Essential Collection
JIN 9054 | 1997
| A brief history...
Tommy McLain was born on March 15, 1940, in Jonesville (in central Louisiana). Although not a Cajun, he contributed greatly to the formation of the swamp pop musical genre, recording classics like "Try To Find Another Man" (1965, a duet with Cajun swamp popper Clint West), "Sweet Dreams" (1966), and "Before I Grow Too Old" (1968), a tune written by Cajun songwriter Bobby Charles of Abbeville. McLain joined Red Smiley's Vel-Tones in the late 1950s with West, and in the mid-1960s they both moved to the Boogie Kings. "Sweet Dreams", in which McLain was accompanied by The Boogie Kings, reached #15 on Billboard's Hot 100 Sellers and McLain went on tour in the US with Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars during this period. Floyd Soileau recalls that his first report of this record's popularity came from a juke box owner who informed him that at a certain secluded night spot, the ladies of the night keep the record spinnin' on the juke box 24 hours a day! Later on, McLain would go on to a successful solo career in the south and central Louisiana and east Texas area.
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