From the King to tigress Tina, passing by Waylon Jennings, Chet Atkins, Joe Dassin as well as the unavoidable Hallyday On Ice, without mentioning the chronic grasp of Fogerty, numerous are those that won a fortune thanks to the songs written by the swamp fox, better known as Tony Joe White.
With a rare kindness, simplicity and a modesty, which is almost extinct, Tony Joe White engages in this interview with pleasure and interest. It are often the greatest ones which produce the smallest waves (isn't this true considering the Gary Moore Circus?), proving that a genius can not be measured by the circumference of his ego. A new album, entitled "Lake Placid Blue" is the reason for our meeting in Paris.
What characterises "Lake Placid Blues" when compared to your previous albums?
For me, "Lake Placid Blues", is a far more personal album than all the others. I've devised the album during a period that I was very sick, I had serious hearing problems, and the only thing I could do was play my guitar in my bedroom. It was a very difficult period during which I had to fight to make music. Certain songs, such as Lake Placid Blues, refer directly to the pain and the difficulties that I had to face.
Are you completely cured from these hearing problems?
Almost. The only moment that I still suffer from this problem is when I travel by aeroplane. Sometimes my ears hurt and sometimes I have balancing problems. I caught these problems four years ago, here, in Paris, when I was in the studio with Johnny Hallyday. When I took the plane back home, the condition worsened. Fortunately it's much better nowadays.
Could this problem be linked to the volume of your amplifier?
No, definitely not. For me, the problem was not so much that I couldn't hear properly, but rather to be unable to keep my balance (everyone knows that in mammals, which we are, the internal ear contains an organ for balance. This being said, when Johnny collapses on scene it's not because of his ears, NDR). I had to stop performing on scene for two years, as I could not stand upright. However I could play guitar, seated at my place.
How did you compose the songs of your new album?
I've written a lot while driving my car. I often drive from Memphis to the mountains where I raise some cows and some horses, a trip that takes me four hours. Most of the songs on "Lake Placid Blues" were conceived on that road. When I got home I took my guitar, went for a walk in the woods with some beer in my carrying-bag, lit a small fire and I would harmonise some tunes with the texts that the road had inspired me with.
This implies that you have the melody before the pattern of chord changes?
This is generally so, however it happened to me that I first had several chords in my head, or even just the title of a song and to elaborate from there.
Let's talk about your old Fender finished "Lake Placid Blue"
This story dates from several years' back when I went to a guitar show and I saw this old Strato Fender, for the very first time. It's an original Lake Placid Blue, so-called because of its colour. I wanted to purchase this guitar, but the guy that sold it asked an astronomical amount which I refused to pay. Some years later I had these problems with my ears and when I studied my collection of guitars, I couldn't help but think of that old Lake Placid Blue. So I decided to call that man in Chicago and to ask him if he would still sell that guitar. Actually I was haunted by the idea that this instrument had a song enclosed within. Maybe even more than one, but I was convinced that there was at least one song hidden in there. The man said he still had the instrument, so I send him the money and I received the Lake Placid Blue by post. Immediately I had to play on it and the song Lake Placid Blues came about instantly. My intuition didn't deceive me, and I am convinced that it was the guitar that produced that song. The remaining songs of this album developed consequently, which explains the title of the album. I believe this guitar dates from 1965. There is also a pink model that dates from 1958 with a fret of maple-wood. Mine is equipped with original, old, Fender microphones.
On the new album you sound more like "Mike Knopfler" than ever. But considering the influence you have had on his way of playing and his sound I should perhaps formulate this the other way around (he chuckles softly), have you been influenced by him?
Absolutely, by the way, we are close friends. We see each other very often in London or in Nashville. We grew up under similar circumstances, listening to the same artists Lightning Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, all these blues artists that we were fascinated by and who influenced our ways of playing our guitars. This similarity is due to our common approach to the instrument and I have to admit that Knopfler is a great guitar-player.
Suppose that you and Knopfler are playing the same piece of music at the same time, what would differentiate you?
The difference would be most noticeable in the timbre, especially since he plays on one of his numerous Gibsons. On the other hand he plays mainly with his fingers, using especially his thumb, whereas I usually play with a plectrum. Finally, he changes chords very rapidly whereas I play more slowly. It is funny that you ask me this, as Knopfler made a documentary some two years ago. He came to Franklin in Tennessee, there where I live, and we sat down on my porch with two acoustic guitars and we played for more than an hour. This improvisation has been taped on film for his documentary, but I do not know what happened to the film nor the tapes. Maybe he still has got them in London.
How would you describe your way of playing? "Swampy" (from the swamps, NDR), highly coloured by the blues, very rambling and spontaneous. I never foresee or work on my chords in advance, and I never repeat them twice the same way (laughs).
What characterises the "swamp" style?
For me, the blues, that's Lightning Hopkins or John Lee Hooker, more precisely a fragmented riff in a thrusting rhythm, slow and regular. The swamp, that's the same thing, but played more rapidly, with a beat that is almost funk. It's a matter of rhythm, not of sound, people can dance on swamp.
What instruments did you use for this album?
In each song you will hear the Lake Placid Blue Fender. The guitar is responsible for the first rhythmic part of the song, the part where I sing and my band accompagnies me. I've connected the guitar to an old Super Reverb Black Face Fender amplifier, as well as to a new Fender model, a copy of the Super Reverb, called Blues Deville and this was perfect. I bought the Blues Deville four years ago, actually because I loved the name of this model. But when I heard the sound arising from its body I was flabbergasted. It was precisely the same sound as produced by my old Super Reverb, but newer and with extra force. I've also used my Swamp Box and a Womper Stomper wah-wah pedal. The acoustic guitar pieces were played on a Martin as well as on a small spanish guitar which has the lead party on three or four songs.
How did you learn to play guitar? What was your musical education?
I was raised in Louisiana with five sisters and a brother. The entire family played guitar… except for me. I did not want to play guitar, I prefered base-ball. Each and every day I could hear music at my place and, until I was sixteen, my way of showing that I was different was to have a different activity. We had a farm, and each day, when returning from the fields, the family would gather on the porch and play guitar. One day my brother brought an album of Lightning Hopkins home. I had just turned sixteen, I listened to that album, put my base-ball cap in the cupboard and went to get my father's guitar. I listened mainly to the blues, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and then Elvis came along.
What was your reaction when he recorded, in 1969, a version of your song Polk Salad Annie?
You can imagine my happiness…more than the end of the tunnel, it was almost a blessing as, in those days, I roamed the clubs in Louisiana and in Texas, playing mostly blues but also covering many songs of Elvis. I dressed like him, had the same greasy hairstyle, wore a microphone around my neck, which allowed me to move on scene while playing and I did my best to sing like Elvis…(laughs). I was moving around in my world when, all of a sudden, his producer called me from Las Vegas and asked me to come over to join Elvis on the scene and to record a live version of Polk Salad Annie, and what's more, Elvis welcomed me very warmly, what a luck!
For many people, Elvis is an icon animated by wild rumours, some being crazier than others. You have known him well, how would you describe his personality beyond the myth?
At our place there is this expression "downhome' which perfectly describes Elvis' personality. He was very relaxed, very friendly and he genuinely adored songwriters and musicians. He was always interested in what they had to say. One day he confided to me: "You know, I like Polk Salad Annie so much that it feels as if I've written that song myself…"
Guitare & claviers
July 1995
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