Tony Joe White was the youngest of seven children who grew up on a cotton farm near Oak Grove, Louisiana. He first began performing music at school dances, and after graduating from high school he performed in night clubs in Texas and Louisiana.
In 1967, White signed with Monument Records, which operated from a recording studio in the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville, Tennessee, and produced a variety of sounds, including rock and roll, country and western, and rhythm and blues. Billy Swan was his producer.
Over the next three years, White released four singles with no commercial success in the U.S., although "Soul Francisco" was a hit in France. "Polk Salad Annie" had been released for nine months and written off as a failure by his record label, when it finally entered the U.S. charts in July 1969. It climbed to the Top Ten by early August, and eventually reached No. 8, becoming White's biggest hit.
White's first album, 1969's Black and White, was recorded with Muscle Shoals/Nashville musicians David Briggs, Norbert Putnam, and Jerry Carrigan, and featured "Willie and Laura Mae Jones" and "Polk Salad Annie", along with a cover of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman". "Willie and Laura Mae Jones" was covered by Dusty Springfield on her album Dusty in Memphis also recorded in 1969.
Three more singles quickly followed, all minor hits, and White toured with Steppenwolf, Anne Murray, Sly & the Family Stone, Creedence Clearwater Revival and other major rock acts of the 1970s, playing in France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and England.
In 1973, White appeared in the film Catch My Soul, a rock-opera adaption of Shakespeare's Othello. White played and sang four and composed seven songs for the musical.
In late September 1973, White was recruited by record producer Huey Meaux to sit in on the legendary Memphis sessions that became Jerry Lee Lewis's landmark Southern Roots album.[citation needed] By all accounts,[citation needed] these sessions were a three-day, around-the-clock party, which not only reunited the original MGs (Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Al Jackson, Jr. of Booker T. and the MGs fame) for the first time in three years, but also featured Carl Perkins, Mark Lindsay (of Paul Revere & the Raiders), and Wayne Jackson plus The Memphis Horns.
1980s
From 1976 to 1983, White released three more albums, each on a different label. Trying to combine his own swamp-rock sound with the popular disco music at the time, the results were not met with success and White gave up his career as a singer and concentrated on writing songs.
1990s comeback
In 1989, White produced one non-single track on Tina Turner's Foreign Affair album, the rest of the album was produced by Dan Hartman. Playing a variety of instruments on the album, he also wrote four songs,[2] including the title song and the hit single "Steamy Windows". As a result of this he became managed by Roger Davies, who was Turner's manager at the time, and he obtained a new contract with Polydor.
The resulting album, 1991's Closer to the Truth, was a commercial success[citation needed] and put White back in the spotlight. He released two more albums for Polydor; The Path of a Decent Groove and Lake Placid Blues which was co-produced by Roger Davies.
In the 1990s, White toured Germany and France with Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton, and in 1992 he played the Montreux Festival.
In 1996, Tina Turner released the song "On Silent Wings" written by White.
2000s
In 2000, Hip-O Records released One Hot July in the U.S., giving White his first new major-label domestic release in 17 years. The critically acclaimed The Beginning appeared on Swamp Records in 2001, followed by Heroines, featuring several duets with female vocalists including Jessi Colter, Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, and Michelle White, on Sanctuary in 2004, and a live Austin City Limits concert, Live from Austin, TX, on New West Records in 2006. In 2004, White was the featured guest artist in an episode of the Legends Rock TV Show and Concert Series, produced by Megabien Entertainment.
In 2007, White released another live recording, Take Home the Swamp, as well as the compilation Introduction to Tony Joe White. Elkie Brooks recorded one of White's songs, "Out of The Rain", on her 2005 Electric Lady album. On July 14, 2006, in Magny-Cours, France, White performed as a warm-up act for Roger Waters' The Dark Side of the Moon concert. White's album, entitled Uncovered, was released in September 2006 and featured collaborations with Mark Knopfler, Michael McDonald, Eric Clapton, and J.J. Cale.
The song "Elements and Things" from the 1969 album ...Continued features prominently during the horse-racing scenes in the 2012 HBO television series "Luck".
In 2013, White signed to Yep Roc Records and released Hoodoo. Mother Jones called the album "Steamy, Irresistible" and No Depression noted Tony Joe White is "the real king of the swamp." He also made his Live...with Jools Holland debut in London, playing songs from Hoodoo.
On October 15, 2014, White appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman alongside the Foo Fighters to perform "Polk Salad Annie". Pointing to White, Letterman told his TV audience, "Holy cow! ... If I was this guy, you could all kiss my ass. And I mean that."
In May 2016, Tony Joe White released Rain Crow on Yep Roc Records.[8] The lead track "Hoochie Woman" was cowritten with his wife, Leann. The track "Conjure Child" is a follow up to an earlier song, "Conjure Woman."
The album Bad Mouthin' was released in September 2018 again on Yep Roc Records. The album contains six self-penned songs and five blues standards written by, amongst others, Charley Patton and John Lee Hooker. On the album White also performs a cover of the Elvis Presley song Heartbreak Hotel. White plays acoustic and electric guitar on the album which was produced by his son Jody White and has a signature Tony Joe White laid back sound.
In 1969, deep voiced southern songsmith Tony Joe White had a U.S. Top 10 hit with his classic swamp rock tune "Polk Salad Annie". His bluesy songs have been covered by dozens of artists ranging from Elvis Presley and Tim McGraw, to Dusty Springfield and Tina Turner. His latest release in a forty plus year career is 2013's "The Gift".
Born in 1943, White was the youngest of seven children in a part-Cherokee family raised on a cotton farm, and first showed an interest in music at the age of 16 when he heard an album by Lightning Hopkins. He later began performing at school dances and night clubs, first as Tony and the Mojos and then as Tony and the Twilights.
After moving to Memphis in the late 1960's, White was signed to Monument records and his first single release was a Ray Stevens song "Georgia Pines".
White's 1969 debut album, Black And White, featured originals such as "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" and "Polk Salad Annie," and psychedelic ode to the west coast "Soul Francisco" which became a hit in France. The album also featured a cover of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman". His follow up record for Monument was "...Continued" followed by Tony Joe in 1970, his last for Monument.
By 1970 he released The Train I'm On marking the fifth album in Tony Joe White's career, and his second recorded for Warner Bros. it was produced by Jerry Wexler and recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama. Johnny Cash had White as a guest on his tv show twice, and in Europe White gained legendary status following a successful debut at the historic Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. White's 2nd record on Warner Bros. in 1971 was a self titled disc recorded in Memphis with The Memphis Horns.
In late September 1973, White was recruited by producer Huey P. Meaux to sit in on the legendary Memphis sessions that became the landmark Southern Roots album of Jerry Lee Lewis.
By all accounts, these sessions were a three day, around the clock party, which not only reunited the original MGs (Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Al Jackson Jr. of Booker T. and the MGs fame) for the first time in three years, they also featured rockabilly icon Carl Perkins, Mark Lindsay (of Paul Revere and the Raiders), and Wayne Jackson and The Memphis Horns.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s White toured in support of artists including Creedence Clearwater Revival and James Taylor. In the 1990s Tina Turner recorded four of his songs for her multi-platinum selling album Foreign Affairs, including the world-wide hit "Steamy Windows". With the advent of that project, White formed an alliance with Turner's manager, Roger Davies and his career began to soar.
In 1991 he signed with Remark, issued the Closer To The Truth album and spent the next two years touring Europe in support of Eric Clapton and Joe Cocker, among others. He cut two more albums for Remark, 1993's Path Of A Decent Groove and 1995's Lake Placid Blues, the latter garnering the first of two nominations for "Best R & B Album" from the Nashville Music Awards, (the second being, The Best Of Tony Joe White, a 1996 retrospective of his work on Warner Brothers). French audiences eagerly embraced White as the ‘Swamp Fox’ and in 1998, he became the subject of a French produced documentary: Tony Joe White-The Man From Down South.
In 1999, White went back to his roots and recorded One Hot July, in the swamps of Louisiana. He then toured Australia and Europe once again in support of the critically acclaimed album. In 2001, Audium and Koch Entertainment released The Beginning - a stripped-down acoustic album that received worldwide recognition and five star ratings in virtually every country.
Throughout the years, White has had songs recorded by dozens of major artists including Elvis, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Etta James, Hank Williams Jr, John Mayall, and Waylon Jennings. Brook Benton had a huge hit with Rainy Night In Georgia, and Rory Gallagher did a cover of White's song "As The Crow Flies" on his live album Irish Tour. More recently, White has worked with Marc Bryan of Hootie & The Blowfish and Michael McDonald. He has written and performed jingles for McDonalds and Levi's 501 Blues and been featured on movie soundtracks for Millennium, Selena and Hotspot. His music has also been featured in two HBO original films, and has a DVD out entitled Live from Austin, TX. in 2006 Rhino records compiled all of White's late 60's Monument albums into a deluxe ltd edition 40 CD boxset called "Tony Joe White - Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings"
Another recent CD release is Heroes and Heroines, on his own label, Swamp Records. White says he created the company with his son Jody White, so that he could continue to produce music his way. His "Uncovered" came out in 2006 and features collaborations with Mark Knopfler, Michael McDonald, Eric Clapton, Waylon Jennings & Shelby Lynne.
White has played recent high profile slots including the 2008 New Orleans Jazz Fest and on In July 14, 2006 in Magny-Cours, France, as a warm-up act for Roger Waters' Dark Side Of The Moon concert.
www.tonyjoewhite.com
High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parrish
Tony Joe White Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not to ever touch his daughter Emily
For to look at her with lustful eyes was certain
To get you a time in the penitentiary
It was true, she was quite voluptuous
And it was true, she had eyes for me
Then one night at a dance she walked up to me
As I listened to her dangerous proposal
I thought about the high sheriff catching me
As I shook my head and quietly left the party
I heard her laugh and say, "You'll be sorry"
Then there came upon my door a loud disturbance
I opened it to the sheriff and his deputy
He said, "Son, did you molest my daughter?"
I said, "Sheriff, I do not know of what you speak"
Then he grabbed me roughly by the collar
And he flung me sprawling out into the street
There were days in the jail with claustrophobia
And all on account of that wench Emily
Well, I finally worked a bar loose from the window
And made my way into the woods of Calhoun
Late that night I came upon a cabin
It was the home of Harham Cross, a friend I knew
Would you all mind if I sat down at your table
'Cause it's been a while since I've had time to eat
And I'll pay y'all back when I'm able
But right now the high sheriff is after me
You see
Ooh
The lyrics to Tony Joe White's "High Sheriff" tell the story of a man who is caught up in a dangerous situation with the daughter of the high sheriff of Calhoun Parish. The sheriff warns everyone not to look at his daughter Emily with lustful eyes, or else they'll end up in prison. However, the singer of the song finds himself drawn to Emily, and one night she asks him to meet her down by the creek. He knows it's dangerous, but he can't resist her offer.
As he contemplates the high sheriff catching him with his daughter, he decides to leave the party. But when he gets home, the sheriff and his deputy show up at his door accusing him of molesting Emily. The man denies any wrongdoing, but the sheriff doesn't believe him and throws him in jail. He spends days in jail feeling claustrophobic, all because of Emily. Eventually, he manages to escape and seeks refuge with a friend.
These lyrics explore themes of temptation, danger, and the consequences of giving in to our desires. The man knew that getting involved with Emily could lead to trouble, but he couldn't resist her charms. However, his dalliance with her leads to his imprisonment and eventual escape. The song is a cautionary tale about the perils of giving in to our vices, and the consequences that can follow.
Line by Line Meaning
It was said of the sheriff to Calhoun Parish
The sheriff of Calhoun Parish was known for warning people not to look at his daughter with lust
Not to ever touch his daughter Emily
The sheriff warned people never to touch his daughter Emily
For to look at her with lustful eyes was certain
Looking at Emily with lustful eyes was sure to land one in jail
To get you a time in the penitentiary
Looking at Emily with lustful eyes was a serious offense that could send one to prison
It was true, she was quite voluptuous
Emily was indeed very attractive and curvy
And it was true, she had eyes for me
It was true that Emily was interested in the singer
Then one night at a dance she walked up to me
At a dance, Emily approached the singer
And ask me would I meet her down by the creek
Emily asked the artist to meet her by the creek
As I listened to her dangerous proposal
The artist thought Emily's proposal was risky
I thought about the high sheriff catching me
The artist considered the possibility of getting caught by the high sheriff
As I shook my head and quietly left the party
The singer declined Emily's proposal and left the party quietly
I heard her laugh and say, "You'll be sorry"
Emily laughed and warned the artist that he would regret not taking her up on her proposal
Then there came upon my door a loud disturbance
Later on, there was a loud knock on the singer's door
I opened it to the sheriff and his deputy
The singer opened the door to find the high sheriff and his deputy waiting for him
He said, "Son, did you molest my daughter?"
The sheriff asked the singer if he had done anything inappropriate to Emily
I said, "Sheriff, I do not know of what you speak"
The artist denied any wrongdoing
Then he grabbed me roughly by the collar
The sheriff grabbed the artist's collar aggressively
And he flung me sprawling out into the street
The sheriff threw the singer out into the street
There were days in the jail with claustrophobia
The singer spent a number of days in jail and felt cramped and confined
And all on account of that wench Emily
The reason the artist was in jail was all because of Emily
Well, I finally worked a bar loose from the window
The artist was eventually able to break a bar off the window
And made my way into the woods of Calhoun
He escaped into the woods of Calhoun Parish
Late that night I came upon a cabin
The singer stumbled upon a cabin late at night
It was the home of Harham Cross, a friend I knew
The cabin belonged to the artist's friend Harham Cross
Would you all mind if I sat down at your table
The singer asked Harham and his family if he could sit down and eat at their table
'Cause it's been a while since I've had time to eat
The singer explained that he had not eaten in a while
And I'll pay y'all back when I'm able
The singer promised to pay Harham back when he was able
But right now the high sheriff is after me
The artist explained that he was currently on the run from the high sheriff
You see
The song concludes with a simple, unexplained statement: 'You see'
Writer(s): Tony Joe White
Contributed by Elliot N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@clambeandip
Tremendous! I learned this song as a teenager - I think I recorded it off the TV. Haven't heard (or played) it since the early 70s. So thanks for reuniting me with this terrific recording. Tony Joe's groove is killer. Great songwriter. I'm kinda surprised he's not a household name.
@billslater55
Pure Southern Genius from 1970s. Thank you!
@aikiblu
Actually Tony Joe has been quite active since : ) http://www.tonyjoewhite.com
@matthewmcgarry1097
@@aikiblu just discovered this musician. Brilliant
@GM-tb2ec
Who else could put the word voluptuous in a song? What a legend. Saw him a few times, thankfully. The Beginning is a great album, too.
@jeremybutt9281
This was the first album I had the pleasure of listening to of Tony Joe White, Tony Joe and I Found it in my late Father's collection in the early 1990's...It made me hunt for more and I found The Train I'm On and Continued but never tracked down the Black and White album. RIP for eternity Mr Tony Joe White. So soulful, so good. The Troll under the bridge is very sad like me.
@Rat-Salad
same here xx
@billjenkins5693
Songwriting at its finest
@davidewing5605
I too, love this song. I had this album when it came out. He is damm good. I am glad I found this song. He nailed it. Dave from Sierra Vista Az.
@vinitkshirsagar4304
Love this song....