History
The origins of swamp blues were based around the Louisiana state capital of Baton Rouge and particularly associated with the record producer J. D. "Jay" Miller. In the 1950s Miller realised that many blues artists around the city had not been recorded and rectified this, distributing the results through Excello Records in Nashville, Tennessee. The most successful and influential artist with whom he worked was guitarist and harmonica player Slim Harpo. His tracks included "I'm a King Bee" (1957), "I Got Love If You Want It" (1957) and "Rainin' In My Heart" (1961), which were all hits on the R&B Chart. His biggest hit was a version of "Baby Scratch My Back" which reached the Billboard Top 20 in 1966. Other major artists included Lightnin' Slim, Lazy Lester, Silas Hogan, Lonesome Sundown and piano player Katie Webster. A number of their tracks, particularly those of Slim Harpo, were covered by British Invasion bands, including the Rolling Stones, The Kinks and the Yardbirds. The popularity of the genre faded in the 1970s, with many swamp bluesmen turning to zydeco which remained popular with black audiences.
Read more about this topic: Swamp Blues
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of the genesis or the old mythology repeats itself in the experience of every child. He too is a demon or god thrown into a particular chaos, where he strives ever to lead things from disorder into order.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“... the history of the race, from infancy through its stages of barbarism, heathenism, civilization, and Christianity, is a process of suffering, as the lower principles of humanity are gradually subjected to the higher.”
—Catherine E. Beecher (1800–1878)
“I believe my ardour for invention springs from his loins. I can’t say that the brassiere will ever take as great a place in history as the steamboat, but I did invent it.”
—Caresse Crosby (1892–1970)