Playlist: Swamp-Rock Mixtape

Pull on your boots and get to stompin’ to the sounds of rockabilly, blues, and Creole melodies with this swamp-rock mixtape.

Written by Jencie Tomasek

If funky rockabilly, country blues, soulful belts, and fervent guitar licks were blended together, the resulting rugged-yet-authentic mix would sound much like swamp rock. The genre thrived in the murky swamps of the American South from the ’60s to the ’70s, originating in the emotive drawl and heavy guitar of Dale Hawkins’ “Oh! Susie-Q.” 

In swamp rock, storytelling and peak lyricism shone at the forefront. Tony Joe White’s “They Caught the Devil and Put Him in Jail in Eudora, Arkansas” is a perfect marriage of Southern folklore and humor with a dark twist, portraying a surreal story where the devil gets locked up in the titular small town. Not to be outdone, Jerry Reed’s“Amos Moses” accompanies the multi-instrumentalist’s signature finger-picking technique with a catchy chorus about a one-armed Cajun man who hunts alligators for a living. Listeners might clap along to the  relentless rhythm of electrifying drums in Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising,” while the moody acoustics in Earl Scruggs’ “Dueling Banjos” are sure to get anyone in a do-si-do mood. Swamp rock is also known for gritty and fervorous vocal deliveries, like in the Creedence Clearwater Revival classic “Fortunate Son.” Finally, tracks like “Polk Salad Annie” and “Right Place Wrong Time” will transport listeners to swampy bayous, smoky dive bars, and rural back roads where Cajun melodies and wild storytelling thrive.