Down in the Swamps

Move over Rhino, the Best of Excello Swamp Collection you put
out in
1990 has given way to Excello’s own series, and what glorious treasures
it has
unveiled. This cache of regional blues is more than simply another
series of
reissues, however, as it carries with it some of the genetic imprint of
rock
& roll. It’s also the story of how a sound born and nurtured deep
in the
swamps of Louisiana was brought to the world by way of a Tennessee
label.

Producer Jay D. Miller recorded some of the most wicked blues ever
in his
Crowley, Louisiana studio from 1955 into the late Sixties. Between he
and Jerry
West, the two wrote or co-wrote regional and national hits with names
that are
most often associated with Louisiana blues: Slim Harpo, Lightnin’ Slim
(who
would also record for Chess), and Lazy Lester, as well as the lesser
known
Silas Hogan, Whispering Smith, Jimmy Anderson, and Lonesome Sundown.
White men
both, Miller’s ear for a blues hook and West’s composing proficiency
laid the
groundwork for a stable of black musicians that would have tremendous
impact on
performers from the Rolling Stones to Lou Ann Barton. And all this the
result
of a chance meeting at a 1955 record convention leading to an agreement
for
Miller to record Louisiana blues for a blues-based Nashville label run
by a man
named Ernie Young. Young’s two labels, Excello and the gospel-oriented
Nashboro, provided Miller with the distribution opportunity he needed,
and
ultimately gave both commercial success.

The Best of Excello Records and Dark Clouds Rollin’:
Excello Swamp
Blues Classics are appropriate and impressive introductions to the
label’s
lowdown swamp rhythms. Best of… features 30 cuts, including
Slim
Harpo’s “Rainin’ in my Heart” – #1 on Billboard‘s R&B chart
in 1961
– Lightnin’ Slim’s “Bad Luck,” and Lazy Lester’s “I Hear You Knockin’,”
as well
as non-Louisiana acts like Arthur Gunther’s “Baby Let’s Play House”
(which
charted regionally the year before Elvis Presley’s 1956 version), and
the
Gladiolas’ “Little Darlin’,” later a hit for the Diamonds. Dark
Clouds
focuses specifically on Louisiana, highlighting Miller’s body of
work from
1955 through 1966, and ispacked with choice cuts such as Slim
Harpo’s
laconic “I’m A King Bee,” classic swamp pop like Leroy Washington’s
“Wild
Cherry,” and Lightnin’ Slim’s “I’m Evil,” plus Whispering Smith, Silas
Hogan,
Lonesome Sundown, and Jimmy Anderson. The two collections are as
complementary
as they are diverse.

Doubtless, the best known of Excello’s artists is James Moore
aka Slim
Harpo. The Louisiana harp player produced an impressive if limited
repertoire
that continues to be a standard by which South Louisiana blues is
measured.
Hip Shakin’: The Excello Collection is a two-CD compilation of
more than
40 songs recorded over his relatively brief 10-year career (he died in
1970 at
54), including “King Bee” and “Shake Your Hips.” Creating such
standards as
“Baby, Scratch My Back,” “Tip on In,” and “Te Ni Ne Ni Nu,” Moore left
an
indelible stamp of short, gritty blues numbers that continue to delight
listeners.

Lazy Lester’s I Hear You Knockin’: The Excello Singles comes
close to
matching Slim Harpo for defining swamp blues with his own inimitable
harp
style, having recorded the definitive version of Miller’s oft-covered
“Sugar-Coated Love.” Likewise, Silas Hogan’s easy-going, back-porch
blues on
Trouble: The Best of the Excello Masters, and the dark blues
ofLonesome Sundown (Cornelius Green) on I’m a Mojo Man: The Best
of the
Excello Singles put the spotlight on two of the label’s other
artists, as
well as the better known Lightnin’ Slim (Otis Hicks), whose I’m
Evil: Rare
and Unissued Excello Masters, Vol. 1 is as seminal a recording of
largely
unreleased bluesy swamp brilliance as exists.

The music that Excello gave the world from Miller’s Crowley studio
also broke
Southern stereotype with a marriage of black musical talent and white
business
acumen that would predate many of the Stax/Volt, Chess, and Atlantic
Records
sessions. Miller’s sound superseded prejudice, crossing racial barriers
with
the universal language of music. Its heyday nearly 30 years past, these
reissues from Excello Records nonetheless represent Southern Louisiana
blues
that’s still as good as it gets.