Music so funky it can gag a maggot.

December 13, 2006 4:22 PM

Swamp Dogg (born Jerry Williams, Jr.), is one of the deepest of the deep soul singers. Described as “Wilson Pickett meets Frank Zappa in a bad mood,” and known for his dubious album covers, his association with the anti-Vietnam movement (allegedly) put him on Nixon’s enemies list. Swamp wrote or co-wrote hits for Gene Pitney, Johnny Paycheck, and a host of others. You might have heard his music in samples on tracks by Talib Kweli [mp3] and the Jurassic 5 [.wmv]. Long out of print, his 1970s albums are now available on CD.
posted by joseph_elmhurst (6 comments total)

I couldn't find any hard evidence regarding the Nixon claim, but Swamp's made that assertion in almost every bio/interview I've read. Hence, the "allegedly."
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 4:28 PM on December 13, 2006

Nice post, joseph. Thanks!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:54 PM on December 13, 2006

Damn, it must be almost thirty years since I last heard 'If you ask me' by Jerry Williams Jr.

Thanks for the memories, joseph.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:12 PM on December 13, 2006

Swamp Dogg was great. Thanks for the post.
posted by languagehat at 5:32 AM on December 14, 2006

Swamp Dogg is one of the true individuals in the music business. His cover of "Sam Stone" is excellent, as is his duet with Esther Phillips "The Love We Got Ain't Worth Two Dead Flies" and his "Apelle Moi Noir" (my kingdom for an mp3) is one of the best dissections of racism ever and manages to be funny and funky to boot.
posted by jonmc at 6:57 AM on December 14, 2006

When I ordered the two CDs linked above, I got a promo photo in the package with the phrase, "Thanks for the order, Joseph, I NEED you! -Swamp Dogg." It made my year (and almost made up for the fact that, with the exception of Rat On!, Swamp Dogg LPs are next-to-impossible to find for reasonable prices).

The consistently great Ace Records has released a twofer of Dogg-produced albums by ZZ Hill and Freddie North. I've not heard the Freddie North LP, but the ZZ Hill record features an awesome version of "The Chokin' Kind" that's worth the price of admission.
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 8:51 AM on December 14, 2006