For all of the talented musicians that have emerged from Hampton Roads, the majority who have found substantial success outside had to leave the area to find it. Most of them, however, didn’t have to wait nearly as long to become the talk of the town as Jerry Williams, Jr., the 82-year-old Portsmouth-born singer/songwriter now better known by the sobriquet of Swamp Dogg.
He started his career when he was barely into his teens, wrote and recorded albums for major labels, including Elektra and Island, while also penning songs and producing for other artists. Still, Swamp Dogg remained pretty far under the mainstream radar until 1999, when Kid Rock sampled his song “Slow Slow Disco” on a track called “I Got One for Ya.”
The increase in Swamp Dogg’s profile hit a new high in 2018 with the release of “Love, Loss & Auto-Tune,” recorded with the assistance of Ryan Olson and Bon Iver, which was followed by 2020’s “Sorry You Couldn’t Make It,” featuring appearances from John Prine and Jenny Lewis…