Polk Salad Annie
| "Polk Salad Annie" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Tony Joe White | ||||
| from the album Black and White | ||||
| B-side | Aspen Colorado | |||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1968, Muscle Shoals, Alabama | |||
| Label | Monument Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Tony Joe White | |||
| Producer | Billy Swan | |||
| Tony Joe White singles chronology | ||||
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"Polk Salad Annie" is a 1968 song written and performed by Tony Joe White. It was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Its lyrics describe the lifestyle of a poor rural Southern girl and her family. Traditionally, the term to describe the type of food highlighted in the song is polk or poke salad, a product of pokeweed. Its 1969 single release peaked at Number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The single, released in 1969 by Monument Records[1] had been out nine months before it finally charted, and had been written off by Monument as a failure. Said White: "They had done given up on it, but we kept getting all these people in Texas coming to the clubs and buying the record. So we would send up to Nashville saying, 'Send us a thousand more this week.' They would send us these 'Do Not Sell' examples, so we would have to sit down and mark out the 'Do Not Sell' and then send them to the record stores. All these stores in South Texas kept calling our house saying, 'We need more.' So we just kept hanging on. And finally a guy in L.A. picked it up and got it across. Otherwise, 'Polk' could have been lost forever."[2]
[edit] The song
The song vividly recreates the Southern roots of White's childhood and his music reflects this earthy rural background. As a child he listened not only to local bluesmen and country singers but also to the Cajun music of Louisiana, that rare hybrid of traditional musical styles introduced by French settlers at the turn of the century.
His roots lie in the swamplands of Oak Grove, Louisiana, where he was born in 1943. Situated just west of the Mississippi River, it's a land of cottonfields, where polk grows wild and alligators lurk in moss-covered swamps. "I spent the first 18 years of my life down there," said White "My folks raised cotton and corn. There were lotsa times when there weren't too much to eat, and I ain't ashamed to admit that we've often whipped up a mess of polk salad. Tastes alright too.. a bit like spinach."[3]
[edit] Performances
- Richard "Groove" Holmes released a live version on his 1970 album Recorded Live at the Lighthouse
- Clarence Reid released a version on his 1969 album Dancin' With Nobody But You Babe
- Tom Jones released a version on his 1970 album Tom, recorded in February 1970[4]
- Elvis Presley immediately picked up the song, which became a staple of his live performances of the 70s. He recorded it on several occasions: Elvis: That's the Way it Is (documentary film, 1970), On Stage (1970) and Elvis: As Recorded At Madison Square Garden (1972). From the Garden version on, it featured a rare fuzz bass solo by Jerry Scheff. Tony Joe White reportedly liked Presley's interpretation of the song.[5] Los Lonely Boys perform this song on their 2009 tribute EP entitled 1969. Conan O'Brien sang a version of the song on his Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour. He mentions that Elvis sang the song on his tour as well.
- Rockabilly artist Sleepy LaBeef has also done a version of this song from his album Tomorrow Never Comes. This also includes a bass solo like the Presley record.
- Johnny Hallyday did also a version
- Harald Schmidt German Entertainer performed it on 9/13/2011 in his Late-Night-Show on German TV
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Polk Salad Annie, single release at Discogs
- ^ Tony Joe White - his life
- ^ Tony Joe White Leocort
- ^ http://www.txhighlands.com/Deccalisting.htm Tom Jones Decca releases
- ^ Tony Joe White - his music
