Leslie Johnson, better known as Lazy Lester, took over Buddy Guy's spot in a Louisiana band in 1957 without owning a guitar, then made music history on a bus ride. Tagging along with Lightnin' Slim to an Excello Records session for producer Jay Miller, Lester watched the hired harmonica player fail to show, spent the afternoon searching for him, and finally volunteered to play the parts himself. That performance turned him into a permanent fixture of Miller's studio and a founding voice of swamp blues. In this deep dive we trace his path from the Baton Rouge club circuit of the late 1940s and his group the Rhythm Rockers with Raful Neal to the sessions where he played guitar, bass, harmonica and improvised percussion behind Slim Harpo and Katie Webster.

We break down what makes swamp blues sound the way it does, from its sluggish dragging t ...