Musician Tony Joe White dies at age 75
Known for hits like ‘Polk Salad Annie’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A record label representative says Tony
Joe White, the country bluesman and hit songwriter behind such successes as “Polk Salad Annie” and “Rainy Night in Georgia,” has died. He was 75.
A statement released Thursday from the record label Yep Roc Music Group said White’s family confirmed the rocker died Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. The label did not have any details on his cause of death. Yep Roc released his last album in September called “Bad Mouthin,’” a collection of blues classics.
White, originally from Louisiana, had a hit in 1969 with “Polk Salad Annie,” and his songs were covered by Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Jr., Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Waylon Jennings and many more.
In his five decades as a singer-songwriter, White was best known for his swamp rock style mixing blues, country and rock ’n’ roll, which earned him the nickname the Swamp Fox especially with his fans overseas.
White told The Associated Press in 2006 that in the late ’60s many people thought he was singing about something else.
“Back then, people thought polk salad was grass,” White said. “They’d bring me bags of grass backstage and say, ‘Hey, we brought you a little polk.’”
Presley often covered the song in the 1970s and performed it with relish, waving his arms over his head and dancing throughout the song. He would later record more of White’s songs, including “I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby.”
Raised on a cotton farm in Goodwill, Louisiana, White became infatuated with the hypnotic sound of Lightnin’ Hopkins and has often cited hearing the song “Ode to Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry as his inspiration for songwriting.
After the success of “Polk Salad Annie,” R&B artist Brook Benton had a hit in 1970 with White’s song “Rainy Night in Georgia,” which also became a song often covered by other artists.
Jennings and White also wrote “Trouble Man,” which Jennings recorded in 1989. White worked with Turner on her critically acclaimed “Foreign Affair” album in 1989, contributing four songs and playing guitar and harmonica.