Bobby Charles wrote one of the most famous catchphrases in rock and roll, penned hits for his idol Fats Domino, performed at The Last Waltz, and still remained almost invisible to the public. Born in Abbeville, Louisiana, in 1938, he grew up on traditional Cajun music and the country storytelling of Hank Williams until, at fifteen, a Fats Domino performance rewired his sense of rhythm. Fusing Cajun and country melodies with rolling New Orleans rhythm and blues, he helped pioneer the genre known as swamp pop and wrote Later Alligator, which became a massive hit for Bill Haley and His Comets, along with Walking to New Orleans and It Keeps Rainin' for Domino himself.

This episode examines why 1950s labels could not market a white Cajun singer whom radio audiences assumed was Black, his move to Woodstock, New York, in the 1970s, and the self-ti ...