Tony Joe White

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Tony Joe White at the San Sebastian Jazz Festival (2005)

Tony Joe White (born July 23, 1943 in Oak Grove , Louisiana - † October 24, 2018 in Leiper's Fork , Tennessee ) was an American guitarist and singer and was considered a typical representative of Swamp Rock .

Life

White was the youngest of seven siblings who grew up on a cotton plantation 20 miles from the nearest town of Oak Grove, Louisiana . He made his first solo appearances at dance events at local high schools . Then he toured with drummer through Texas and Louisiana, where she played in nightclubs.

White's first bands were called Tony & The Mojos and Tony & The Twilights, respectively . When there was no lasting success, he started a solo career. One day he heard the song Ode to Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry , a number one hit from 1967 and a combination of tragic content and realistic description of everyday southern life. White found this song to be the truest song he had ever heard and decided to write something authentic from his homeland, from the life he knew. Polk Salad Annie and Rainy Night were created in Georgia that same year .

In the summer of 1968 he first became popular in France with his title Soul Francisco . The Polk Salad Annie , recorded at the same time, gradually became a worldwide hit in 1969, which was covered by Elvis Presley . Ray Charles , Brook Benton and Billy Lee Riley recorded Rainy Night in Georgia . The first three albums are characterized by great atmospheric density. They are stylistically close to the classic soul of the 1960s as well as to rock groups like Creedence Clearwater Revival and were then considered swamp rock, which paved the way for southern rock of the 1970s. The three LPs on Monument Records have long been considered collector's items.

In the 1970s and 1980s he had no success and concentrated on writing songs. Tina Turner covered four tracks from his pen on her 1989 album Foreign Affair : Undercover Agent of the Blues , You Know Who , Steamy Windows and the title track Foreign Affair . Steamy Windows made it into various charts as a single and was covered by John Anderson and Kenny Chesney .

His television appearances on the show Ohne Filter in Germany at the beginning of 1992 and in 2014 together with the Foo Fighters on David Letterman made him known to a younger audience.

He died of heart failure on October 24, 2018 at his home in Leiper's Fork, near Nashville .

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK US US
1969 Black and White - US51 (16 weeks)
US
First published: 1969
... Continued - US183 (3 weeks)
US
First published: 1969
1970 Tony Joe UK63 (1 week)
UK 		-
First published: 1970
1971 Tony Joe White - US167 (4 weeks)
US
First published: 1971

more publishments

  • 1972: The Train I'm On
  • 1973: Home Made Ice Cream
  • 1976: Eyes
  • 1977: Tony Joe White
  • 1980: Real Thang
  • 1983: Dangerous
  • 1991: Closer to the Truth
  • 1993: The Path of a Decent Grove
  • 1995: Lake Placid Blues
  • 1997: Collection
  • 1998: One Hot July
  • 2001: The Beginning
  • 2003: Snakey
  • 2004: The Heroines
  • 2006: Uncovered
  • 2008: Deep Cuts
  • 2010: The Shine
  • 2012: Collected
  • 2013: Hoodoo
  • 2016: Rain Crow
  • 2016: Tony Joe White Live & Kickin '
  • 2018: Bad Mouthin '

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK US US
1969 Polk Salad Annie
Black and White 		- US8 (12 weeks)
US
First published: June 1969
Roosevelt and Ira Lee
... Continued 		- US44 (7 weeks)
US
First published: October 1969
1970 Groupie girl
Tony Joe 		UK22 (10 weeks)
UK 		-
First published: May 1970
Save Your Sugar for Me
Tony Joe 		- US94 (2 weeks)
US
First published: July 1970
1980 I Get Off on It
The Real Thang 		- US79 (5 weeks)
US
First published: June 1980

More singles

  • 1991: Good In Blues

Web links

Commons : Tony Joe White  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Stephen L. Betts: Swamp Rock Icon Tony Joe White Dead at 75. In: rollingstone.com . October 25, 2018, accessed October 25, 2018 .
  2. ^ A b c Johannes Waechter, Tony Joe White: Interview with Tony Joe White: "The blues has changed my life". In: Süddeutsche Zeitung> SZ-Diskothek. Süddeutsche Zeitung mbH, November 18, 2013, accessed on July 28, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b Chart sources: UK US
personal data
SURNAME White, Tony Joe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American guitarist and singer
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Oak Grove , Louisiana , United States
DATE OF DEATH October 24, 2018
Place of death Leiper's Fork (Tennessee) , Tennessee , United States