Warren Storm, a beloved drummer and vocalist who was among the pioneering musicians who defined the swamp pop genre of the 1950s, died on September 7 at age 84.
Storm had been hospitalized since mid-August according to multiple sources and social media posts.
A biography at Wikipedia offers the following information: “Born Warren Schexnider on February 18, 1937, in Abbeville, Louisiana, Storm learned to play drums and guitar from his father, a Cajun musician, and in the early 1950s Storm began to perform publicly with Larry Brasso and the Rhythmaires.
“Around this time he befriended fellow Abbeville musician Bobby Charles and the two would travel to New Orleans to hear black rhythm and blues artists in the local nightclubs. These visits to New Orleans greatly influenced Storm’s musical tastes and his own drumming style. Storm cites New Orleans rhythm and blues musician Charlie “Hungry” Williams as a major drumming influence.
“In 1956 Storm founded his own rhythm and blues/early rock ‘n’ roll group, and in 1958 he began recording for Crowley, Louisiana, record producer J. D. ‘Jay’ Miller. Miller convinced Nasco records of Nashville to release a 45 RPM record of Storm’s version of the old country composition ‘Prisoner’s Song’; the flip side was ‘Mama Mama Mama (Look What Your Little Boy’s Done).’ The release broke into the Billboard Hot 100 and both songs became lifelong standards for Storm.
“Over the following years Storm recorded swamp pop music for numerous labels, including Rocko, Zynn, American Pla-Boy, Top Rank, and Dot. In the early 1960s he teamed up with fellow swamp pop musicians Rod Bernard and Skip Stewart to form The Shondells, performing with the group and cutting tracks on the La Louisianne label until The Shondells disbanded around 1970.
“Meanwhile, Storm released songs on several more labels, including ATCO, Sincere, and Teardrop, and, later, Premier, Showtime, Starflite, and Jin, among others. It was during this period that Storm recorded two more regional favorites, “Lord I Need Somebody Bad Tonight” and “My House of Memories.
“During the 1980s and ’90s, Storm appeared as a regular house musician at several south Louisiana danceclubs, and in 1989 recorded the Cajun Born LP for La Louisianne with fellow south Louisiana musicians Rufus Thibodeaux, Johnnie Allan, and Clint West.
“Around 2000, Storm experienced a resurgence in popularity when he joined the Lil’ Band of Gold, an all-star south Louisiana band that included, among others, guitarist C. C. Adcock, accordionist Steve Riley of the Mamou Playboys; fiddler David Greely; Richard Comeaux of River Road; and pianist David Egan of Filé.
“On September 5, 2010, during his performance at the “Boogie for the Bayou” fundraiser event at Paragon Casino in Marksville, Louisiana, Storm was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.”
Reviews of Storm’s albums in OffBeat include Taking the World by Storm (APO Records), Swamp Pop Jukebox (Jin Records) and Warren Storm With Herb Landry & The Serenaders, Live 1957 (Swamp Pop Records).
