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Home/Acadiana/Swamp Pop
45 rpm records swamp pop songs

Swamp Pop

south louisiana music

What happens when the rock ‘n roll sound of Elvis Presley and the New Orleans rhythm and blues of Fats Domino collide with the Cajun and Zydeco music of Louisiana’s bayous and Cajun prairie? You get a style of dance hall music that exploded across southern Louisiana and eastern Texas that became known as “swamp pop”.

gold silver and blue tuxedos worn by swamp pop musicians
Colorful tuxedos worn by the Boogie Kings on display at Swamp Pop Museum in Ville Platte, Louisiana

the birth of swamp pop

If you think of the rhythmic piano sound of Fat Domino’s Blueberry Hill, you get the foundation of swamp pop. In the 1950’s, Cajun teens put down their fiddles and accordions and picked up electric guitars, the piano and horns to play and record this new style of music. They called it “South Louisiana Music”. The term “Swamp Pop” came from England in the early 1970’s. Music writer Bill Millar used term to describe the unique form of south Louisiana rock and roll.

swamp pop singer Johnnie Allan singing with microphone
Swamp Pop legend Johnnie Allan sings his 1959 hit “Lonely Days, Lonely Nights” at 2022 reunion concert

Singer and swamp pop band leader Johnnie Allan came from a family of Cajun musicians. In fact, his great uncle Joe Falcone recorded the first Cajun song in 1928. Allan was performing in a Cajun band in Lafayette when he and his bandmates heard rock and roll. “I could hear the winds of change blowing down the bayous of Louisiana,” explains Allan. “Rock and roll was the thing that was going to be the music of that time.” They quit their Cajun band and started performing what he called south Louisiana music. They scored hit records with the songs “Lonely Days, Lonely Nights” and Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land.”

Musical reunion in ville platte

Ville Platte, Louisiana, is officially known as the Swamp Pop Capital of the World. Local radio station KVPI still plays the songs made famous by Louisiana musicians in the 1950’s and 60’s. The town is also home to a music museum that tells the story of this unique Louisiana sound. Once a year, the Swamp Pop Museum hosts a musical reunion. The musicians, some in their 80’s, perform the hit songs that played to a generation of teens at south Louisiana dance halls.

people posing for picture in front of stage
Music legends pose for a group picture at the 2022 Swamp Pop Reunion in Ville Platte, LA

swamp pop reunion concert featured on tv

Watch this Heart of Louisiana feature on the 2022 Swamp Pop Reunion

train depot celebrates musical history

The old train depot in downtown Ville Platte preserves this Louisiana town’s musical history. An old juke box, the flashy tuxedos of musicians, their instruments, hit records and photographs tell the story of swamp pop music. Museum manager Sharon Fontenot organizes the annual reunion concert. She also has a passion for the music, “This was my music,” Fontenot says. “This was what the teenagers of the late fifties and early sixties danced to every Friday and Saturday night.” She hopes the museum and the annual musical reunions will pass on the sound of swamp pop to the next generation.

Ville Platte museum featured on TV

Watch this Heart of Louisiana feature on Ville Platte’s Swamp Pop Museum

getting there

The Swamp Pop Museum is located along the railroad tracks in downtown Ville Platte at 205 NW Railroad Ave. Phone (337) 363-0900.

205 NW Railroad Ave, Ville Platte, LA 70586

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        Written by:
        Dave McNamara
        Published on:
        March 8, 2022
        Thoughts:
        6 Comments

        Categories: Acadiana, Featured

        Reader Interactions

        Comments

        1. Sue Elder

          March 13, 2022 at 9:32 pm

          AWESOME is all I can say….I live in Opelousas now but am from NC. I married Jim Elder. He died 2 yrs ago, much to my sorrow. Jim introduced me to this music, & I’m forever grateful that he did.
          My son lives here now, and he loved Jim and he loves this music!

          Reply
        2. Brandon J

          March 14, 2022 at 12:56 pm

          I have some time off & live in Winnfield, gonna visit this hidden gem in our state.

          Reply
        3. Linda LeMoine Young

          March 15, 2022 at 11:50 am

          I have been for the last 3 years and absolutely loved every minute. Visiting with these entertainers and taking pictures with them are my heart’s désire every year. The music was born in my soûl. These are my roots.

          Reply
        4. Dayle Foreman

          March 16, 2022 at 8:09 am

          When will the reunion be held for 2022

          Reply
          • Dave McNamara

            March 17, 2022 at 7:21 pm

            The reunion is held on the Monday, the day before Mardi Gras each year. The next reunion should be Monday Feb 20, 2023.

            Reply
        5. Sharon Fontenot, Curator, Louisiana Swamp Pop Museum

          December 22, 2022 at 9:25 pm

          The 17th Annual Swamp Pop Reunion will be held on Lundi Gras (the night before Marci Gras) which is Monday, February 20, 2023, at the Ville Platte Civic Center in Ville Platte, LA, “The Swamp Pop Capital of The World!”

          Tickets will go on sale in early January 2023. For information, call the Louisiana Swamp Pop Museum – 337-363-0900 – on Friday or Saturday between 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM.

          Reply

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