Bal du Dimanche: Warren Storm and Willie "Tee" and Cypress
Vermilionville Performance Center
Lafayette, LA
January 15, 2015
Every Sunday afternoon, the Vermilionville Performance Center in Lafayette, LA, holds a Bal du Dimanche (A Sunday Ball) from 1 PM-4 PM. For many, this is an extension of - or replacement for - religious services that may be scheduled in the morning.
Bands and performers of Cajun, zydeco and swamp pop persuasions light up the stage and there’s lots of action on the dance floor. This week’s performers – Warren Storm and Willie “Tee” and his band Cypress. Warren Storm is the godfather of Swamp Pop. Willie “Tee” Trahan has been along for most of the ride, performing with Storm for years.
Swamp pop was born in southwest Louisiana in the 1950s and 60s. Cajun teenagers and Creole kids heard rock 'n roll and began combining traditional French Louisiana Cajun and zydeco songs with country and western music filtering over from Beaumont, Texas and rhythm 'n blues creeping in from New Orleans.
“I know it when I see it,” Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said of pornography in 1964. Well, just change the word ‘see’ to ‘hear’ and that’s the story with Swamp Pop. There’s no sound quite like it. It’s just as much a staple of popular music in Louisiana today as filé gumbo.
Most bands in Louisiana have at least a handful of Swamp Pop covers in their repertoire. Warren Storm and Willie Tee have a lifetime repertoire, Warren singing it and Willie wailing on his saxophone playing it. Both of these guys are in their seventies!
Whether on the dance floor or taking a break, dancers know how to have fun.
After the first few bars, you know damn well if you’re listening to Swamp Pop. Lyrics decrying spurned love, unabashedly emotional singing, often with bluesy, ultra-danceable or you-know-what-able grooves are backed with a gyrating saxophone. VIDEO
If you’re of a certain age, you remember making out in the car’s back seat to Phil Phillips’ “Sea of Love,”Jimmy Clanton’s “Just A Dream,” Joe Barry’s “I’m A Fool To Care”, Warren Storm’s ‘Prisoner’s Song,” and Cookie and the Cupcakes iconic barn-burner “Mathilda". Swamp Pop songs like Lloyd Price's "Just Because," and Little Richard's "Send Me Some Lovin'," made it to Billboard's Hot 100.
This is music for the eternal teenager that lurks in our hearts and loins.
When I heard songs like “Sea of Love” at the Boys’ Club Friday dances, I died a slow death - too shy to cross to the other side of the floor where the girls were standing, to hold a girl in my arms, to inhale the scent of the shampoo in her hair, and feel the warmth of her body pressed against mine. Some day, I vowed, I would cross that floor. I would lead with confidence, style, and grace.
I’ve learned to dance my dream. Warren Storm and Willie “Tee” just gave me the chance cross that floor once again.
Photos and video by Paul A. Tamburello, Jr.
Comments