One of American music’s great mavericks, Jerry Williams Jr. merged soul, blues, and country to create a blend that’s always been his alone. Once a producer for the likes of Patti LaBelle and Gary U.S. Bonds, Williams introduced his Swamp Dogg guise in 1970, and while the mix of deep soul and offbeat humor on albums like 1971’s Rat On! didn’t catch on with many listeners at the time, his music as Swamp Dogg earned him a fervent cult following. Younger devotees like Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon helped fuel a Swamp Dogg resurgence, and, on latter-day releases such as 2020’s Sorry You Couldn’t Make It, Williams’ earthy brand of soul sounds as singular as it always has.