On September 28th, 2018 Music Legend Tony Joe White made his last public performance. Ironically, it was on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time ever. Sadly, it would not only be his last on the Opry and overall his last in life. He died on October 25th, 2018 just short of a month after that Opry debut. And now, on his YouTube channel I found this video for that performance that was pointed out to me. I mean, even Ray Wylie Hubbard bows a knee to ‘Polk Salad Annie” right?
According to the press release for this, it called him “Swamp Rock”? Well, on a broad spectrum I usually call it Bayou Music overall, however many would consider him a pioneer of Red Dirt. Well he is the Swamp Fox and his complete recordings from Monument is one of my favorite albums in my collection. His deep and gritty Southern Blues type sound garnered that Swamp Rock moniker, and that helped introduce him to working with Tina Turner.
It’s kind of like what Billy Strings said in a recent video “What really matters is what your right hand is doing” (for me being a lefty it would mean my left hand). Just sit back and relax and WATCH what Tony Joe does with his pick hand. He is a strumming wizard! That is really what concert videos are for…nerds like me to study their favorite artists.
The main reason I liked him was because of the circle of friends he evolved with from Texas which was nearby for him to often become a part of that history. Guy Clark and Townes and all of those guys from that era that wrote all our beloved hits we have now.
