Swamp Fox Tony Joe White passes into eternity

Warren Nunn

(Updated 4 Nov 2018 with links to tributes. Scroll to bottom of article)

It’s a hot October morning in Brisbane. I open my email program to a message that Tony Joe White has died at 75.

It’s only a handful of weeks since I received in the mail a copy of his final album Bad Mouthin’.

I can recall back in high school in the late 1960s when I first heard the song Rainy Night in Georgia.  It immediately resonated with me. I was taken in, captured by the words and music.

For me, as a child, I really did think that when it rained, it rained all over the world.

From that time, I was hooked on listening to Tony Joe White. Of course, Polk Salad Annie, became a favourite.

Perhaps it’s something to do with those things that influence you when you’re young, but of all the music and musicians I’ve listened to since my teenage years, Tony Joe White stands alone.

The Swamp Fox at Byron Bay Bluesfest

About 30 years after I first started listening to Tony Joe, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing him at the Byron Bay Bluesfest in 1999.

His music suggests a simple, uncomplicated individual and that’s exactly who he was.

Tony Joe spoke often about his love of nature and how he gained inspiration by spending time in the outdoors, around a fire, with guitar in hand.

He saw himself as a receiving station for the words and music that would become known as Swamp Rock/Swamp Music.

He told me back in 1997  in a previous interview, there was a spiritual side to his music making. “On account of God lets me do this and it reaches people in different ways. It’s not because of me. I don’t know where they come from, they just pop out.”

Swamp Fox’s swamp music defies description

While Tony Joe could have been described as a bluesman, his music really didn’t fit into any genre which is probably why Swamp Music may become the genre that he established.

Blues, country, roots, soul; even rock. These are some of the descriptions that have been thrown around. To me, I just listened and appreciated the performer for who he was. I didn’t always warm to every song but so much of it was about life, people and emotions.

More than that the Swamp Fox evoked the swamp; the murky unknowns of America’s Deep South where ‘gators lurk and the mythical troll prowls.

That appeals as much to me today as it did half a century ago.

Perhaps it’s obligatory to dissect elements of an artist’s work; and I could write hundreds of words on that.

However, I’ll focus on one tune only, a little country-style ballad called Five Summers For Jimmy.

It’s about a girl who’s waited patiently for her love Jimmy to return from war.

Tony Joe sets the scene of a woman doing life, thinking of her man and almost absent-mindedly readying herself for his return. She had no prior knowledge but she got ready, washed her hair, put on her favourite dress … and waited.

It builds as it tugs on the emotions and bursts into an understated, sweet scene where the Swamp Fox sings: “Although he was walking slowly with a slight limp, she could tell that it was Jimmy and he was home.”

That still grabs my emotions and as I write this I am shedding tears for Tony Joe.

And the Swamp Fox should have the final say with Let The Healing Begin.

Other articles I’ve written on Tony Joe:

• The Swamp Fox
• Dealing with Roy and H.G.

 

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Memorial details: 

Tony Joe White, age 75 of Leiper’s Fork Community passed away October 25, 2018 at his residence. With a prolific recording and performing career spanning more than 50 years, his songs traversed many genres, including blues, rock, country, R&B, and Americana, which is an incredible testament to his versatility as well as to his roots. A one-of-a-kind songwriter, his songs were covered by Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Joe Cocker, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Ray Charles, and countless others. His newest album, Bad Mouthin’, was released in September 2018. His breakthrough hit was ”Polk Salad Annie” in 1967 and the classic ”A Rainy Night in Georgia” has been recorded by hundreds of artists. Preceded in death by parents, Charles and Virgie Andrews White; brother, Charles White; sisters, Sadie Mae Fleming, Billie Johnson and Wadine Phadelia White; grandson, Joe-Dodd White and close nephew, Don Wesley Johnson. Survived by wife of 54 years, Leann White; children, Jim Bob (Rhonda) White of Fox, AR, Michelle White of Los Angeles, CA and Jody (Meg) White of Nashville, TN; grandchildren, Brody (Gayla) White, Josephine Fite, Miles White and Marjorie White; great grandchildren, Breella Jo White and Augustus White; sisters, Shirley Strange of Mer Rouge, LA and Freida Hinesley of Lavergne, TN; faithful personal assistant Kristin Tschida of Thompson Station, TN and other loving family members and devoted fans. A Celebration of Life Service for family and friends will be held on October 31st, 2018 in Nashville, TN. A private family burial was held in Polk Salad Valley Ranch in Arkansas. Memorials may be made to Tony Joe White Songwriting Foundation, P.O. Box 1292, Franklin, TN. 37065. WILLIAMSON MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME, 615 794-2289. www.williamsonmemorial.com