Lanor Records

[Anoraks Corner]

Just stumbled across this web page all about Lanor records and Lee Laverge:..maybe written a few years ago now:

https://www.aryan88.com/whiterider/rebrebel/discographies/lanordisco.html

the site also has a complete Lanor label listing (Dave Rimmer take note!)

 

 

It is with deep regret that this writer announces the sudden passing of one of Southwest Louisiana's greatest record producers, Lee Lavergne of Church Point, who apparently succumbed to a heart attack January 16, a mere week after the death of yet another longtime area record man, George Khoury of Lake Charles. Lee Lavergne, a member of the Louisiana Hall of Fame, resided in and ran Sound Center Recorders, a combination musical instrument store, retail outlet for CDs and cassettes, and recording studio located at 329 N. Main St. in this small town in the heart of Cajun rice country.

 

Born into humble circumstances in the midst of the Great Depression, December 10, 1932, John Levence "Lee" Lavergne, was always fascinated by music he heard over the radio, especially the Cajun and C&W variety, and early heroes included French accordionists Iry LeJeune and Nathan Abshire, and Hank Williams, who played over the airwaves of KWKH in Shreveport. An early photo of Lee shows a young man proudly clutching a Gene Autry model guitar, purchased through commissions on the sale of hundreds of seed packets to local residents. However, with no formal training, he never progressed beyond the dilettante stage and he remained a most frustrated musician. His induction, at twenty, into the Armed Forces during the latter stages of the Korean War (he was in the same outfit as D.J. Fontana, Elvis's drummer) further served to dampen any musical aspirations.

 

Upon his return to Church Point, he discovered that there was a musical revolution of sorts, and that R&B and rock and roll had supplanted the music he was accustomed to hearing before his departure. But keeping an open mind, he decided to make a go of it as DJ for local sock hops and soirees. But the enterprise never got off the ground and he was forced to enroll in trade school which furnished him the wherewithal to become a liquor wholesaler, a vocation of 18 years which endured well into the 70s. But, all the while, he never lost his love for local music and was determined to record it, despite the fact that he had no studio and no experience as a recording engineer.

This often entailed either driving his artists 20 miles south to Crowley to J.D. Miller's Modern Music Center, or to Eddie Shuler's Golband complex 60 miles to the west in Lake Charles, or to Cosimo Matassa's facility in New Orleans, 130 miles to the southeast. But, as time wore on, it also wasn't unusual for Lee on occasion to avail himself of recording studios as far off as in Macon, GA, Nashville, TN, and Muscle Shoals, AL. The taping of these early, protracted sessions invariably would go on into the wee hours of the morning and then Lee would have to be back in Church Pt. the very next day on duty for his day job.

 

In May, 1960, to inaugurate his new label, Lanor, Lee selected a local favorite, Shirley Bergeron, who, as a steel guitarist, fronted a Cajun band which included his legendary father, Alphee on accordion. It was an auspicious start as "J'ai Fait Mon Ede'e" (Lanor 500) became an instant sensation in the region. This was followed by the moderate Swamp Pop seller, "One Day" (501),by Elton (Hargrave) and the Eltradors. Inspired by Eddie Shuler's rock/Cajun success with "Sugar Bee" (Goldband 1106), Lee went one step further and merged R&B(blues guitar) with Cajun, creating Bill Matte's "Parlez-vous L'Francais" (503). This bizarre hybrid made it to #18 on the New Orleans hit parade, but other non-native DJs considered it too much of a provincial novelty tune to promote as a potential national hit.

 

There were also a number of blues and R&B figures of note who played a significant role in Lanor's formative years. Agent-manager-drummer Lloyd Reynaud (brother of saxophonist Hot Rod of Cookie and the Cupcakes) of Opelousas, who operated his own label, Reynaud, was especially instrumental in channeling area talent Lee's way, including horn player Duke Stevens, who scored with "I've Been Your Fool"/"Nobody Knows"(506) and a Little Richard-influenced piano player, Little Victor, who had a winner with "Can't Stop My Loving You" (509). Perhaps, Reynaud's best find was guitarist Charles Tyler, who recorded under the pseudonym Drifting Charles. His release in 1963 of "Drifting Cloud"/"Evil Hearted Woman" (515) with Warren Storm on drums and Rufus Thibodeaux on bass proved to be an substantial blues smash.

 

However Lee's most noteworthy R&B success story was in the person of the remote and enigmatic Elton Anderson, of whom there is only one known photograph. Steered to Church Point by Wayne Shuler, son of Goldband's Eddie, Anderson cut a total of five Lanor singles in Cosimo Matassa's Gov. Nicholl's St. studio in New Orleans in 1962-63, which featured the virtuoso guitar work of a young Dr. John (Mac Rebbenack). Ultimately, Capitol records thought so highly of this project that they released King Karl's (Bernard Jolivette's) composition "Life Problem" as #4762 and two additional tracks from the same session, "Shed So Many Tears"/"That's How It's Been" as Capitol 4830. Unfortunately for Lee, this major label, which never had a strong track record in R&B, bungled yet two more possible winners in this field.

 

Throughout the 60s, Lee remained a crusader for much of the ethnic and other indigenous music of South Louisiana, despite the fact that the music was falling out of favor, especially due to the relentless onslaught of the so-called British Invasion and soul music. He continued to record Swamp Pop artists like Jay Randall and Charles Mann (Domingue) and, in fact, his perseverance paid off when he had a modest hit with Mann's reggae-like rendition of Neil Diamond's "Red, Red Wine" (543) in 1969. And although Nashville had long monopolized the nation's C&W industry, Lee persisted in going against the grain of conventional wisdom by recording (with mixed results) local hillbilly artists like Earl Curry, Jimmy Silver, and J.B. Perry.

 

Into the 70s, by which time he had quit his regular work and opened his first store on Main St., he was faced with another challenge - recording at all, when the mechanized rhythms of disco music threatened to annihilate anything in its path which remotely resembled that which preceded it, including blues and R&B. But he found his salvation in three talented, Macon-based soul stylists in the gospel-tinged, Sam Cooke mold - Willie Mallory, Hugh Boynton, and Ella Brown - -singers he would record at Phil Walden's famous Capricorn studios there. With their sophisticated phrasing, they became consistent and steady sellers for Lanor and virtually kept his label afloat. Nonetheless, one major setback of the decade was Lee's futile attempt to resurrect the moribund career of native Phil Phillips of "Sea Of Love" fame, who, according to the producer, could not make the transition to more "modern, polished, soul articulations."

 

Things changed dramatically for Lee Lavergne after the completion of his own studio which he built by hand in 1982, an annex to his retail store. "Then, I was able to record whomever I pleased because I set the fee for the sessions and wasn't at the mercy of another producer's exorbitant rates. And I also was able to save gas money by not driving a hundred miles to a taping," he confided to this writer.

 

After years of relative dormancy, Cajun music at the time was experiencing somewhat of a revival, and Lee sought to record some figures he admired, despite the limited market. The venerable Cajun patriarch, Aldus Roger, Jack Leger, Lulu Cormier, and Maw Maw Theriot were among his French artists. In like manner, blues and Zydeco were also undergoing a resurgence. In the former genre, Lee released singles and albums by several area bluesmen, including guitarists Raymond Randle of Alexandria, and Classie Ballou and Felton Marlbrough, both of Lake Charles. His Zydeco roster included (drummer) Leo Thomas, bassist Bobby Mann Robinson (soon to lead Zydeco Force), and Lake Charles-vicinity accordionists Willis Prudhomme and Joe Walker. As a matter of fact, British record executive, Peter Thompson of the Zane label, was so taken with this latter player after hearing him perform at JazzFest, that he became a licensee of Lanor records abroad and organized tours of England for Walker and later Roy Carrier.

 

After experiencing a modicum of prosperity with his artists in the 80s and growth as both an engineer and producer, Lee became even more ambitious in the 90s and made Lanor into a truly eclectic label.

 

Bluesman Donald Jacob of Ville Platte, who had a major regional hit with Floyd Soileau in 1966, "Street Walkin' Woman" (Jin 201), again scored with "She Kept Chewing Gum" (613), a risque novelty item, which just missed making the national charts. And Lee also recorded Burton Garr of LeCompte, LA, whose hard rocking blues band backed Lake Charles-based Zydeco superstar, Rockin' Sidney (Simien) on his club dates.

 

In fact, Lee introduced the public to another high-powered soul contingent, which draws heavily in the territory-Patrick Henry and the Liberation Band. As far as French music was concerned, Lee could also take credit for singlehandly renewing the the career of reclusive Cajun/C&W singer, Vin Bruce of Cut Off, LA, a 50s icon. And he also produced notable material by the LaFourche Cajun Band, Lennis & Gervis Soileau, and Ivy Dugas with Jackie Cailler. The album by this latter group, Blacktop The Gravel Road (Goudronnes Le Chemin De Gravois) (Lanor 1068), won the best CD award this past August by the Cajun French Music Association. And, in addition, this project garnered best song, best band, and best male vocalist at the same ceremony.

 

Regarding Swamp Pop music, Lee continued to support longtime singer Charles Mann and was rewarded in 1990 with a top twenty UK hit-Mann's driving interpretation of Mark Knopfler's "Walk Of Life" (621), an accordion tour de force which precipitated a triumphant British tour. Later, in 1992 he also recorded a fine album, Pictures(1034), by Tommy McLain, of Pineville, LA, who's 1966 version of "Sweet Dreams" (Jin 197) actually outsold Patsy Cline's rendition and made it to #15 on Billboard.

In the 90s, Lee also expanded his Zydeco stable to include not only the celebrated Roy Carrier of Lawtell but also his son, Troy, as Dikki Du and the Zydeco Crew. And Lee introduced the now-popular figures of both Beau Jocque (Andrus Espre) and Keith Frank, recording their first efforts. Other Zydeco artists of renown, who recorded exclusively for Lanor, included upstart Thomas "Big Hat" Fields, Nolton Semien, and the Creole Zydeco Farmers, whose leader, Clarence "Jockey" Etienne, was a former Crowley staff drummer for J.D. Miller.

 

At the time of his death, Lee was also dabbling in Bluegrass music, and released a highly acclaimed CD of North Carolina's Bill Price, a protege of the late mandolin giant, Bill Monroe.

 

In the span of nearly four decades of continuous recording, Lee Lavergne's output was formidable and impressive-over 140 singles and seventy albums, but because of his unexpected demise the future of Lanor is problematical at best, since he was truly its all in all. To further complicate matters, he left no will and his affairs are in complete disarray. But thanks to the noble intercession of Peter Thompson, the master tapes are at least temporarily in safe keeping and, evidently, Floyd Soileau, who still oversees a huge mail order house in Ville Platte, will guarantee that the best of the Lanor inventory remains in his catalogue. Unfortunately, the studio (which technically does not measure up to today's standards) as well as the vintage guitars and amplifiers, will probably be sold at auction.

With Lee Lavergne's passing, there is a void which can't be filled in South Louisiana. Always the champion of the underdog, the struggling, down-at-the-heels artist, Lee could be counted on to record such a musician, when all the other avenues were closed. Generous to a fault, he lent money, advanced royalties, and supplied CDs and tapes to his performers on consignment, on a pay later basis. If any musician needed a piece of equipment, he'd even open the store after hours to accomodate him, ensuring that the show would go on.

 

He was truly an anomaly, an honest man, in an industry not noted for this virtue. Never in any conversation was his integrity ever brought into question. In South Louisiana a genuine good guy has been laid to rest and there aren't too many left to fill his big shoes.

 

 

[Guest Dave Turner]

Dave, if you haven't already seen it this is Lanor's site with remaining stock for sale

 

https://www.lanorrecords.com/LANORS45NEWPAGE.html

[Guest]

Spotted that last year when a bunch of Lanor 45s started showing up all over Tokyo. It seemed to be a mixture of new old stock and some more recent represses.

Fortunately the copies of 'Girl I Feel It' were originals.

[Ljblanken]

Just stumbled across this web page all about Lanor records and Lee Laverge:..maybe written a few years ago now:

https://www.aryan88.com/whiterider/rebrebel/discographies/lanordisco.html

the site also has a complete Lanor label listing (Dave Rimmer take note!)

 

 

 

that is very disturbing that is is based on a white power web address ("www.aryan88.com"). in case you don't know, "H" is the eighth letter of the alphabet and "88" is american white power code for "Heil Hitler!".  

Edited May 13, 2013 by ljblanken

[boba]

bizarre. the discography is on the site clearly because there are some white power records on lanor (that area of louisiana has some militia / racist types and specific records are highlighted here: https://www.aryan88.com/whiterider/rebrebel/discographies/). 

 

but the biography isn't written from the perspective of being racist. i'm guessing it was stolen from somewhere, and the original page is gone.

[boba]

also, what are the soul 45s on Lanor? i bought a charles mann 45 once thinking it was the abc dude but i don't think it is. i recently got a modern 45 by the Tax Free Band which I assumed was Black. But most of that discography is swamp pop / cajun music.

[boba]

ok i heard the willie mallory 45 which was nice

[Sebastian]

also, what are the soul 45s on Lanor?

 

Hugh Boynton, Gerald Faulk and Joe Chopper are some.

[John Reed]

I like the two Ella Brown Lanor 45's 

[boba]

this thread is interesting because it raises the issue of the music being tainted by the label owner's views. Like was he racist but willing to Black soul music for the money? it's further complicated by the fact that "swamp pop" is r&b influenced. or does this racist website owner's admiration for him not reflect on the label owner's own views? that part of louisiana is very back woods. I remember I was visiting my friend in nola around independence day (4th of July) and we saw in the paper an ad for a "confederate" independence day celebration in southwestern LA. We were going to go sort of as a joke to see crazy people but I'm really glad we didn't because it would have gotten really real really fast.

[Garethx]

The Charles Mann on Lanor is a white guy. There's a photo of him on Sirshambling.com