Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to theAcadiana region of southLouisiana and an adjoining section ofsoutheast Texas. Created in the 1950s by youngCajuns and Creoles, it combinesNew Orleans–stylerhythm and blues,country and western, and traditionalFrench 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 theUnited Kingdom, andNorthern Europe^[1]

The swamp pop sound is typified by highly emotional, lovelorn lyrics, tripletinghonky-tonk pianos, undulating bass lines, bellowing horn sections, and a strong rhythm and blues backbeat. It is exemplified by slow ballads such asCookie and his Cupcakes' "Mathilda" (recorded 1958), considered as the unofficial swamp pop anthem.^[2] But the genre has also produced many upbeat compositions, such asBobby Charles' "See You Later, Alligator" (1955), popularly covered byBill Haley & His Comets.^[3]

During the genre's heyday (1958–1964), several swamp pop songs appeared on national U.S. record charts. These includedJimmy 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), andDale & Grace's "I'm Leaving It Up to You" (1963).^[4]

In swamp pop's south Louisiana–southeast Texas birthplace, fans regarded many songs that never became national hits as classics.^{[citation needed]} These includeJohnnie Allan's "Lonely Days, Lonely Nights" (1958), Buck Rogers' "Crazy Baby" (1959), Randy and the Rockets' "Let's Do the Cajun Twist" (1962), T. K. Hulin's "I'm Not a Fool Anymore" (1963), and Clint West's "Big Blue Diamond" (1965), among numerous others.^[5]

The musicians who went on to birth swamp pop listened to (and often performed) traditionalCajun music and Creole music (which later developed intozydeco) as children, as well as popular country and western (hillbilly) songs by musicians includingBob Wills,Moon Mullican, andHank Williams. However, as with other American youth in the mid-1950s, they discovered the alluring new sounds ofrock and roll andrhythm and blues musicians such asElvis Presley,Little Richard andFats Domino.^[6] As a result, these teenaged Cajuns and Creoles shifted away fromLouisiana French folk compositions including "Jolie Blonde", "Allons a Lafayette", and "Les flammes d'enfer", in favor of singing rock and roll and rhythm and blues compositions in English. At the same time, they switched fromfolk instruments such as theaccordion,fiddle, and iron triangle to modern ones including as theelectric guitar and bass, uprightpiano,saxophone, and drumming trap set.^[7]

By the late 1950s, swamp pop musicians had developed their own distinct sound and repertoires. They performed to receptive crowds in local dancehalls encompassing the Southern Club inOpelousas, Landry's Palladium inLafayette, the OST Club inRayne, and the Green Lantern in Lawtell. In addition, they released recordings on local record labels, such asFloyd Soileau's Jin label ofVille Platte, Eddie Shuler'sGoldband ofLake Charles, Carol Rachou's La Louisianne of Lafayette,Huey P. Meaux's Crazy Cajun label ofHouston, and a number of labels owned by J. D. Miller ofCrowley, Louisiana (who also recorded swamp pop tunes for larger national labels, such as Ernie Young'sExcello Records label ofNashville).^[8]

Swamp pop musicians often adopted Anglo-American stage names that masked their Cajunsurnames. John Allen Guillot, for example, becameJohnnie Allan, Robert Charles Guidry becameBobby Charles, Joe Barrios adoptedJoe Barry, Elwood Dugas became Bobby Page, and Terry Gene DeRouen was billed as Gene Terry.^[9] Some of these musicians changed their names because they were ashamed of their rural French heritage — a feeling shared at the time by a segment of the Cajun population. But economics motivated most swamp pop musicians: They wanted to sell records not only in southern Louisiana and southeast Texas, but beyond, where the pronunciation ofethnic surnames sauch as Guillot, Barrios, and DeRouen eludedrecord promoters,disc jockeys, and consumers.^[10]

Despite its obvious rock and roll and rhythm and blues influences, swamp pop was not devoid of folk characteristics. For example, Bobby Page and the Riff Raffs recorded "Hippy-Ti-Yo", a bilingual rock and roll version of the traditionalCajun French song "Hip et Taiaut" andRod Bernard did the same with "Allons danser Colinda", another folk composition. Joe Barry re-recorded his swamp pop hit "I'm A Fool To Care" in French under the title "Je suis bête pour t'aimer". Randy and the Rockets issued "Let's Do The Cajun Twist", an English remake of the Cajun French favorite "Allons a Lafayette".^[11]

From 1950s to 1960s, swamp pop songs have appeared in theBillboard Top 40. While swamp pop drew heavily onNew Orleans rhythm and blues, it reciprocated by making a detectable impact on songs includingLloyd Price's "Stagger Lee"(number 1, 1959), andClarence "Frogman" Henry's "(I Don't Know Why) But I Do" (number 4, 1961)^[12] (Bobby Charles compositions). Swamp pop also left its imprint on the related but distinct genre known as "swamp blues", includingSlim Harpo's "Rainin' in My Heart".^[13]Bobby Charles released the albumBobby Charles (1972) that included "Small Town Talk".^[14]

Leon Russell, Delaney & Bonnie,Dale Hawkins,Tony Joe White,John Fogerty andCreedence Clearwater Revival were influenced by swamp pop.^[15] Swamp pop's impact on popular music is heard inthe Rolling Stones' cover ofBarbara Lynn's "You'll Lose a Good Thing" and "Oh Baby (We Got A Good Thing Goin')",the Honeydrippers' rendition ofPhil Phillips' "Sea of Love",^[16]Elvis Presley's cover ofLloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy",^[17] and evenThe Beatles' swamp-inspired "Oh! Darling".

Swamp pop influencedTejano music, particularly the recordings ofFreddy Fender's early swampy songs "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights" in 1975. South Louisiana and southeast Texas audiences generally consider Fender a full-fledged swamp pop musician.^[18]

Although swamp pop began a slow decline with the onslaught of the mid-1960sBritish Invasion, the genre continues to draw devoted fans to south Louisiana and southeast Texas festivals and nightclubs. Some younger non-swamp musicians, such as Cajun artistZachary Richard^[19] andC. C. Adcock, have acknowledged a strong swamp pop influence.^[20]

• Swamp blues
• Swamp rock

• Shane K. Bernard,Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1996).
• John Broven,South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous (Gretna, La.: Pelican, 1983).
• Ryan A. Brasseaux & Kevin S. Fontenot,Accordions, Fiddles, Two-Step & Swing: A Cajun Music Reader (Lafayette, La.: Center for Louisiana Studies, 2006).

• Swamp pop music
• Louisiana Creole culture
• Music of Louisiana
• Pop music genres
• American styles of music
• Rhythm and blues genres

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