Bayou Underground : Tracing the Mythical Roots of American Popular Music

"Bayou Underground explores the music of the region through the legends and rumors that created it in the first place. From the House of the Rising Son to the legend of Stagger Lee, from Marie Laveau to the axman who loved hot jazz, Bayou Underground unearths the people and the cultures that have called the bayou home, revisiting their words and lives through the music of so many rock outsiders. Bo Diddley, Nick Cave and Alice Cooper pass through the pages to document past history, or create a new one. It is the world of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jerry Reed and Elvis Presley; it is the music of Dr. John, Joe Satriani and the Oak Grove Swamp Fox"--Page 4 of cover.;Track 1 "Promised Land" Elvis Presley -- Track 2 "Baron Samedi" 10cc -- Track 3 "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" Redbone -- Track 4 "Highway 61 Revisited" Bob Dylan -- Track 5 "Big Bad Moon" Joe Satriani -- Track 6 "Amos Moses" Alex Harvey Band -- Track 7 "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" Dr. John -- Track 8 "Who Do You Love" Juicy Lucy -- Track 9 "Chateau Lafite '59 Boogie" Foghat -- Track 10 "Bad Moon Rising" Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Track 11 "Staggerlee" Prince Buster -- Track 12 "Louisiana 1927" Marcia Ball -- Track 13 "Sneaking Sally through the Alley" Robert Palmer -- Track 14 "The House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals -- Track 15 "The Carny and the Bad Seeds" Nick Cave -- Track 16 "Black Juju" Alice Cooper -- Track 17 "The Ripper" Judas Priest -- Track 18 "Bad Things" -- Epilogue. ?The Bayou is a world of its own a marshy, sometimes treacherous, oft-times sinister land of creeping darkness and living shadows, secret legends and vivid mythology. It is that darkness and those shadows that permeate Bayou Underground, the first study of the Louisiana music scene ever to leave behind the bright lights of big city New Orleans, and plunge instead into the wilderness that not only surrounds the Big Easy, but which stretches for hundreds of miles on either side, from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama. Bayou Underground explores the music of the region from the House of the Rising Sun to gator hunting with Amos Moses (the one-armed Cajun backwoodsman created by country songwriter Jerry Reed) to artists like Bo Diddley, Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, and Creedence Clearwater Revival, who were influenced by unsung heroes of the Bayou. In Bayou Underground, the people and the cultures that have called the bayou home are unearthed through their words and lives, but most of all through the music that has, over the last century, either arisen from the swamplands themselves, or been drawn from fellow visitors to the region, as they seek to set down for posterity the emotions, dreams, and enchantments that the area instilled in them. Part social history, part epic travelogue, and partly a lament for a way of life that has now all but disappeared, Bayou Underground is the gripping story of American musics forgotten childhood, and the parentage it barely even knows about. By comparison, the Big Easy had it easy. Bayou Underground Explores The Music Of The Region Through The Legends And Rumors That Created It In The First Place. From The House Of The Rising Son To The Legend Of Stagger Lee, From Marie Laveau To The Axman Who Loved Hot Jazz, Bayou Underground Unearths The People And The Cultures That Have Called The Bayou Home, Revisiting Their Words And Lives Through The Music Of So Many Rock Outsiders. Bo Diddley, Nick Cave And Alice Cooper Pass Through The Pages To Document Past History, Or Create A New One. It Is The World Of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jerry Reed And Elvis Presley; It Is The Music Of Dr. John, Joe Satriani And The Oak Grove Swamp Fox--cover, P. 4. Promised Land By Elvis Presley -- Baron Samedi By 10cc -- The Witch Queen Of New Orleans By Redbone -- Highway 61 Revisited By Bob Dylan -- Big Bad Moon By Joe Satriani -- Amos Moses By The Sensational Alex Harvey Band -- I Walk On Gilded Splinters By Dr. John -- Who Do You Love By Juicy Lucy -- Chateau Lafite '59 Boogie By Foghat -- Bad Moon Rising By Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Staggerlee By Prince Buster -- Louisiana 1927 By Marcia Ball -- Sneaking Sally Through The Alley By Robert Palmer -- The House Of The Rising Sun By The Animals -- The Carny By Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds -- Black Juju By Alice Cooper -- The Ripper By Judas Priest -- Bad Things By Jace Everett. Dave Thompson. Includes Bibliographical References: P. [245]-247. A veteran music journalist explores rock-n-roll's bayou roots in “a jolting 18-track joy ride [that] unlocks secrets and back-stories worth savoring” (The Wall Street Journal). The bayou of the American south—stretching from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama—is a world all its own, with a rich cultural heritage that has had an outsized influence on musicians across the globe. In this unique study of marsh music, Dave Thompson goes beyond the storied stomping grounds of New Orleans to discover secret legends and vivid mythology in the surrounding wilderness. In Bayou Underground, the people who have called the bayou home—such as Bob Dylan, Jerry Reed, Nick Cave, Bo Didley, a one-armed Cajun backwoodsman, and gator hunter named Amos Moses—are unearthed through their own words, their lives and music, and interviews with residents from the region. Included interviews with legendary musicians like Jerry Reed and Bo Didley, Bayou Underground is part travelogue, part social history, and part lament for a way of life that has now all but disappeared. Permeating the shadows and the darkness of the bayou—a world all its own that stretches from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama—this study of marsh music leaves New Orleans to discover secret legends and vivid mythology in the surrounding wilderness. The people and the cultures that have called the bayou home—such as Bob Dylan, Jerry Reed, Nick Cave, Bo Didley, and a one-armed Cajun backwoodsman and gator hunter named Amos Moses—are unearthed not only through their own words and lives but also through a study of their music and interviews with visitors to and residents from the region. The interviews with Jerry Reed and Bo Didley, who both died in 2008, are among the last, emphasizing the book’s importance as a piece of cultural preservation. Part social history, part epic travelogue, and partly a lament for a way of life that has now all but disappeared, this is the gripping story of American music’s forgotten childhood—and the parentage it barely even knows. "Bayou Underground explores the music of the region through the legends and rumors that created it in the first place. From the House of the Rising Sun to the legend of Stagger Lee, from Marie Laveau to the axman who loved hot jazz, Bayou Underground unearths the people and the cultures that have called the bayou home, revisiting their words and lives through the music of so many rock outsiders. Bo Diddley, Nick Cave and Alice Cooper pass through the pages to document past history, or create a new one. It is the world of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jerry Reed and Elvis Presley; it is the music of Dr. John, Joe Satriani and the Oak Grove Swamp Fox"--Page 4 of cover Copyright......Page 5 Table of Contents......Page 8 Introduction......Page 10 Track 1......Page 20 Track 2......Page 36 Track 3......Page 46 Track 4......Page 58 Track 5......Page 72 Track 6......Page 84 Track 7......Page 100 Track 8......Page 116 Track 9......Page 126 Track 10......Page 134 Track 11......Page 144 Track 12......Page 158 Track 13......Page 174 Track 14......Page 194 Track 15......Page 202 Track 16......Page 214 Track 17......Page 222 Track 18......Page 232 Epilogue......Page 248 Acknowledgements......Page 253 Bibliography......Page 254 Back Cover......Page 257