Elton Anderson

Elton Anderson was an American singer and swamp pop pioneer who had a chart hit on Mercury Records.

From 1956 to 1957 Anderson was the featured vocalist of the Sid Lawrence Band while that band was the house band at The Southern Club, an Opelousas, Louisiana establishment which held a central place in establishing swamp pop as a genre.[1] Managed by Wayne Shuler, Eddie Shuler's son, Anderson had a regional hit on the Vin label in 1959 with "Shed So Many Tears".[2] A subsequent 1960 recording for Vin entitled "Secret of Love" was leased to Mercury.[2] Backed by Sid Lawrence's Combo, this single appeared on the national Billboard charts for four weeks beginning January 25, 1960, peaking at #88.[3] A week after appearing on the pop charts, it appeared on the R&B charts, reaching #22 but only appearing for three weeks.[4] A follow-up single entitled "Please Accept My Love" composed by Jimmy Wilson performed poorly, and Anderson was dropped by Mercury.

In 1962 his recording "Life Problem" was originally issued on Lee Lavergne's Lanor Records, but was leased to Capitol Records for national exposure.[2] Billboard reviewed the single positively as a "salty rock ballad."[2] Capitol released one more Elton Anderson single before dropping him because of poor sales, although Shuler felt Capitol's promotion of Anderson's records was unsatisfactory.[5] After Capitol quit him, Shuler and Lavergne released additional Elton Anderson material on Lanor, but soon after this Anderson left Shuler's management and relocated to California.[2]

Anderson was also a songwriter, and had at least one of his songs recorded by Lonnie Brooks.[6]

References
  1. Bernard, Shane K. (1996). Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. pp. 55–57. ISBN 0-87805-876-1.
  2. Broven, John (1983). South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. Pelican Publishing Company. pp. 256–257. ISBN 9780882896083.
  3. Whitburn, Joel (2000). Top Pop Singles 1955-1999. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. p. 16. ISBN 0-89820-139-X.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Across the Charts, the 1960s. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. p. 19. ISBN 9780898201758.
  5. Broven, John (1983). South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. Pelican Publishing Company. pp. 272–273. ISBN 9780882896083.
  6. Broven, John (1983). South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. Pelican Publishing Company. p. 158. ISBN 9780882896083.
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