Swamp blues

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Swamp blues is a type of Louisiana blues that developed in the Black communities of Southwest Louisiana in the 1950s. [2] It incorporates influences from other genres, particularly zydeco and Cajun. Its most successful proponents include Slim Harpo and Lightnin' Slim, who enjoyed national rhythm and blues hits.

Contents

Characteristics

Lazy Lester in 2004 Lazy Lester in 2004.jpg
Lazy Lester in 2004

Swamp blues has a laid-back, slow tempo, and generally is a more rhythmic variation of Louisiana blues, incorporating influences from New Orleans blues, zydeco, soul music and Cajun music. [3] It is characterized by simple but effective guitar work and is influenced by the boogie patterns used on Jimmy Reed records and the work of Lightnin' Hopkins and Muddy Waters. [4] The sound of swamp blues was characterized by "eerie echo, shuffle beats, tremolo guitars, searing harmonica and sparse percussion". [5]

History

Swamp blues originated in the Black communities of Southwest Louisiana in the 1950s [2] and was particularly associated with record producer J. D. "Jay" Miller. [5] In the 1950s, Miller recorded many blues artists around the city, distributing their recordings through Excello Records in Nashville, Tennessee. [6] The most successful and influential artist with whom he worked was guitarist and harmonica player Slim Harpo. [7] Other major artists included Lightnin' Slim, Lazy Lester, Silas Hogan, Lonesome Sundown, [5] and piano player Katie Webster. [6] A number of their songs, particularly those of Slim Harpo, were covered by British Invasion bands, including the Rolling Stones, The Kinks and the Yardbirds. [8] The popularity of the genre faded in the 1970s, with many swamp bluesmen turning to zydeco which remained popular with black audiences. [6]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slim Harpo</span> American blues musician

Slim Harpo was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues style, and "one of the most commercially successful blues artists of his day". He played guitar and was a master of the blues harmonica, known in blues circles as a "harp". His most successful and influential recordings included "I'm a King Bee" (1957), "Rainin' in My Heart" (1961), and "Baby Scratch My Back" (1966), which reached number one on Billboard's R&B chart and number 16 on its broader Hot 100 singles chart.

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Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, country and western, and traditional French Louisiana musical influences. Although a fairly obscure genre, swamp pop maintains a large audience in its south Louisiana and southeast Texas homeland, and it has acquired a small but passionate cult following in the United Kingdom, and Northern Europe

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Leslie Johnson, better known as Lazy Lester, was an American blues musician who sang and played the harmonica and guitar. In a career spanning the 1950s to 2018, he pioneered swamp blues, and also played harmonica blues, rhythm and blues and Louisiana blues.

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Otis Verries Hicks, known as Lightnin' Slim, was an American blues musician who played Louisiana blues and swamp blues for Excello Records. The blues critic ED Denson ranked him as one of the five great bluesmen of the 1950s, along with Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. D. "Jay" Miller</span> American record producer (1922–1996)

Joseph Denton "Jay" Miller was an American record producer and songwriter from Louisiana, whose Cajun, swamp blues, and swamp pop recordings influenced American popular culture.

Warren Storm was an American drummer and vocalist, known as a pioneer of the musical genre swamp pop; a combination of rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun music and black Creole music.

Cornelius Green III, known professionally as Lonesome Sundown, was an American blues musician, best known for his swamp blues recordings for Excello Records in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Silas Hogan was an American blues musician who played swamp blues and Louisiana blues. His most notable recordings are "Airport Blues" and "Lonesome La La". He was the front man of the Rhythm Ramblers. Hogan was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame.

"Chicago" Bob Nelson was an American blues musician.

Moses "Whispering" Smith was an American blues harmonicist and singer. He recorded tracks including "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" and "Texas Flood" and worked with Lightnin' Slim and with Silas Hogan. He was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame.

Gabriel Perrodin, known as Guitar Gable, was an American Louisiana blues, swamp blues and swamp pop musician. He was best known for recording the original version of "This Should Go On Forever", and his part in the vibrant swamp blues and pop scene in Louisiana in the 1950s and early 1960s.

References

  1. ↑ Fontenot, Robert (February 24, 2019). "What Is Swamp Rock? A look at this Southern mix of country, funk, and soul". Liveabout. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Malone, Evelyn Levingston, "Swamp Blues: Race And Vinyl From Southwest Louisiana" (2016). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 2457. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2457
  3. ↑ Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 161. ISBN   1-904041-96-5.
  4. ↑ Koda, Cub. "Swamp blues". AllMusic . Archived from the original on October 18, 2010..
  5. 1 2 3 R. Unterberger, S. Hicks and J. Dempsey, Music USA: the Rough Guide (London: Rough Guides, 1999), ISBN   1-85828-421-X, p. 175.
  6. 1 2 3 G. Herzhaft, Encyclopedia of the Blues, trans B. Debord (University of Arkansas Press, 2nd ed., 1997), ISBN   1-55728-452-0, pp. 140–4.
  7. ↑ Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 162. ISBN   1-904041-96-5.
  8. ↑ R. Unterberger, "Louisiana blues", in V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra, S. T. Erlewine, eds., All Music Guide to the Blues: The Definitive Guide to the Blues (Milwaukee, WI: Backbeat Books, 3rd ed., 2003), ISBN   0-87930-736-6, pp. 687–8.
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