Jerry Williams Jr. (born July 12, 1942), generally credited under the pseudonym Swamp Dogg after 1970, is an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and R&B singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. Williams has been described as "one of the great cult figures of 20th century American music." After recording as Little Jerry and Little Jerry Williams in the 1950s and 1960s, he reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg, releasing a series of satirical, offbeat, and eccentric recordings, as well as continuing to write and produce for other musicians. He debuted his new sound on the '' Total Destruction to Your Mind'' album in 1970. In the 1980s, he helped to develop Alonzo Williams'

World Class Wreckin' CRU World Class Wreckin' Cru was an American electro group, during the 1980s in the Los Angeles area, that contributed to rap's development. Two of its members, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, attained greater fame as members of N.W.A, which pioneered gangsta ...

, which produced

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

among others. He continues to make music, releasing ''

Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune ''Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune'' is a studio album by Swamp Dogg. It was released via Joyful Noise Recordings on September 7, 2018. It peaked at number 7 on the '' Billboard'' Heatseekers Albums chart, as well as number 28 on the Independent Albums ...

'' on

Joyful Noise Recordings Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...

in 2018, ''

Sorry You Couldn't Make It ''Sorry You Couldn't Make It'' is a studio album by American musician and producer Swamp Dogg. It was released on March 6, 2020 via Joyful Noise Recordings in partnership with Pioneer Works Press. Recording sessions took place at Sound Emporium in ...

'' in 2020,Lois Wilson, "The ''Woof'' Is Out There", ''Record Collector, #504, April 2020, pp.74-77 and '' I Need A Job...So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune'' in 2022 on

Don Giovanni Records Don Giovanni Records is an independent record label originally specializing in punk rock from the New Brunswick, New Jersey music scene but eventually working with a variety of artists from different genres. History Don Giovanni Records was fo ...

Biography

Early life and recording career

Williams was born in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

. He made his first recording, "HTD Blues (Hardsick Troublesome Downout Blues)", for the Mechanic

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

in 1954, when he was aged 12, with his parents and uncle and backing musicians, and was regularly hired to play private parties. From 1960, he released occasional singles for a variety of labels, including the self-written "I'm The Lover Man" in 1964, which was first issued on the Southern Sound label and was then picked up by the larger Loma label, almost breaking into the national ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He also wrote successfully for other musicians, including "Big Party" for

Barbara and the Browns Barbara and the Browns were an American soul and gospel vocal group, fronted by Barbara Brown (died 3 February 2010) who also recorded as a solo singer. The group were from Memphis, Tennessee, and originally comprised Barbara Brown with her sister ...

. As Little Jerry Williams, he had his first national chart success in 1966, when "Baby You're My Everything", which he co-wrote and produced, was released on the

Calla ''Calla'' (bog arum, marsh calla, wild calla, squaw claw, and water-arumDickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario. Toronto:Royal Ontario Museum, p. 62.) is a genus of flowering plant i ...

label and rose to #32 on the R&B chart, again just missing the Hot 100. He released several more singles on Calla through to 1967, by now credited simply as Jerry Williams, but with little commercial success, although some of his records such as "If You Ask Me (Because I Love You)" later became staples of the Northern Soul movement in the UK. By late 1967 he started working in A&R and other duties for the Musicor label in New York. In 1968 he co-wrote, with

Charlie Foxx Inez Foxx (September 9, 1937 – August 25, 2022) and her elder brother Charlie Foxx (October 23, 1933 – September 18, 1998) were an American rhythm and blues and soul duo from Greensboro, North Carolina. Inez sang lead vocal, while Charli ...

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

's up-tempo hit, "She's a Heartbreaker", which Williams also claimed to have produced, saying: "I produced the motherfuck out of it... ndCharlie Foxx put me down on the label as "vocal arranger." What the fuck is that? When they took out full-page ads in ''Billboard'' and ''Cashbox'', there was a picture of Charlie on one side and a picture of Gene Pitney on the other and no mention of me." Later in 1968 Williams began working as a producer at

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

with

Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

and

Phil Walden Phil Walden (January 11, 1940 – April 23, 2006) was a co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records, along with former Atlantic Records executive Frank Fenter. Biography Walden received his undergraduate degree in economics from M ...

, on artists including Patti LaBelle & the Blue Belles, though he found the administration frustrating. He established a songwriting partnership with Gary Anderson, who performed as Gary U.S. Bonds, and the pair wrote the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

hits "To the Other Woman (I'm the Other Woman)" by

Doris Duke Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, art collector, Horticulture, horticulturalist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealt ...

, and "She Didn't Know (She Kept on Talking)" by

Dee Dee Warwick Delia Juanita Warrick (September 25, 1942 – October 18, 2008), known professionally as Dee Dee Warwick, was an American soul singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she was the sister of singer Dionne Warwick, the niece of Cissy Houston, and a ...

. He also recorded a single, "I Got What It Takes", in a duo with Brooks O'Dell, and released two singles under his own name on the

Cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner o ...

label, a subsidiary of Atlantic.

Work as Swamp Dogg

Williams later wrote:

I became Swamp Dogg in 1970 in order to have an alter-ego and someone to occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry Williams, who was mentally missing in action due to certain pressures, mal-treatments and failure to get paid royalties on over fifty single records.... Most all of the tracks included were recorded in
Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...
, Alabama, and Macon, Georgia, which brings me to how the name Swamp Dogg came about.
Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
,
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
v.p. and producer/innovator second to none, was recording in the newly discovered mecca of funk
Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...
. He coined the term "Swamp Music" for this awesome funk predominately played by all white musicians accompanying the R'n'B institutions e.g.,
Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...
,
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
,
King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musicia ...
... I was also using the same "swamp" players. I was tired of being a jukebox, singing all of the hits by
Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...
,
Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...
, etc., and being an R'n'B second banana. I couldn't dance as good as
Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...
, wasn't pretty like
Tommy Hunt Tommy Hunt (born Charles James Hunt; June 18, 1933) is an American soul/ northern soul singer, and a 2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee as a member of famed R&B group The Flamingos. Early life Born to Georgianna Derico, Hunt started his ...
, couldn't compare vocally to
Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...
and I didn't have the sex appeal of
Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon fictional character, character created for Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic American black duck, black ...
. I wanted to sing about everything and anything and not be pigeonholed by the industry. So I came up with the name Dogg because a dog can do anything, and anything a dog does never comes as a real surprise; if he sleeps on the sofa, shits on the rug, pisses on the drapes, chews up your slippers, humps your mother-in-law's leg, jumps on your new clothes and licks your face, he's never gotten out of character. You understand what he did, you curse while making allowances for him but your love for him never diminishes. Commencing in 1970, I sung about
sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
,
niggers In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in ca ...
,
love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
,
rednecks ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...
,
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
,
peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
, dead flies,
home wreckers "Home Wreckers" is the 20th episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy '' How I Met Your Mother'' and 108th episode overall. It aired on April 19, 2010. Plot Ted is stunned when his mother and her long-term boyfriend Clint annou ...
,
Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...
, my
daughter A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between group ...
s,
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
,
revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
and
blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...
s (just to name a few), and never got out of character. Recording in Alabama and sincerely singing/writing about items that interested me, gave birth to the name Swamp Dogg.

Having adopted his moniker before

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

was born, he has claimed to be "''the original D-O double G''". In 1970, he emerged in his new Swamp Dogg persona, with two singles on

Wally Roker Christian Waldemar "Wally" Roker (April 14, 1937 – December 2, 2015) was an American vocal group singer, best known as a member of The Heartbeats and sometimes called "The Godfather of Doo-Wop". He helped establish Scepter Records, worked i ...

's Canyon label, "Mama's Baby, Daddy's Maybe", again co-written with Bonds, and "Synthetic World". He also produced the first Swamp Dogg album, ''Total Destruction to Your Mind''. The album sleeve showed Williams sitting in his underwear on a pile of garbage. Williams' new direction apparently followed an

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

trip, and was inspired by the radical politics of the time and by

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

's use of satire, while showing his own expertise in, and commitment to,

deep soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fro ...

and R&B music. According to Allmusic: "In sheer musical terms, Swamp Dogg is pure Southern soul, anchored on tight grooves and accentuated by horns, but the Dogg is as much about message as music..." Although not a commercial success at the time, Swamp Dogg started to develop a cult following and eventually the album sold enough to achieve

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

status. Record critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote that "Soul-seekers like myself are moderately mad for the obscure" album and has called it "legendary". It was reissued in 2013 by

Alive Naturalsound Records Alive Naturalsound Records (also known as Alive Records) is an independent record label formed in 1993 in Los Angeles, California by Patrick Boissel, specializing in garage rock, punk, psychedelic, and blues rock. It grew out of Boissel's as ...

. Around the same time, one of the songs Williams had co-written with Gary Bonds, "

She's All I Got "She's All I Got" is a song written by Gary U.S. Bonds and Jerry Williams Jr. It has been recorded by several artists. The first version, released in 1971 by Freddie North, was a Top 40 U.S. pop hit, and a version by Johnny Paycheck was a number ...

", became a top-ten R&B hit for

Freddie North Freddie North (born 28 May 1939, Nashville, Tennessee) is an American R&B singer. North had experience as a disc jockey at WLAC-Nashville and in promotion for Nashboro Records, who released gospel music. In 1971, he released an album, ''Frien ...

, and was recorded with even greater success by

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

star

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greates ...

, whose version reached #2 on the country music chart in late 1971. In a later interview on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

Studio 360 ''Studio 360'' was an American weekly public radio program about the arts and culture hosted by novelist Kurt Andersen and produced by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) and ''Slate'' in New York City. The program's stated goal was to "Get inside the ...

'', Williams stated he was raised on country music: "Black music didn't start 'til 10 at night until 4 in the morning and I was in bed by then... If you strip my tracks, take away all the horns and guitar licks, what you have is a country song."Jerry Williams, Jr., interview with Kurt Anderson ''Studio 360,'' Natl. Public Radio, WYPR, Baltimore May 9, 2009 However, he also continued to write and produce deep soul songs for other musicians, including

Z. Z. Hill Arzell J. Hill (September 30, 1935 – April 27, 1984),Dahl, Bill. "Z.Z. Hill" Allmusic.com. Retrieved 29 March 2014. known as Z. Z. Hill, was an American blues singer best known for his recordings in the 1970s and early 1980s, including his 1982 ...

and

Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...

. In 1971 in collaboration with co-producer and writer the legendary George Semper he released "Monster Walk Pt. 1 and 2" by the Rhythm 'N' Blues Classical Funk Band on Mankind Records label. Produced for Jerry Williams Productions, Inc.and in spite of modest sales the record once again demonstrated his entrepreneurial skill as an artist. As Swamp Dogg, he was signed by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

for his second album, ''Rat On!'' in 1971. The sleeve showed him on the back of a giant white rat, and has frequently been ranked as one of the worst album covers of all time. Sales were relatively poor, and he joined

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, sev ...

's anti-

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

''Free the Army'' tour. His next albums ''Cuffed, Collared and Tagged'' (1972) and ''Gag a Maggott'' (recorded at the TK Studio in 1973) were released on smaller labels, though his 1974 album, ''Have You Heard This Story??'', was issued by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. In 1977 he had another minor R&B hit with "My Heart Just Can't Stop Dancing", credited to Swamp Dogg & the Riders of the New Funk. He continued to release albums through the 1970s and into the mid-1980s as Swamp Dogg, on various small independent labels and in a variety of styles including

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and country and maintained a healthy cult following. He also set up his own publishing and recording company, Swamp Dogg Entertainment Group (SDEG). In 1999, "Slow Slow Disco" was

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...

on the track "I Got One for Ya", sparking a revival of interest in Swamp Dogg, who began performing live gigs for the first time. Several other of his recordings were sampled, and in 2009 he released two new albums, ''Give Em as Little as You Can...As Often as You Have To...Or...A Tribute to Rock N Roll'', and ''An Awful Christmas and a Lousy New Year''. He also released some further singles, and a compilation album of the best of his work as both Little Jerry Williams and Swamp Dogg, ''It's All Good'', was released in 2009. Most of his early Swamp Dogg albums have also been reissued on CD.

Recent work

Swamp Dogg released a full-length album of new songs in 2014, ''The White Man Made Me Do It,'' which Williams described as being a sort of sequel to ''Total Destruction To Your Mind''. Shortly thereafter, Swamp Dogg teamed up with Ryan Olson from ''

Poliça Poliça (often stylised in all caps) is an American pop band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 2011. The band consists of Channy Leaneagh (vocals, synth), Chris Bierden (bass), Drew Christopherson (drums) and Ben Ivascu (drums), with Ryan ...

'' to produce the tracks for his 2018 album '' Love, Loss & Autotune,''

Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Known for his distinct falsetto voic ...

(aka

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

) fine-tuning the vocal tracks. The song also features instrumentation by Guitar Shorty. The music video for "I'll Pretend" premiered at NPR and was later featured at ''Rolling Stone'', ''Pitchfork'', ''Spin'' and elsewhere. Swamp Dogg described the song as a character study about "a guy sitting in a restaurant by himself losing his fucking mind because he's hoping his woman is gonna walk by, but she's at a Ramada Inn somewhere fucking somebody else to death." In 2020, he released the album ''Sorry You Couldn't Make It'', a

-styled record recorded in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

with producer Ryan Olson and musicians including

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

, and

Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child a ...

. In 2022 he released ''I Need A Job...So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune'' on

Discography

Albums

* '' Total Destruction to Your Mind'' (Canyon, 1970) * ''Rat On!'' (

, 1971) * ''Cuffed, Collared & Tagged'' ( Cream Records, 1972) * ''Gag A Maggott'' (Stone Dogg, 1973) * ''Have You Heard This Story??'' (

, 1974) * ''??? Greatest Hits ??? '' (Stone Dogg, 1976) * ''You Ain't Never Too Old To Boogie'' (

DJM Records DJM Records (also known as Dick James Music) was the British independent record label, set up in the late 1960s by British music publisher Dick James. It was distributed by Pye Records in the UK, and various other companies around the world, ...

, 1976) * ''An Opportunity... Not A Bargain!!!'' (Wizard Records, 1977) * ''Finally Caught Up With Myself'' (

Musicor Records Musicor Records was a New York City-based record label, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The label was founded by songwriter Aaron Schroeder and distributed by United Artists Records. In 1965, UA employee and A&R man Arthur Talmadge (a co-fo ...

, 1977) * ''Doing A Party Tonite'' (Cream Records, 1980) * ''I'm Not Selling Out - I'm Buying In!'' (

Takoma Records Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s.

, 1981) * ''Swamp Dogg'' (Ala, 1982) * ''I Called For A Rope And They Threw Me A Rock'' (SDEG, 1989) * ''Surfin' In Harlem'' (

Volt Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

, 1991) * ''The Re-Invention Of Swamp Dogg'' (SDEG, 2000) * ''If I Ever Kiss It .... He Can Kiss It Goodbye!'' (SDEG, 2002) * ''Resurrection'' (SDEG, 2007) * ''Swamp Dogg Droppin's'' (SDEG, 2008) * ''Give 'em as Little As You Can...As Often As You Have To...or...A Tribute To Rock 'n' Roll'' (

S-Curve Records S-Curve Records was founded in 2000 by former Mercury Records executive Steve Greenberg. It is based in New York City. In 2001 the label established a distribution and licensing agreement with EMI Records. Among the hits released by S-Curve b ...

, 2009) * ''An Awful Christmas and A Lousy New Year'' (SDEG, 2009) * ''The White Man Made Me Do It'' (2014) *''Don't Give Up On Me: The Lost Country Album'' (Essential Media Group, 2014) *''

'' (

, 2018) *''

'' (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2020) *'' I Need A Job...So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune'' (

, 2022)

Compilations

Little Jerry Williams

* ''Little Jerry Williams Anthology (1954-1969), aka Swamp Dogg'' (SDEG, 2000)

Swamp Dogg

*''Best of 25 Years of Swamp Dogg...or F**k the Bomb, Stop the Drugs'' (

Point Blank Records Point Blank Records is a record label subsidiary of Virgin Records. Point Blank Records was founded in 1988 by John Wooler. Wooler served as Deputy Head of A&R at Virgin Records UK from 1984 to 1994 and Senior Vice President of Virgin Reco ...

, 1995) *''The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 1'' (contains albums ''Total Destruction To Your Mind'' and ''Rat On!'') (SDEG, 1996) *''The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 2'' (contains albums ''Cuffed, Collared & Tagged'' and ''Gag A Maggott'') (SDEG, 2001) *''The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 3'' (contains albums ''Have You Heard This Story??'' and ''I Called For A Rope And They Threw Me A Rock'') (SDEG, 2007) *''The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 4'' (contains albums ''??? Greatest Hits ???'' and ''Finally Caught Up With Myself'') (SDEG, 2007) *''The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 5'' (contains albums ''You Ain't Never Too Old To Boogie'' and ''Don't Give Up On Me: The Lost Country Album'') (SDEG, 2007) *''It's All Good: A Singles Collection 1963-1989'' (

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles-based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's singles, ...

, 2011) *''13 Prime Weiners, Everything on It!: Best of Swamp Dogg'' (Essential Media Group, 2014) *''Hits Anthology: Swamp Dogg, a.k.a. Little Jerry Williams'' (Essential Media Group, 2014)

Multiple-artist compilations

* "Southern Soul" on ''Safe In Sound (Home Recordings From Quarantine)'' (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2020)

Chart singles

Little Jerry Williams

* "Baby, You're My Everything" ( Calla Records, 1966, #32 R&B chart)

Swamp Dogg

* "Mama's Baby - Daddy's Maybe" (Canyon, 1970, #33 R&B chart) * "My Heart Just Can't Stop Dancing" (Musicor, 1977, #71 R&B chart)

References

External links

Swamp Dogg
official website
Swamp Dogg
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Swamp Dogg

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel
Jerry Williams discography
o
Soulful Kinda MusicSwamp Dogg interview
on

NAMM The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

Oral History Library (2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Swamp Dogg 1942 births Living people African-American guitarists Songwriters from Virginia Record producers from Virginia Musicians from Portsmouth, Virginia American soul guitarists American male guitarists Alive Naturalsound Records artists Guitarists from Virginia 20th-century American guitarists Joyful Noise Recordings artists 20th-century American male musicians Loma Records artists Elektra Records artists African-American songwriters 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters Don Giovanni Records artists