TONY JOE WHITE
The early 1990s saw the return to prominence of one of the emergent stars of the early 1970s, Tony Joe White.
Widely known as the "Swamp Fox".
Tony Joe was born in 1943 in Louisiana (hence the swamp exithet), although it is perfectly clear when listening
to his records that his roots are in R&B and to a lesser extent country. He is also a hit songwriter, although it
must be said that his problems in dealing with recordcompany's have somewhat decreased his recorded output - just
one album per year since his debut in 1969 would amount to 25 albums, whereas his total is around a dozen in that
time - and we the listening public, have been the losers.
In 1992, he broke a long recording silence with the release of "Closer To The Truth", his first album in about
ten years. It was a success, of course, and it was clear to all those who heard it that nothing had really
changed, and he was as funky as alway. The good news is that the album you are holding has never previously been
released(?) - a live album, it was recorded back in 1971 during a European tour, and tracks here were taped in
Germany, Belgium and at London's Royal Albert Hall, with a stellar trio of backing musicians.
Probably the most Famous of these is Donald 'Duck' Dunn, whose metronomic bassguitar powered the classic soul/R&B
of Booker T & The MG's, and has more recently provided a solid backbeat behind Eric Clapton. 'Duck" Dunn is a
legend, and so are his two coleagues, although perhaps to a lesser extent. Keyboard player Mike Utley's credits
are unbeatable. Among the classic albums on which he has played are masterpeaces by Duane Allman, Hoyt Axton,
Delany & Bannie, Jackson Browne, Gene Clark, Riat Coolidge and lots more whose names come later in the alphabet,
while Sammy Creason worked with many of those names as well as with Kris Kristofferson. This was a band with a
pedigree, which is perfectly obvious whem you hear them finding a groove behind TJW's funky guitar.
In 1971, when this was recorded, Tony Joe was about to move recordlabels from Monument (effectively the label
arm of a major Nashville musicpublisher, Combine Music) for whom he made his first three albums, to Warner Bros.,
for whom he made his next three. This album includes items which appeared on his first four albums. but more
importantly, three of the songs have never been released on record before (to the best of the undersigned's
belief) - and that is something...
It would be missing the point to judge Tony Joe by his chart record as an artist, but his first two hits are here.
"Polk Slald Annie" was the first, a US Top 10 hit which was later covered by Elvis Presley, who highlighted it in
his show during the 1970s. Tony Joe has assured me that polk salad is not swamp slang for illegal smokeable
substances, so please leave your suspicions at the door with your hat...
Logically enough, that was also on Tony Joe's debut album, "Black & White", as was "Willie and Laura Mae Jones",
the first of many everyday stories of swamp folk written by Tony Joe. His second US hitsingle, "Roosevelt and Ira
Lee" (more everyday folks), all but reached the US Top 40, again in 1969, and was included on his second album,
"...Continued", as was "Rainy Night In Georgia", agruably his best known song - the most notable cover version in
commercial terms was by Brook Benton, who took the song into the US Top 5, selling a million copies along the
way.
By 1971, White had signed a new record deal. His first album for Warner Bros., was titled "Tony Joe White"
(accurate if not inventive), and it included "A Night In The Live Of A Swamp Fox", "My Kind Of Woman" and
"Traveling Banes", and among the musicians who played on it were Sammy Creason and Mike Utley. But what about
"Lustful Earl And The Married Woman", "Mississippi River" and "Back To The Country"? What indeed - you can judge
for yourselves...
Around 1989, Tony Joe was back in the headlines (although he had been continually active since leaving Warner
Bros., recording for Epic and 20th Century), when Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits) recommended one of Tony Joe's
songs to Tina Turner. "Undercover Agent For The Blues" was a big success, and Turner next recorded White's
"Steamy Windows", while Joe Cocker cut his "Out Of The Rain'. At that point, the man who managed both Turner and
Cocker also signed op Tony Joe, resulting in his 1992 hit album, "Closer To The Truth".
Tony Joe White's sound has not changed in nearly 25 years, and this gem of a live album, unaccountably never
before released, will convince the most doubting of Thomases that its previous suppression was a crime.
John Tobler, 1993.
