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) is a talented American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. After 1970, he became known by his stage name, Swamp Dogg. He is famous for his unique blend of country soul and R&B music. Many people consider him a very important and unique artist in American music history.
In the 1950s and 1960s, he recorded music as Little Jerry and Little Jerry Williams. Then, he changed his style and became Swamp Dogg. He started releasing songs that were often funny, unusual, and very creative. He also kept writing and producing music for other artists. His new sound first appeared on his 1970 album, Total Destruction to Your Mind. 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 today. He released Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune in 2018, Sorry You Couldn't Make It in 2020, and I Need a Job...So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune in 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
Swamp Dogg's Life and Music
Early Days and First Songs
Jerry Williams Jr. was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He made his very first recording when he was just 12 years old in 1954. The song was called "HTD Blues." He often played at private parties with his family and other musicians.
In the 1960s, he released several singles. One of his songs, "I'm The Lover Man," almost made it onto the national Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1964. He also wrote successful songs for other singers, like "Big Party" for Barbara and the Browns.
Chart Success and Songwriting
In 1966, Jerry had his first national hit song, "Baby You're My Everything." He helped write and produce this song. It reached number 32 on the R&B chart. He released more songs, 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.
Later, in 1967, Jerry started working for Musicor Records in New York. He helped find new artists and worked on other tasks. In 1968, he co-wrote a hit song called "She's a Heartbreaker" for Gene Pitney.
Jerry also worked as a producer at Atlantic Records with famous producers like Jerry Wexler. He found the office work a bit frustrating. He teamed up with Gary Anderson, also known as Gary U.S. Bonds, to write songs. Together, they wrote 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.
Becoming Swamp Dogg
In 1970, Jerry Williams Jr. decided to create a new musical identity: Swamp Dogg. He explained that he needed a different personality because he was tired of the music business pressures and not getting paid for his songs.
He said that the name "Swamp Music" was used by Jerry Wexler to describe the funky music made by white musicians in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Jerry Williams Jr. was also using these same musicians. He wanted to stop just singing other people's hits and become his own artist. He chose "Dogg" because a dog can do anything, and it's never a surprise. So, recording in Alabama and singing about things he truly cared about led to the name Swamp Dogg.
Swamp Dogg has even joked that he was "the original D-O double G" because he adopted the name before Snoop Dogg was born!
Swamp Dogg's Unique Albums
In 1970, Swamp Dogg released his first album under his new name, Total Destruction to Your Mind. The album cover was very unusual, showing him sitting in his underwear on a pile of trash. This new direction was inspired by the political changes happening at the time and by artists like Frank Zappa, who used humor and satire in their music.
Musically, Swamp Dogg's sound was pure Southern soul, with strong grooves and horn sections. But his music also carried important messages. Even though the album wasn't a big hit at first, it gained a dedicated group of fans and eventually sold enough copies to become a gold record. Music critics have called it a "legendary" album.
Around the same time, a song he 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 number 2 on the country music chart. Swamp Dogg has said that he grew up listening to country music. He explained that if you remove the horns and guitar solos from his songs, you'll find a country song underneath.
Swamp Dogg continued to write and produce soul songs for other artists, including Z. Z. Hill and Irma Thomas.
His second album as Swamp Dogg, Rat On!, was released in 1971. The album cover showed him riding on the back of a giant white rat, and it's often listed as one of the strangest album covers ever! After this album, he joined Jane Fonda's tour against the Vietnam War. He kept releasing albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, exploring different styles like disco and country music. He also started his own music company, Swamp Dogg Entertainment Group (SDEG).
In 1999, a song called "Slow Slow Disco" was used by Kid Rock in his song "I Got One for Ya." This sparked new interest in Swamp Dogg, and he started performing live concerts for the first time. Many of his other songs have also been used by other artists. In 2009, he released two new albums and a collection of his best songs called It's All Good. Many of his older Swamp Dogg albums have also been re-released on CD.
Recent Music
In 2014, Swamp Dogg released a new album called The White Man Made Me Do It. He said it was like a follow-up to his first album, Total Destruction To Your Mind.
Later, he worked with Ryan Olson to create his 2018 album, Love, Loss & Autotune. Justin Vernon (also known as Bon Iver) helped fine-tune the vocals on the album. The music video for his song "I'll Pretend" was shown on NPR and featured in popular music magazines.
In 2020, he released Sorry You Couldn't Make It, which was a country-style album recorded in Nashville. He worked with Ryan Olson again, along with musicians like Justin Vernon, John Prine, and Jenny Lewis.
In 2022, he released I Need a Job...So I Can Buy More Auto-Tune. In 2024, a documentary film about him called Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted was released.
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)
- If I Ever Kiss It .... He Can Kiss It Goodbye! (SDEG, 2002)
- 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
- Best of 25 Years of Swamp Dogg...or ... the Bomb, Stop the ... (Point Blank Records, 1995)
- 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)
- 13 Prime Weiners, Everything on It!: Best of Swamp Dogg (Essential Media Group, 2014)
- Hits Anthology: Swamp Dogg, a.k.a. Little Jerry Williams (Essential Media Group, 2014)
Songs on Other Albums
- "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)
- "My Heart Just Can't Stop Dancing" (Musicor, 1977, #71 R&B chart)
