THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

213-Tony Joe White-Rainy Night in Georgia.

1969-It has never been released as a single in the UK.

Best Bit-At 0.35.On October 15, 2014, Tommy Joe White appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman alongside the Foo Fighters (see also best songs 999 and 292) 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.’

Tommy Joe White was born on July 23rd, 1943, in Louisiana, United States, he died of a heart attack on October 24th, 2018, at the age of 75. His son Jody White said, ‘He just had a heart attack…there was no pain or suffering,’ Tommy Joe White was nicknamed ‘Swamp Fox,’ as the genre of music he played was ‘Swamp Rock,’ which is a genre that derives from 1960’s Rock, other artists who epitomised the genre include Creedence Clearwater Revival, (see also best songs 502) and Little Feat.

Tommy Joe White has had 16 studio Albums released between 1968-2021, and 29 singles between 1967-1983. None of his Albums, or singles have ever charted in the UK, but in America on the Billboard Hot 100, ‘Polk Salad Annie’ reached Number 8 in 1968. ‘Polk Salad Annie’ was a favourite of Elvis Presley, (1935-1977) and he would often sing it in his live shows, and had planned on recording a studio version for release, but he died before that came about. Other significant songs written by White include writing four tracks for Tina Turner’s 1989 ‘Foreign Affair’ Album, including ‘Steamy Windows,’ and the Album’s title track.

‘Rainy Night in Georgia’ was written by Tommy Joe White in 1967, but wasn’t released until 1969 on his second studio Album ‘Continued,’ which was produced by Billy Swan, who is probably best remembered for his 1974 American Number 1, and UK Number 6 single ‘I Can Help.’ Shortly after the Album’s release a cover version was released by Brook Benton, (1931-1988) which reached Number 4 in America, giving Benton his first hit in almost six years. The song has also been a hit in the UK, reaching Number 18, when covered by Randy Crawford (see also best songs 588) for her 1981 Album ‘Secret Combination,’

Tommy Joe White has stated his inspiration for becoming a songwriter, he has said,’I heard “Ode to Billie Joe” (see also best songs 18) on the radio and I thought, man, how real, because I am Billie Joe, I know that life. I’ve been in the cotton fields. So I thought if I ever tried to write, I’m going to write about something I know about. At that time I was doing a lot of Elvis and John Lee Hooker onstage with my drummer. No original songs, and I hadn’t really thought about it, but after I heard Bobbie Gentry I sat down and thought … well I know about Polk because I had ate a bunch of it, and I knew about rainy nights, because I spent a lot of rainy nights in Marietta, Georgia. So I was real lucky with my first tries to write something that was not only real and hit pretty close to the bone, but lasted that long. So it was kind of a guide for me then on through life to always try to write what I know about.’

‘How many times I wondered, it still comes out the same. No matter how you look at it or think of it, it’s life and you just got to play the game.’