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Bobby Charles On World Cafe

Bobby Charles.
Courtesy of the artist
Bobby Charles.

As a teenager in Abbeville, La., Robert Charles Guidry — better known as Bobby Charles — wrote songs that would become classics for Bill Haley and Fats Domino: "See You Later, Alligator" and "Walking To New Orleans," respectively.

Charles' compositions pioneered the then-nascent genre of "swamp pop," a local style that mixed Cajun music with R&B and country. He continued to write music throughout his life, working with both Louisiana artists and major rock acts like The Band. He died in 2010.

Hear an interview with Charles from World Cafe's archives at the audio link.

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