Storm. When we met online and he found out that we had produced J’Étais au Bal, he sent me his picture holding a copy in his Tokyo apartment.

The Tokyo gulf coast music community is small but active, and you’ll find videos on YouTube and Facebook of enthusiastically and toe-tappingly performed Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp Pop, and Tex-Mex music. For a taste of gulf coast music in Tokyo, visit the YouTube page of Hiromi Kimura, Count D’s wife and a member of Madame Hiromi and the Hee Haw Woo Boys. One of the clips features Count D singing “Promised Land” with legendary Swamp Pop legend Johnnie Allan at the 2019 Festival Acadiens et Créoles in Lafayette.