George Khoury

Biography Khoury's birthplace is unknown; however, he was of Lebanese ancestry. In 1947, as an owner of a record shop, he noticed a lack of Cajun music being recorded in south Louisiana and decided to open a business to compete with Ed Shuler's Goldband Records and J. D. "Jay" Miller's Fais-Do-Do and Feature labels. His base of operations was just around the corner from Shuler's, on Railroad Avenue in Lake Charles.

A longhorn salesman named Virgil Bozman had travelled to Lake Charles and noticed the music being recorded in the region. In the 1940s, Virgel Bozman created a string band that became the studio band for Bill Quinn's Opera label and Gold Star Records label out of Houston, Texas. The band would be called the "Oklahoma Tornados" and sometimes feature fiddler Floyd Leblanc.

Khoury, who saw the need for more Cajun music and financed Virgil's new label, Oklahoma Tornado Records, named after his band. this label would record famous Cajun artists including Nathan Abshire & His Pine Grove Boys, creating arguably some of the rawest prewar cajun blues ever recorded Floyd Leblanc, and Harry Choates. Later, the label moved to San Antonio, Texas, and was run by James Bryant and Bennie Hess.

In 1949, after his success with the Oklahoma Tornado Label investment, Khoury created the Lyric label and Khoury's label. He recorded more Cajun songs such as Lawrence Walker's "Evangeline Waltz" and "Reno Waltz" Due to the demand, Khoury leased the recording to Mercury Records on which label it entered the charts at No. 2 in June 1959. He died in 1998.

Compilation discography Cajun Honky Tonk – Various Artists (427 Arhoolie, 1995) Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings Vol. 2 (541 Arhoolie, 2012)