The legendary Swamp Dogg returns to Songcraft after more than a decade to talk about, well, whatever he wants. And we're here for it! PART ONE Paul and Scott contemplate their second visit with Swamp DoggPART TWO Our in-depth interview with the original D-O-double G! ABOUT SWAMP DOGG R&B cult favorite Jerry “Swamp Dogg” Williams is best known as the co-writer, with Gary U.S. Bonds, of the cross-genre classic, “She’s All I Got,” which became a Top 10 R&B single for Freddie North and a #2 country hit for Johnny Paycheck in 1971. Williams’ career began in 1954 when, at the age of 12, he made his first record, “HTD Blues.” He found success in the 1960s, recording the Top 40 R&B hit “Baby You’re My Everything” under the name Little Jerry Williams, and writing songs for other artists, including Gene Pitney’s Top 20 Pop single, “She’s a Heartbreaker.” He became Atlantic Records’ first African American staff producer in 1968 but left the following year to pursue independent projects in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and Macon, Georgia. By the 1970s Swamp was an in-demand producer and songwriter, penning Top 40 R&B hits for Doris Duke, Arthur Conley, and Dee Dee Warwick. Around the same time, he reinvented himself as Swamp Dogg, releasing a series of eccentric soul albums with lyrics marked by frank sexuality, biting satire, radical politics, and provocative social observations. His debut LP, Total Destruction to Your Mind, was eventually certified Gold, while subsequent releases, including Gag a Maggott, I’m Not Selling Out – I’m Buying In, An Awful Christmas and a Lousy New Year, and The White Man Made Me Do It garnered considerable accolades among underground music lovers and earned Swamp what one journalist described as “a cultural niche somewhere between Rudy Ray Moore and Frank Zappa.” In recent years, his vast catalog has been sampled by Kid Rock, Talib Kweli, DMX, and others. Having just turned 84, Swamp shows no signs of slowing down. Since we last spoke with him in 2015, he has released five albums, including a bluegrass-inspired project called Blackgrass and his most recent release, Swamp Dogg Contemplates the Afterlife. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
