This Should Go On Forever
Encyclopedia
This Should Go On Forever is a popular song of the south Louisiana rock and roll
genre known as swamp pop
.
King Karl (real name Bernard Jolivette), a black Creole
swamp pop musician, composed the song around 1958. (Producer J. D. "Jay" Miller is listed as a co-writer even though he did not actually help to compose the tune.) Karl intended to record the song for the Excello
label of Nashville
, for which he, his bandmate Guitar Gable (Gabriel Perrodin), and their band the Musical Kings had recorded other swamp pop compositions.
Excello did not like the song, however, and as a result Karl's version at first remained unreleased.
In the meantime, Cajun
swamp pop musician Rod Bernard
of Opelousas, Louisiana
, heard Karl and his group perform the tune at the local Moonlight Inn nightclub. When Bernard learned that Excello had no intention of releasing the song, he asked Karl if he could record it for Floyd Soileau
's newly formed Jin
label of Ville Platte, Louisiana.
Karl approved, and Bernard and his group, the Twisters, recorded the song that year for Jin, using the same studio — Miller's MasterTrak Studio of Crowley
, Louisiana — that Karl and his band had used to record their still-unreleased original version.
In late 1958 Bernard's version became a regional hit in south Louisiana and east Texas
, and, licensed to the Argo
label of Chicago
, it rose to the top of national charts in the U.S. in 1959.
Surprised by the song's success, Excello quickly released King Karl's original version.
Meanwhile, other swamp pop groups, including Doug Charles and the Boogie Kings and Gene Terry and the Downbeats, released their own versions of the song to capitalize on Bernard's success.
By then, however, the general public regarded Bernard's version as the authoritative version. As a result, it was Bernard who appeared on American Bandstand
, The Alan Freed
Show, and elsewhere.
Today, "This Should Go On Forever" is considered an early classic of the swamp pop genre and is frequently performed by live bands in dancehalls and festivals in south Louisiana and east Texas.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
genre known as swamp pop
Swamp pop
Swamp rock is a musical genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s and early 1960s by teenaged Cajuns and black Creoles, it combines New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and traditional French...
.
King Karl (real name Bernard Jolivette), a black Creole
Louisiana Creole people
Louisiana Creole people refers to those who are descended from the colonial settlers in Louisiana, especially those of French and Spanish descent. The term was first used during colonial times by the settlers to refer to those who were born in the colony, as opposed to those born in the Old World...
swamp pop musician, composed the song around 1958. (Producer J. D. "Jay" Miller is listed as a co-writer even though he did not actually help to compose the tune.) Karl intended to record the song for the Excello
Excello Records
Excello Records was an American blues record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label...
label of Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, for which he, his bandmate Guitar Gable (Gabriel Perrodin), and their band the Musical Kings had recorded other swamp pop compositions.
Excello did not like the song, however, and as a result Karl's version at first remained unreleased.
In the meantime, Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
swamp pop musician Rod Bernard
Rod Bernard
Rod Bernard is an American singer who helped to pioneer the musical genre known as "swamp pop", which combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun and black Creole music...
of Opelousas, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, heard Karl and his group perform the tune at the local Moonlight Inn nightclub. When Bernard learned that Excello had no intention of releasing the song, he asked Karl if he could record it for Floyd Soileau
Floyd Soileau
James Floyd Soileau is an American record producer.Soileau was born November 2, 1938, in Faubourg, a small community between Ville Platte and Washington, Louisiana. He grew up speaking Cajun French and did not speak English until attending school at the age of 6 years...
's newly formed Jin
Jin Records
Jin Records is a Ville Platte, Louisiana-based swamp pop record label, although some Cajun recordings have also been issued on the label. It was started by Floyd Soileau in 1958....
label of Ville Platte, Louisiana.
Karl approved, and Bernard and his group, the Twisters, recorded the song that year for Jin, using the same studio — Miller's MasterTrak Studio of Crowley
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...
, Louisiana — that Karl and his band had used to record their still-unreleased original version.
In late 1958 Bernard's version became a regional hit in south Louisiana and east Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
, and, licensed to the Argo
Argo Records
Argo Records was started in December of 1955 to accommodate some of the rapidly growing recording activity at Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Argo.Initially, Argo offered a...
label of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, it rose to the top of national charts in the U.S. in 1959.
Surprised by the song's success, Excello quickly released King Karl's original version.
Meanwhile, other swamp pop groups, including Doug Charles and the Boogie Kings and Gene Terry and the Downbeats, released their own versions of the song to capitalize on Bernard's success.
By then, however, the general public regarded Bernard's version as the authoritative version. As a result, it was Bernard who appeared on American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, The Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
Show, and elsewhere.
Today, "This Should Go On Forever" is considered an early classic of the swamp pop genre and is frequently performed by live bands in dancehalls and festivals in south Louisiana and east Texas.
Sources
- Shane K. Bernard, Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1996).
- John Broven, South to Louisiana: Music of the Cajun Bayous (Gretna: Pelican, 1983).