Album of the Day

Elvis Presley and Dusty Springfield both knew a good song when they heard one, and each recorded a track from Tony Joe White's 1969 debut, BLACK & WHITE. As accomplished a composer as he is, Tony Joe is also a talented performer, and it was his guitar picking and hickory-smoked vocals that made “Polk Salad Annie” - recorded 50 years ago today – a Top 10 hit. That ode to hardscrabble life in the South is joined by such other originals as “Willie and Laura Mae Jones” and “Soul Francisco” on Side 1, while the flip gives White's distinctive bayou-based treatment to covers including “Little Green Apples” and “Scratch My Back.” Roots rock champion Billy Swan produced this fine set, and Louisiana swamp music never sounded sweeter than on BLACK & WHITE.