Jessie Polka

Originally recorded in 1934 as Jesusita En Chihuahua by Quinteto de Los Desvelados (three violins, guitar and bass). This fine polka is similar to a version recorded in 1941 by Adolph Hofner & His San Antonians. Hofner was born in Moulton, Texas, to a German father and a Czech mother. He grew up listening to polka music and became interested in Western Swing when he first heard Milton Brown and his Brownies. In Texas, Jessie Polka was played as the accompaniment to a dance of the same name.

Dance music from the Texas-Mexican border string bands appealed to rural people and had a big influence on the Texas fiddle bands, as well as cowboy music, since a large number of working cowboys were of Mexican descent. Many Western Swing bands recorded Hispanic-influenced music such as Cielito Lindo, known to most baby-boomer Americans as “the Frito Bandito song” but actually means “Beautiful Heaven.” Cielito Lindo was recorded by Milton Brown, the Tune Wranglers, Bob Wills and the Night Owls. Other examples include Maria Elina (Adolph Hofner), Spanish Two-Step, (Adolph Hofner, Bill Boyd, Bob Wills), Spanish Fandango, (Bill Boyd) and the highly recorded El Rancho Grande (the Tune Wranglers, the Light Crust Doughboys, the Westerners, the Night Owls). Wills no doubt picked up some Hispanic influences during the late 1920s while living in New Mexico, where he wrote Spanish Two-Step, which became the basis for New San Antonio Rose, his biggest hit. Orquestas de cuerdas, conjunto, orquestas tipicas and mariachis were all part of a mix simply called tejano music. The repertoire consisted of a variety of lively dance music including waltzes, the danzon, huapango and the mazurka, but the most popular was the polka, which arrived in Mexico from France during the middle of the nineteenth century.

Instrumentally, the violin was initially the dominant instrument but was later replaced by the accordion. Other instruments used were primarily stringed instruments derived from the long string band tradition in Mexico. This music mixed with the Cajun music of nearby Louisiana, the music of the German and Czech immigrants who settled along the Texas border and the music of the Texas and Oklahoma fiddle bands, reflecting the great melting-pot culture of South Texas. “String band music was the popular music of rural Texas and had great appeal among Mexicans and Anglos alike, not to mention immigrant groups” (Strachwitz).

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