It has certainly been a banner year for 83-year-old swamp pop legend Warren Storm. In December, fellow musician and admirer Yvette Landry had her national book and CD release Taking the World by Storm showcasing the swamp pop icon. In May, Steve Grisaffe, was promoting a Storm gig when, out of the blue, he was contacted by Glenn Landry, son of bandleader Herb Landry, inquiring if there was any interest in tapes of The Serenaders’ featuring 20-year-old phenom Warren Storm. (Glenn and Yvette are unrelated.) Grisaffe raced over to Glenn’s New Iberia crib and much to his delight, the 63-year-old tapes were still in amazing condition. With the assistance of engineer Stewart Krielow, they transferred them digitally, making this landmark release the earliest known recording of the singing drummer, a significant fact since the following year, he began recording for J.D Miller of Crowley, Louisiana.
Obviously, this was never intended to be a commercial release but a radio broadcast of a live performance at New Iberia’s La Lou Club. There was no bassist, but Storm had enough of the bottom end covered with his constant tom and kick drumming, which was crucial since guitarist Otis Tauzin played only the top three strings. Storm’s the only vocalist here, exuding charisma and heartfelt sentiment with the right degree of vocal inflection.
Interestingly, the group performed with only three Shure 55 microphones onstage. One was Storm’s vocal mic; one was stage left between Herb (saxophone) and Pressley Maturin (piano) and one was in front of the PA speaker that went straight to the EVM 711 Tape-o-matic.
Sonically, it is a little raw, but enough to ascertain that The Serenaders were a formidable quartet of its day. The popular dance band cruises through a diverse setlist of R&B, rock ’n’ roll, blues, country, swing, and jazz material, playing practically anything hot steppers would want to put their fidgety feet to. A shortlist of hits would include Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” Jimmy Clanton’s “I Trusted You,” Chuck Willis’ “Betty and Dupree,” and Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock,” all melded into an early swamp pop format.
Whereas Yvette’s recording captured Storm at the twilight of his career, Grisaffe presents the singing powerhouse drummer when it all started. A fascinating artifact and a must for all Storm fans.
