Old Tyme Country

After the success of last year's tribute to old time country music, Terry Huval and the Jambalaya Cajun Band decided to put on another great program. In 2002, they reprised a couple of songs from the previous year but, for the most part, drew on the incredibly rich heritage of country music to offer songs that brought back memories for many in the audience and that reminded everyone how broad and deep this music is.

Terry Huval opened with Bob Wills' "San Antonio Rose" and Ray Price's "Heartaches by the Number," followed by Pope Huval singing Bobby Helms' "Fraulein" and Marty Robbins' "El Paso."   Then Karleen, Laura, and Maegan Berard sang Patty Page's "Tennessee Waltz." D.L. Menard is most closely identified with the songs he wrote in French like "The Back Door," but he showed the audience that he also has composed some great country lyrics by performing his song "The Judge Did Not Believe My Story."

Pope Huval returned to the stage to perform "Cry, Cry Darlin'," a song from Jimmy Newman, another Cajun who has made his mark in country music. Hugh Harris performed Stonewall Jackson's "Don't Be Angry" and Ray Price's "Crazy Arms."  He later returned to the stage to sing Hank Williams' "Settin' the Woods on Fire," a reminder to the audience of the tribute to Hank Williams Sr. that was held the next Saturday.

Pope Huval showed off his remarkable yodeling skills by performing Eddie Arnold's "Cattle Call," which he also sang last year.

Maegan and Laura Berard sang "End of the World," a gospel number by the Davis Sisters.

Throughout the evening, host Barry Ancelet provided insights into the music and got the musicians to tell the audience their own stories. Joining the band on stage again this year was Don Helms, who played steel guitar on every Hank Williams record from 1950 until Hank's death in 1953 and who made many other hit records with other top country artists. Helms is the only surviving member of Hank Williams' band. Near the end of the program, he performed a steel guitar solo and shared some of his memories.

The program also featured many other songs not included in the notes on this page.

Click here to return to the page on the first Country Music Show.

Click here to return to the page on the first Hank Williams Tribute.

Pictured in the top right column is Terry Huval, and, moving down the column, Hugh Harris, D.L. Menard, and Don Helms. Immediately above is Terry Huval gyrating his hips while offering his version of "Blue Christmas," the song made famous by Elvis Presley. Pope Huval is at the top of the left column. In another "Blue Christmas" photo, Terry Huval is joined on vocals by   Laura and Maegan Berard. In the background are Randy Champagne, Mark Hebert (on fiddle), and Tony Huval. Al and Karleen Berard are shown singing "If I Needed You," the song made famous by Emmylou Harris and Don Williams.

Immediately below are photos of Kenneth David, bass player and backup vocalist ,who also handled lead vocals on one song. Barry Ancelet is shown singing a duet.

Shown from left during the performance of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?"are Barry Ancelet, Randy Champagne, Terry Huval (with Mark Hebert behind him), Bobby Dumatrait, Reggie Matte (Laura Berard is behind him),  Al Berard, Karleen Berard, Maegan Berard, Pope Huval, Hugh Harris, D.L. Menard, and Kenneth David. Don Helms is out of view to the left of this shot.  As in the previous year, when Reggie Matte stepped forward to add the sound of the Cajun accordion to the closing numbers, the crowd roared with approval.