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Swamp Pop
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 Characteristics The swamp pop sound is typified by highly emotional, lovelorn lyrics, tripleting honky-tonk pianos, undulating bass lines, bellowing horn sections, and a strong rhythm and blues backbeat. It is exemplified by slow ballads like Cookie and the Cupcakes' "Mathilda" (recorded 1958), considered by many fans as the unofficial swamp pop "anthem". But the genre has also produced many upbeat compositions, such as Bobby Charles' " Later Alligator" (1955), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cajun Music
Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based zydeco music. Both are from southwest Louisiana and share French and African origins. These French Louisiana sounds have influenced American popular music for many decades, especially country music, and have influenced pop culture through mass media, such as television commercials. Musical theory Cajun music is relatively catchy with an infectious beat and a lot of forward drive, placing the accordion at the center. The accordionist gives the vocal melody greater energy by repeating most notes. Besides the voices, only two melodic instruments are heard, the accordion and fiddle, but usually in the background can also be heard the high, clear tones of a metal triangle. The harmonies of Cajun music are simple and the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honky-tonk
A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) used to play such music. Bars of this kind are common in the South and Southwest United States. Many eminent country music artists, such as Jimmie Rodgers, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, Johnny Horton, and Merle Haggard, began their careers as amateur musicians in honky-tonks. The origin of the term "honky-tonk" is disputed, originally referring to bawdy variety shows in areas of the old West (Oklahoma, the Indian Territories and mostly Texas) and to the actual theaters showing them. The first music genre to be commonly known as honky-tonk was a style of piano playing related to ragtime but emphasizing rhythm more than melody or harmony; the style evolved in response to an environment in which pianos were often poorly cared for, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dale And Grace
Dale Houston (April 23, 1940 – September 27, 2007) was an American singer who, along with his performing partner, Grace Broussard, hit the Billboard chart as Dale & Grace with two rock and roll singles. The first was the No. 1 gold record " I'm Leaving It Up to You" in 1963. "Stop and Think It Over" reached No. 8 in 1964. In his later years, Houston was reunited onstage with Broussard on several occasions. Their recordings are highly regarded examples of the Louisiana-Texas style known as "Swamp Pop". Biography Early years Robert Dale Houston was born to Claude and Essie (née Walters) Houston in Seminary, a small town in Covington County, Mississippi.Obituary in The Times (UK), October 18, 2007 timesonline.co.uk He was delivered by a |
Joe Barry (singer)
Joe Barry (born Joseph Barrios; July 13, 1939 – August 31, 2004) was an American swamp pop singer active on the early rock and roll scene. Biography Barry was born in Cut Off, Louisiana. He started recording locally in 1958, and released two singles on Jin Records around 1960. In 1961, the second single he released for Jin, "I'm a Fool to Care" (originally a hit for Les Paul and Mary Ford), was picked up for national distribution by Mercury Records subsidiary Smash Records. The tune hit No. 15 on the U.S. Black Singles chart and No. 24 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.Billboard Singles AllMusic "I'm a Fool to Care" sold over one million copies by 1968, earning a gold record designation. The song also charted in the UK Singles Chart at No. 49. The follow-up single, "Teardrops in My Heart", also charted in the U.S. but did not reach the Top 40.Biography AllMusic Barry released several more singles on Smash and Nugget Records later in the 1960s, but left the music industry soon after. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
This Should Go On Forever
"This Should Go On Forever" is a popular song of the south Louisiana rock and roll genre known as swamp pop. It was written by J. D. "Jay" Miller and Bernard Jolivette Background King Karl (real name Bernard Jolivette), a black Creole swamp pop musician, composed the song around 1958. (Producer J. D. "Jay" Miller is listed as a co-writer even though he did not actually help to compose the tune.) Karl intended to record the song for the Excello label of Nashville, for which he, his bandmate Guitar Gable (Gabriel Perrodin), and their band the Musical Kings had recorded other swamp pop compositions. Excello did not like the song, however, and as a result Karl's version at first remained unreleased. In the meantime, Cajun swamp pop musician Rod Bernard of Opelousas, Louisiana, heard Karl and his group perform the tune at the local Moonlight Inn nightclub. When Bernard learned that Excello had no intention of releasing the song, he asked Karl if he could record it for Floyd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rod Bernard
Rod Bernard () was an American singing, singer who helped to pioneer the musical genre known as "swamp pop", which combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun and black Louisiana Creole people, Creole music. He is generally considered one of the foremost musicians of this south Louisiana-east Texas idiom, along with such notables as Bobby Charles, Johnnie Allan, Tommy McLain, and Warren Storm. Life and career Bernard was born in Opelousas, Louisiana. His parents were French-speaking Cajuns from working-class backgrounds and, as a child, he imbibed the traditional Cajun French music performed in his grandfather's dancehall, the Courtableau Inn, located in nearby Port Barre, Louisiana, Port Barre. There, he heard the music of noted Cajun musicians Aldus Roger, Papa Cairo, and Jimmy C. Newman, as well as zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier, all of whom would exert a strong influence on Bernard's music. Around age eight, Bernard obtained his first guitar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sea Of Love (Phil Phillips Song)
"Sea of Love" is a song written by John Philip Baptiste (better known as Phil Phillips) and George Khoury. It was the only top-40 chart-maker for Phillips, who never recorded another hit. Background Baptiste, who was working as a bellboy in Lake Charles, Louisiana, wrote "Sea of Love" for a love interest. He was introduced to local record producer George Khoury, who brought Baptiste into his studio to record it. At Khoury's request, Baptiste took the stage name of Phil Phillips. The song, originally credited to Phil Phillips with The Twilights, was released on a small record label owned by Khoury, but due to its success it was eventually leased to Mercury Records. Despite the success of "Sea of Love", Phillips claims that he has only ever received US$6,800 for recording it. Chart performance Phil Phillips' 1959 recording of the song peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' R&B chart Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Public ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Phillips
John Philip Baptiste (March 14, 1926 – March 14, 2020), known as Phil Phillips, was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 song, " Sea of Love". Biography Baptiste was encouraged to pursue a career as a singer after a school performance of a song called "Sweet Slumber".Myspace.com Phil Phillips MySpace page autobiography He performed with his brothers in a group called the Gateway Quartet and worked as a bellhop before he recorded "Sea of Love" in 1959. The song was |
The Prisoner's Song
"The Prisoner's Song" is a song copyrighted by Vernon Dalhart in 1924 in the name of Dalhart's cousin Guy Massey, who had sung it while staying at Dalhart's home and had in turn heard it from his brother Robert Massey, who may have heard it while serving time in prison.Palmer, Jack, ''Vernon Dalhart: First Star of Country Music'', Mainspring Press, Denver Colorado, 2005. "The Prisoner's Song" was one of the best-selling songs of the 1920s, particularly in the recording by Vernon Dalhart. The Vernon Dalhart version was recorded at Victor Records in August 1924 and marketed in the hillbilly music genre. It was likely one of the best-selling records of the early 20th century. Although contemporary data show that Victor pressed slightly over 1.3 million copies during the record's peak years of popularity, anecdotal accounts sourced from a 1940s promotional flyer report sales as high as 7 million. The song's publisher at the time, Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., reportedly sold over o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warren Storm
Warren Storm (February 18, 1937 – September 7, 2021) 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. Background and career Born Warren Schexnider on February 18, 1937, in Leroy, Louisiana, he moved to nearby Abbeville, Louisiana, to attend first grade. Storm learned to play drums and guitar from his father, a Cajun musician. In the early 1950s, he began to perform publicly with Larry Brasso and the Rhythmaires. Around this time he befriended fellow Abbeville musician Bobby Charles, and the two would travel to New Orleans to hear black rhythm and blues artists in the local nightclubs, particularly Fats Domino and drummers Earl Palmer and Charles "Hungry" Williams. These visits to New Orleans greatly influenced Storm's musical tastes and his own drumming style. Storm cites New Orleans rhythm and blues musician Charles "Hungry" Williams as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jimmy Clanton
Jimmy Clanton (born September 2, 1938) is an American singer who became known as the " swamp pop R&B teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song "Just a Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number four on the ''Billboard'' chart and sold a million copies. Clanton performed on Dick Clark's ''American Bandstand'' and toured with popular artists like Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Platters. History Clanton formed his first band called the Rockets in 1956 while attending Baton Rouge High School. One of the few white singers to come out of the New Orleans R&B/rock & roll sound, he rode the crest of the popular teen-music wave in the 1950s and 1960s. His records charted in the U.S. Top 40 seven times (all released on Ace); his Top 10 records were: the song "Just a Dream," (Pop #4, R&B #1 in August 1958, credited to 'Jimmy Clanton and His Rockets'), "Go, Jimmy, Go" (peaked at number five in early 1960) and "Venus in Blue Jeans" (peake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record nine Top 20 singles, one of which was number one and three that were Top Ten. The single "Rock Around the Clock" was the best-selling rock single in the history of the genre and maintained that position for several years. Band leader Bill Haley had previously been a Western swing performer; after recording a rockabilly version of Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm's "Rocket 88", one of the first rock and roll recordings, Haley changed his band's musical direction to rock music. Though the group was considered to be at the forefront of rock and roll during the genre's formative years, the arrival of more risqué acts such as Elvis Presley and Little Richard by 1956 led the more clean-cut Haley and his Comets to decline in popularity. Hal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
