Swamp Dogg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Swamp Dogg
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Jerry Williams Jr.
12 July 1942 Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S.
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| Years active | 1954–present |
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| Labels | Sunglasses, Oh Boy Records |
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Jerry Williams Jr. (born July 12, 1942), known as Swamp Dogg since 1970, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is famous for his unique style, blending country soul and R&B music. Many people consider him a very special and important artist in 20th-century American music.
Before becoming Swamp Dogg, he recorded music as Little Jerry and Little Jerry Williams in the 1950s and 1960s. He then changed his musical style, creating songs that were often funny, unusual, and very original. He also continued to write and produce music for other artists. His new sound was first heard on his album Total Destruction to Your Mind in 1970. In the 1980s, he helped develop the group World Class Wreckin' Cru, which included famous artists like Dr. Dre. Swamp Dogg continues to make music, releasing albums like Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune (2018), Sorry You Couldn't Make It (2020), and I Need a Job...So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune (2022). In 2024, he released Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St on Oh Boy, a record label started by the late John Prine.
Contents
About Jerry Williams Jr.
Early Life and Music Career
Jerry Williams Jr. was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He made his first recording, "HTD Blues," in 1954 when he was just 12 years old. He often played music at private parties.
From 1960, he released several singles on different record labels. One of his songs, "I'm The Lover Man," released in 1964, almost made it onto the national Billboard Hot 100 chart. He also wrote successful songs for other musicians, like "Big Party" for Barbara and the Browns.
As Little Jerry Williams, he had his first national hit in 1966 with "Baby You're My Everything." He co-wrote and produced this song, which reached #32 on the R&B chart. He released more singles, but they didn't become big hits. However, some of his songs, like "If You Ask Me (Because I Love You)," later became popular in the Northern Soul music scene in the UK.
In late 1967, he started working for the Musicor label in New York, helping with artist development. In 1968, he co-wrote Gene Pitney's hit song, "She's a Heartbreaker."
Later in 1968, Williams began working as a producer at Atlantic Records. He worked with artists like Patti LaBelle & the Blue Belles. He also started writing songs with Gary Anderson, known as Gary U.S. Bonds. Together, they wrote R&B hits like "To the Other Woman (I'm the Other Woman)" for Doris Duke and "She Didn't Know (She Kept on Talking)" for Dee Dee Warwick. He also released two singles under his own name on the Cotillion label.
Becoming Swamp Dogg
Jerry Williams Jr. decided to become Swamp Dogg in 1970. He wanted a new identity because he felt frustrated with the music industry and wasn't getting paid fairly for his earlier work. He explained that the name "Swamp Music" was used by producer Jerry Wexler to describe the unique funk sound coming from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Williams was also using these same musicians.
He chose the name "Dogg" because he felt a dog could do anything and always stay true to itself. He wanted to sing about many different topics without being limited by the music industry. As Swamp Dogg, he sang about love, war, peace, politics, and revolution. Recording in Alabama and singing about things he truly cared about led to the name Swamp Dogg. He has even said he was "the original D-O double G," long before Snoop Dogg was born.
In 1970, Swamp Dogg released two singles, "Mama's Baby, Daddy's Maybe" and "Synthetic World." He also produced his first album as Swamp Dogg, Total Destruction to Your Mind. The album cover was very unusual, showing Williams sitting in his underwear on a pile of trash. His new musical direction was inspired by the political changes of the time and by artists like Frank Zappa, who used humor and satire in their music.
Total Destruction to Your Mind was not a big commercial success at first. However, it slowly gained a dedicated group of fans and eventually sold enough copies to be recognized as a gold record. Music critics have called it a "legendary" album. It was re-released in 2013.
Around the same time, a song Williams co-wrote, "She's All I Got," became a top-ten R&B hit for Freddie North. It was even more successful when country star Johnny Paycheck recorded it, reaching #2 on the country music chart in 1971. Williams has said that he grew up listening to country music. He continued to write and produce soul songs for other musicians, including Z. Z. Hill and Irma Thomas.
As Swamp Dogg, he signed with Elektra Records for his second album, Rat On! in 1971. The album cover was also very strange, showing him riding on the back of a giant white rat. This cover is often listed as one of the worst album covers ever. After poor sales, he joined Jane Fonda's anti-Vietnam War tour.
His next albums, Cuffed, Collared and Tagged (1972) and Gag a Maggott (1973), were released on smaller labels. His 1974 album, Have You Heard This Story??, was released by Island Records. In 1977, he had another small R&B hit with "My Heart Just Can't Stop Dancing." He continued to release albums throughout the 1970s and into the mid-1980s, exploring different styles like disco and country music. He also started his own music company, Swamp Dogg Entertainment Group (SDEG).
In 1999, the song "Slow Slow Disco" was used in a song by Kid Rock, which brought new attention to Swamp Dogg. He then started performing live concerts for the first time. Many of his other recordings were also used by other artists. In 2009, he released two new albums, Give Em as Little as You Can...As Often as You Have To...Or...A Tribute to Rock N Roll, and An Awful Christmas and a Lousy New Year. A collection of his best songs, It's All Good, was also released in 2009. Most of his early Swamp Dogg albums have been re-released on CD.
Recent Music Projects
In 2014, Swamp Dogg released a new album called The White Man Made Me Do It. He described it as a follow-up to his first album, Total Destruction To Your Mind.
Later, Swamp Dogg worked with Ryan Olson to produce songs for his 2018 album, Love, Loss & Autotune. Justin Vernon (from Bon Iver) helped fine-tune the vocals. The music video for his song "I'll Pretend" was shown on NPR and featured in magazines like Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.
In 2020, he released the album Sorry You Couldn't Make It. This was a country-style record made in Nashville with producer Ryan Olson and musicians like Justin Vernon, John Prine, and Jenny Lewis.
In 2022, he released I Need a Job...So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune on Don Giovanni Records.
In 2024, a documentary film about him called Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted was released.
Discography
Albums
- Total Destruction to Your Mind (Canyon, 1970)
- Rat On! (Elektra Records, 1971)
- Cuffed, Collared & Tagged (Cream Records, 1972)
- Gag a Maggott (Stone Dogg, 1973)
- Have You Heard This Story?? (Island Records, 1974)
- ??? Greatest Hits ??? (Stone Dogg, 1976)
- You Ain't Never Too Old to Boogie (DJM Records, 1976)
- An Opportunity... Not a Bargain!!! (Wizard Records, 1977)
- Finally Caught Up with Myself (Musicor Records, 1977)
- Doing a Party Tonite (Cream Records, 1980)
- I'm Not Selling Out - I'm Buying In! (Takoma Records, 1981)
- Swamp Dogg (Ala, 1982)
- I Called for a Rope And They Threw Me a Rock (SDEG, 1989)
- Surfin' in Harlem (Volt Records, 1991)
- The Re-Invention of Swamp Dogg (SDEG, 2000)
- Resurrection (SDEG, 2007)
- Swamp Dogg Droppin's (SDEG, 2008)
- Give 'em as Little as You Can...As Often as You Have To...or...A Tribute to Rock 'n' Roll (S-Curve Records, 2009)
- An Awful Christmas and a Lousy New Year (SDEG, 2009)
- The White Man Made Me Do It (2014)
- Don't Give Up on Me: The Lost Country Album (Essential Media Group, 2014)
- Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2018)
- Sorry You Couldn't Make It (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2020)
- I Need a Job...So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune (Don Giovanni Records, 2022)
- Blackgrass: From West Virginia to 125th St (Oh Boy Records, 2024)
Compilations
Little Jerry Williams
- Little Jerry Williams Anthology (1954-1969), aka Swamp Dogg (SDEG, 2000)
Swamp Dogg
- The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 1 (contains albums Total Destruction To Your Mind and Rat On!) (SDEG, 1996)
- The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 2 (contains albums Cuffed, Collared & Tagged and Gag A Maggott) (SDEG, 2001)
- The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 3 (contains albums Have You Heard This Story?? and I Called For A Rope And They Threw Me A Rock) (SDEG, 2007)
- The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 4 (contains albums ??? Greatest Hits ??? and Finally Caught Up With Myself) (SDEG, 2007)
- The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 5 (contains albums You Ain't Never Too Old To Boogie and Don't Give Up On Me: The Lost Country Album) (SDEG, 2007)
- It's All Good: A Singles Collection 1963-1989 (Kent Records, 2011)
- Hits Anthology: Swamp Dogg, a.k.a. Little Jerry Williams (Essential Media Group, 2014)
Multiple-artist compilations
- "Southern Soul" on Safe In Sound (Home Recordings From Quarantine) (Joyful Noise Recordings, 2020)
Chart Singles
Little Jerry Williams
- "Baby, You're My Everything" (Calla Records, 1966, #32 R&B chart)
Swamp Dogg
- "Mama's Baby - Daddy's Maybe" (Canyon, 1970, #33 R&B chart, #113 Pop)
- "My Heart Just Can't Stop Dancing" (Musicor, 1977, #71 R&B chart)
Images for kids
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Swamp Dogg in 2018
