Tony Joe White, country bluesman and songwriter, dies at age 75



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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Tony Joe White, the successful country bluesman and songwriter such as "Polk Salad Annie" and "Rainy Night in Georgia", has passed away. He was 75 years old.

Music group Yep Roc Music Group announced Thursday that his family was confirmed by the death of rocker Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. The label contained no details of his cause of death.

WTVF, affiliated with CBS Nashville, said that family members had stated that he was not sick and that his death had been a shock to them and to the music community.

Yep Roc released his latest album in September titled "Bad Mouthin", a collection of blues classics.

White, a native of Louisiana, had a hit in 1969 with "Polk Salad Annie" and her songs were picked by Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Junior, Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Waylon Jennings and many others.

During his five decades as a singer-songwriter, White is best known for his swamp rock-blues, country and rock 'n roll style, which earned him the nickname Swamp Fox, especially with his foreign fans. With her deep, booming voice, her southern greens song was not an immediate success, but several months after its release, she finally became a pop hit.

White told the Associated Press in 2006 that in the late 1960s, many people thought that he was singing something else.

"At the time, people thought that Polk salad was grass," White said. "They brought me grass bags backstage and said:" Hey, we brought you some polk. "

Presley often covered the song in the 1970s and interpreted it with delight, waving his arms above his head and dancing throughout the song. He will later record other songs from White, including "I have one thing about you baby".

Raised on a cotton farm in Goodwill, Louisiana, about 20 miles west of the Mississippi, he was enthralled by the hypnotic sound of Lightnin & # 39; Hopkins and often cited the song "Ode to Billie Joe "of Bobbie Gentry as inspiration for song writing.

After the success of "Polk Salad Annie", the R & B artist Brook Benton was a resounding success in 1970 with the song of White "Rainy Night in Georgia", which also became a song often picked up by d & # 39; 39, other artists.

Jennings and White also wrote "Trouble Man", recorded by Jennings in 1989. White collaborated with Turner on his critically acclaimed "Foreign Affair" album in 1989, contributing to four songs and playing music. guitar and harmonica.

White also said in 2006 that Turner was surprised at their first meeting.

"She went back and looked at me and started laughing hysterically and could not catch her breath," he recalls. "She was doubling and I was thinking," Is my pants open or anything? " Finally, she held her breath and approached me. She took me in her arms and said, "I'm sorry, man, since" Annie Polk Salad, "I've always thought you were a black man."

Turner recorded his song "Steamy Windows", which was later recorded by John Anderson and Kenny Chesney.

Tanya Tucker, who recorded her song "Gospel Singer," said in a statement that White's writing and voice were both raw and pure.

"Much of the South is now silent with her passing," she said. "Reckon God wanted a little polk salad!"

Shooter Jennings, Waylon's son, wrote on Twitter that his father often recorded White's songs or played White on his records.

"He has always been king of swamps living in a modern world," wrote Jennings. "His shows and style were unique and had no influence on others."

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