Clarence Garlow

Clarence ‘Bon Ton’ Garlow (February 27, 1911 – July 24, 1986) was an American R&B, jump blues, Texas blues and cajun guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his recording of the song “Bon Ton Roula”, which was a hit single on the US Billboard R&B chart in 1950. One commentator noted the track as, “a rhythm and blues laced-zydeco song that helped introduce the Louisiana music form to a national audience.”

He was born Clarence Joseph Garlow in Welsh, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, although he relocated to Beaumont, Texas with his family whilst still a child. After learning the rudiments of fiddle playing as a youngster, in his teenage years Garlow learned to play both the guitar and accordion. His guitar playing was influenced by T-Bone Walker. Initially working in several factories, Garlow first recorded for the small record label, Macy’s in Houston, Texas, in 1949. His debut release was “She’s So Fine” b/w “Blues As You Like It”, issued in January 1950.
For the follow-up, Garlow recorded his own song “Bon Ton Roula”, as a sixteen-bar blues with “an insistent, swirling rhumba rhythm”. “The song featured some of the same kind of broken Cajun-isms as Hank Williams’s “Jambalaya”. It became a hit in 1950, reaching #7 in the US Billboard R&B chart. The success of the single led to Garlow touring Texas and Louisiana.