Representative Albums: "Total Destruction to Your Mind/Rat On!," "The Best of 25 Years of Swamp Dogg," "Total Destruction to Your Mind"
Representative Songs: "Remember I Said Tomorrow," "In My Resume," "Total Destruction to Your Min"
Biography
One of the great characters in rock and soul music is Jerry Williams, better known as the eccentric, idiosyncratic, and always entertaining Swamp Dogg (no relation to Snoop Doggy Dogg). A Virginia native, Williams invented his own legend by claiming that he had little proper schooling, only to wake up one day and find himself a musical genius (his words). Actually, Williams is very talented, and an early association with Jerry Wexler and Phil Walden led to him working for a number of years as a producer, engineer, and occasional songwriter with Atlantic in the '60s. At decade's end, however, he decided that the time was right to unleash Swamp Dogg's singular view of the world on an unsuspecting public. The initial result was one of the most gloriously gonzo soul recordings of all time, Total Destruction to Your Mind. Along with living up to its title, it was a renegade chunk of not-quite-commercial music, with an unforgettable (though fuzzy) cover shot of the portly Dogg in his underwear. Although undeniably great, Total Destruction to Your Mind is one of the most obscure soul records ever made. That, however, has nothing to do with the music, which rocks in a way reminiscent of Solomon Burke or Wilson Pickett. The album's charm may have to do with Dogg's world view: part libertarian politics; part Zappa-style critiques of commerciality and capitalism; and part horny male, the latter defining for better and worse his view of women. Although he spent years working in the industry, Dogg was simply not the standard-issue soul type. And that was good. Dogg continued to make records, albeit infrequently, after 1969, some good, a few great, and most all extremely difficult to find. With contemporary soul sounding increasingly mannered and sterile, Dogg's yelling, screaming, and general craziness is missed. Thankfully, he hasn't disappeared for good, although he only makes records when he feels like it. His release, Surfin' In Harlem, came out in 1991. And as is often the case with quirky "legends," what he's up to at any given time is the source of wild speculation. It would be wise to not count him out; just when you think this Dogg is down and out, he sneaks up and bites you. ~ John Dougan, All Music Guide
Jerry Williams, Jr., (born 14 July1942), is a soul music artist who is better known by his pseudonym Swamp Dogg.
Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Williams made his first recording in 1954 under the moniker "Little Jerry", a 78 rpm single on the Mechanic label titled "HTD Blues" / "Nats Wailing". In 1963 he began using the moniker "Little Jerry Williams", recording with Loma Records, and by 1966 he had dropped the "Little" to record as Jerry Williams.
In 1970 he took on the persona of "Swamp Dogg" and released his first LP record, Total Destruction to Your Mind. The cover of his 1971 album, Rat On!, featuring Williams on the back of an oversized white rat, was ranked as one of the most awesome album covers of all time.[1] Moving from one record label to another during the next 26 years of his recording career, he finally settled on his own record label S.D.E.G. Records [Swamp Dogg Entertainment Group]. His latest recording is titled Give Em As Little As You Can...As Often As You Have To...or...A Tribute To Rock 'n' Roll (2009), although he is rumored to be working on new material, including a collaboration with the author Ben Greenman.
Williams is also a noted songwriter and record producer. In an interview on NPR's Studio 360, Williams stated he was raised on country music: "Black music didn't start 'til 10 at night until 4 in the morning and I was in bed by then.. . . If you strip my tracks, take away all the horns and guitar licks, what you have is a country song." [2] Williams also produces country music and has been nominated for a Grammy, along with Gary US Bonds, for writing the Johnny Paycheck record "She's All I Got". Other artists he has worked with include Doris Duke, Irma Thomas, Z. Z. Hill, Dee Dee Warwick, Pily Nieblas -a Cuban born pop artist- and Arthur Conley.
References
^ Nick DiFonzo, The WORST album covers in the world...EVER!. London, UK; New Holland Publishers, 2004 (at p. 76). The album cover may be viewed here; www.bizarrerecords.com.
^ Jerry Williams, Jr., interview with Kurt Anderson Studio 360, Natl. Public Radio, WYPR, Baltimore 9 May 2009
