As I pointed out earlier, I've been on a bit of a musical journey the last year or two, mainly triggered by P2P and getting a couple of mp3 players. Ignoring taste and popularity, I just listen to stuff I like or find interesting.
I'm certainly not alone in having enjoyed the Country Got Soul series, standouts for me including Larry Jon Wilson's wonderful Sheldon Churchyard and Sapele, Razzy's I Hate Hate and Tony Joe White's songs, particularly "Did Somebody Make A Fool Out Of You?".
Beyond what's on these albums, I've found nothing else by Larry Jon Wilson so far.
Tony Joe White, one the other hand, has been immensely productive: "Tony Joe White, aka the Swamp Fox, has been on a roll these past few years, issuing album after self-released album of quality original material full of deep, dark, blues-flavored Florida vintage roots music." (allmusic.com)
Just like that - dark, bluesy, swampy and great, at times skirting self-parody ("I Want My Fleetwood Back," "Old Man Willies," "High Sheriff") but always redeemed by its sheer quality and coolness.
His back catalog is huge, and the vast majority are eminently listenable. He has a wonderful laid back vocal delivery and guitar style, which may remind you a little of early JJ Cale. If don't know him at all, you may remember his early 70's hit, "Polk Salad Annie". You may even remember Jim Stafford's seventies parodies of White's style (especially "Swamp Witch", but also "Wildwood Weed" and "Spiders and Snakes").
He wrote "Rainy Night in Georgia", which has charted for Brook Benton and Hank Williams Jr, but his original version of the song remains for me the best. In the early seventies, Elvis charted with two of his songs - "For Ol' Times Sake" and "I've Got a Thing About You Baby". He also wrote Dusty Springfield's hit "Willie and Laura Mae Jones", and contributed four songs to Tina Turner's 1989 album Foreign Affairs. Along the way he's recorded with Ray Charles, Isaac Hayes, Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr. and many other RnB and country stars.
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