Jivin' Gene, ca 1960

Esteemed South Louisiana saxophonist, Harry Simoneaux, aptly described swamp pop music as, "Half fais-do do, half Domino." Swamp pop originated in South Louisiana and a small area of East Texas as a blend of New Orleans rhythm and blues, hillbilly, rockabilly, cajun, and creole music. The style evolved in the mid-1950s when South Louisiana's cajun and creole teenagers began exchanging fiddles, accordions, and steel guitars for saxophones, pianos, and electric guitars. This sudden shift occurred when the music of Lloyd Price, Earl King, Guitar Slim, and especially Fats Domino, was introduced to the area via records, jukeboxes, radio, and club appearances. As the young people strove innocently to emulate their idols, they unwittingly fell upon a simple but very distinct musical formula. A typical swamp pop recording features highly emotional vocals, piano triplets, loping drums, horns playing long whole notes, as well as the guitar and bass doubling the piano's bass line. Rarely do the songs include more than three chords.

"In South Louisiana the radio played Fats Domino all the time and the musicians here copied his style of music," said Johnnie Allan, the most prolific swamp pop artist of all time. "But our musicians couldn't sound like the New Orleans musicians on Fats Domino or Earl King records. They felt the music differently, and rather than playing New Orleans music note-for-note, they integrated it with the cajun music they heard when they were growing up.

			Lonely Days, Lonely Nights -- Johnnie Allan
			Let's Do The Cajun Twist -- Randy & the Rockets
			Congratulations To You Darling -- Rod Bernard
			Opelousas Sostan -- Rufus Jagneaux

"Record producers like Floyd Soileau (Jin), Eddie Shuler (Goldband), and especially J.D. Miller (Excello), also deserve credit for creating swamp pop. They'd hear a Chuck Berry or Fats Domino record and say to the band, 'That's good, but lets add something different, or, let's change this part.' Together we created a style of music that caught a lot of peoples' attention-not just in South Louisiana but around the world."

Swamp pop's classic period was 1958 to 1964, when nearly two dozen swamp pop recordings reached the national charts. During this time the music wasn't referred to as swamp pop, it was simply the South Louisiana Sound.

Randy and the Rockets, 1959.

The term swamp pop didn't come into general use until the early 1970s when British music writers like John Broven and Bill Millar began using the term to describe South Louisiana rock 'n' roll.

The initial swamp pop record to receive attention outside Louisiana was Bobby Charles' feverish "(See You) Later Alligator." Charles' thunder would be stolen by Bill Haley's cover version, but Charles would become a prolific songwriter and influential swamp pop artist for over a decade. He would later record South Louisiana hits like "Watch It Sprocket," "Laura Lee," "Why Can't You," and "No Use Knockin'." Charles also wrote "Walkin' To New Orleans" for Fats Domino, and "I Don't Know Why But I Do" for Clarence "Frogman" Henry which were tremendous hits.

Other important swamp pop records from the mid-1950s include Roy Perkins's "You're On My Mind," Cookie and the Boogie Ramblers's "Cindy Lou," Guitar Gable and King Karl's "Irene," and Guitar Jr.s' "Family Rules"; their popularity however was confined primarily to South Louisiana.

	Cajun swamp pop musician Gene Terry, 1958.

In 1958, the swamp pop sound finally reached beyond the bayous when Rod Bernard's "This Should Go On Forever," Warren Storm's "Prisoner's Song," and Jimmy Clanton's "Just A Dream" appeared in Billboard magazine's Hot 100. In terms of record sales, 1959 was the high water mark for swamp pop, as Johnny Preston's "Running Bear," Phil Phillips's timeless "Sea of Love," John Fred and the Playboys' "Shirley," Jivin' Gene's "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," Rod Bernard's "One More Chance," and Cookie and the Cupcakes' (formerly the Boogie Ramblers) "Mathilda," reached the Hot 100. Although "Mathilda" was only a minor national hit, in South Louisiana the song became a revered anthem. "'Mathilda' is swamp pop period," declared Allan. "When 'Mathilda' came out every radio station-R&B, country, pop, rock 'n' roll- played it. In Louisiana 'Mathilda,' was to swamp pop what 'Jole Blon' was to cajun music. Even today, every swamp pop band has to play 'Mathilda' at least once a night or the audience gets upset." America continued to embrace swamp pop in the early 1960s as Elton Anderson's "Secret of Love," Joe Barry's "I'm A Fool To Care" and "Teardrops In My Heart," Slim Harpo's "Rainin' In My Heart," Cookie and the Cupcakes's "Got You On My Mind," Barbara Lynn's "You'll Lose A Good Thing," T.K. Hulin's "I'm Not A Fool Anymore," and Dale and Grace's "I'm Leaving It Up To You" and "Stop And Think It Over," reached the national charts.

Johnnie Allan, the "Ambassador of Swamp Pop"

Swamp pop's golden era ended when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. Resistant to change, swamp pop couldn't contend with the new wave of rock music from England or that sweeping the United States. Later, isolated swamp pop releases like Tommy McLain's "Sweet Dreams" and Freddie Fender's "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" were national hits, and Johnnie Allan charted in Europe with "Promised Land," but the popularity of swamp pop was mostly confined to South Louisiana.

Today, Allan and other old-school swamp poppers like Tommy McLain, Warren Storm, Rod Bernard, Van Broussard, the Boogie Kings, Lil' Bob and the Lollipops, Little Alfred and the Cupcakes (Cookie's old group), and T.K. Hulin, still perform on weekends at clubs, casinos, and dance halls in South Louisiana and East Texas. Younger artists like Don Rich, Deuce of Hearts, Lil' Band of Gold, LA Express, Treater and Wayne Foret also continue the swamp pop tradition.

Story © by Jeff Hannusch
Images Courtesy of Shane K. Bernard, Swamp Pop, www.cajunculture.com

Recommended listening: Swamp Gold Vol. 1 - 6, Jin Records
Recommended reading: Swamp Pop by Shane K. Bernard (University Press of Mississippi)