Birthday

1940-03-15

Place of Birth

Jonesville, Louisiana

Biography

Tommy McLain is perhaps the last great artist from rock ‘n’ roll’s pioneering first generation awaiting rediscovery. The signature swamp pop sound that he helped create spawned multiple national hits in the 1960s and inspired artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Little Feat, and Tony Joe White, among others. His best known songs - “Sweet Dreams,” “Before I Grow Too Old” and “Try To Find Another Man” - are to this day considered cornerstones of the genre. He’s been inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame (twice!), earned a gold record for writing “If You Don't Love Me (Why Don't You Just Leave Me Alone)” for Freddy Fender, and even appeared - as himself - in the 1975 Paul Newman thriller The Drowning Pool.