Swamp Pop
| Swamp pop | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1950s; Acadiana region |
| Typical instruments | |
Swamp pop is a musical genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s and early 1960s by teenaged Cajuns, 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, northern Europe, and Japan.
It is not to be confused with "swamp rock" (such as the work of Creedence Clearwater Revival and Tony Joe White), which is a distinct genre that drew more on 1960s rock than on the 1950s rhythm and blues sound that helped to define swamp pop.
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), popularly covered by Bill Haley & His Comets.
During the genre's heyday (1958-1964), several swamp pop songs appeared on national U.S. record charts. These included Jimmy Clanton's "Just A Dream" (1958), Warren Storm's "Prisoner's Song" (1958), Phil Phillips' "Sea Of Love" (1959), Rod Bernard's "This Should Go On Forever" (1959), Joe Barry's "I'm A Fool To Care" (1960), and Dale and Grace's "I'm Leaving It Up To You" (1963).
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