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Rod Bernard () was an American
singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...
who helped to pioneer the musical genre known as "
swamp pop Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, Country music, countr ...
", which combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...
and black Creole music. He is generally considered one of the foremost musicians of this south Louisiana-east Texas idiom, along with such notables as Bobby Charles, Johnnie Allan, Tommy McLain, and
Warren Storm Warren Storm (né Schexnider; February 18, 1937 – September 7, 2021) was an American drummer and vocalist, known as a pioneer of the musical genre swamp pop; a combination of rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun music and black Cr ...
.


Life and career

Bernard was born in
Opelousas, Louisiana Opelousas (; ) is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 in Louisiana, Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 in Louisiana, U.S. Route 190 were constructed with a ju ...
. His parents were French-speaking Cajuns from working-class backgrounds and, as a child, he imbibed the traditional
Cajun French Louisiana French (Louisiana French: ''français louisianais''; ) includes the dialects and varieties of the French language spoken traditionally by French Louisianians in colonial Lower Louisiana. As of today Louisiana French is primarily use ...
music performed in his grandfather's dancehall, the Courtableau Inn, located in nearby Port Barre. There, he heard the music of noted Cajun musicians Aldus Roger, Papa Cairo, and Jimmy C. Newman, as well as
zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...
pioneer Clifton Chenier, all of whom would exert a strong influence on Bernard's music. Around age eight, Bernard obtained his first
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
(an acoustic
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...
model) and, around 1950, he began to perform with the Blue Room Gang, a Cajun-country (or "Cajun swing" in the vein of western-swing music) troupe, sponsored by local Red Bird brand sweet potatoes. During this period, Bernard also hosted his own live music
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
program on KSLO in Opelousas, singing Cajun and country tunes while strumming his guitar, in emulation of his musical hero, Hank Williams, Sr. In the mid-1950s, however, Bernard came under the influence of
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
and
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
music, especially the sounds of
Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...
and
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. Around 1957 he helped to form a rock 'n' roll band made up of fellow Opelousas teenagers. Calling themselves The Twisters, they recorded two singles for the obscure Carl label of Opelousas. The next year Bernard and his group recorded the sultry ballad " This Should Go On Forever" for Floyd Soileau's Jin label of Ville Platte, Louisiana. Leased to
Argo Records Argo Records was a record label in Chicago that was established in 1955 in music, 1955 as a division of Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint w ...
of Chicago, the song became a national hit in 1959, propelling Bernard onto
Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...
's ''American Bandstand'', ''The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show'', and ''The
Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...
Show'', as well as onto tours with
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...
,
Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...
,
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
, and B. B. King, among others. A follow-up single for Argo, "You're On My Mind", backed with "My Life Is A Mystery", failed to achieve the success of his initial national release. In late 1959, Bernard signed with producer Bill Hall of Beaumont, Texas, who switched the artist to
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
, which unwisely replaced Bernard's earthy swamp pop style with lush violin sections and female choruses. Only one minor hit, "One More Chance", emerged from these Nashville sessions. Around 1962, Bernard left Mercury for Bill Hall's own Hall-Way label in Beaumont, Texas. Recording with local artists
Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1 ...
and
Edgar Winter Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American multi-instrumentalist, working as a vocalist along with playing keyboards, saxophone, and percussion. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group and their pop ...
, he released several notable tunes, including "Fais Do Do", "Who's Gonna Rock My Baby", and a rock 'n' roll version of the Cajun folksong "Allons Danser Colinda", the latter of which achieved national airplay (as "Colinda") and remains a regional favorite in south Louisiana and east Texas. A stint in the U.S. Marine Corps boot camp interrupted Bernard's musical career but, after several months, he returned to south Louisiana to form The Shondells (not to be confused with Tommy James' group) with fellow swamp pop musicians
Warren Storm Warren Storm (né Schexnider; February 18, 1937 – September 7, 2021) was an American drummer and vocalist, known as a pioneer of the musical genre swamp pop; a combination of rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun music and black Cr ...
and Skip Stewart. (Bernard served in the
Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedi ...
from 1962 to 1968, reaching the rank of
sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
.) During the mid-1960s, the group recorded several singles for the La Louisianne label of Lafayette, Louisiana, and they hosted a live dance program on KLFY-TV called "Saturday Hop". This program inspired their circa 1965 album, ''The Shondells at the Saturday Hop'', issued on La Louisianne. During this period Bernard recorded singles for Huey Meaux's Teardrop and Copyright labels, and for Soileau's familiar Jin label. Isolated singles appeared on the
Scepter A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia, signifying sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The '' Was'' and other ...
and Shelby Singleton's SSS International labels. These sessions included notable releases such as the Chuck Berry-type rocker "Recorded in England", the Cajun two-step inspired "Papa Thibodeaux", and the doleful ballad "Congratulations To You Darling". Bernard performed infrequently during the 1970s, but returned to his roots by releasing several country and western albums, including ''Country Lovin'' and ''Nightlights And Love Songs''. He also issued the album ''Boogie in Black and White'' with Clifton Chenier, considered a milestone by many because of its raucous blend of Cajun and black Creole elements. One music writer, John Broven, described it as "a wild and woolly rock 'n' roll set with spontaneity one normally only dreams about," while another, Larry Benicewicz, claimed that "such a masterpiece, no doubt, spawned other 'experiments' like
Wayne Toups Wayne Toups (born October 2, 1958, in Crowley, Louisiana) is one of the most commercially successful American Cajun music, Cajun singers. He is also a songwriter. Wayne Toups has been granted numerous awards and honors throughout his career incl ...
' 'ZydeCajun' style or, perhaps, a Zachary Richard 'Zach Attack,' a similar fusion of Cajun, zydeco, and R&B." Around 1980, he recorded an album of Fats Domino favorites for Jin, titled ''A Lot of Dominoes'', but the masters disappeared until around 1991, when the tracks were finally released (albeit only on cassette). In 2003, he recorded his first new album in over two decades. Titled ''Louisiana Tradition'', the compact disk appeared on the CSP label of Forney, Texas, and included several new songs, as well as reworkings of vintage south Louisiana tunes like fellow swamp pop musician Bobby Charles' " Later Alligator". In June 2006, Bernard re-recorded his spoken-word single "A Tear In The Lady's Eye", which he had originally written and recorded in 1968 as a pro-military response to anti-
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
protestors. (The "Lady" of the song is the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...
.) In the revised version, however, Bernard addressed Americans who opposed the ongoing war in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. At his own expense, Bernard pressed a handful of CD singles containing the revision, which he distributed for airplay to select radio stations and programs, mainly in south Louisiana. Many of Bernard's songs have been reissued on compact disk, both in the U.S. and abroad, and continue to receive much regional airplay. Significantly, younger generations of south Louisiana musicians, including C. C. Adcock, Marc Broussard, and Zachary Richard, have acknowledged him as a strong musical influence. Bernard last performed in public in 2015 at the
Ponderosa Stomp The Ponderosa Stomp is an annual American roots music festival dedicated to "recognizing the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop and soul music." It was founded in New Orleans in 2002 and produced by the non-profit Mystic K ...
music festival in New Orleans. He retired from his career as a radio advertising executive in January 2018. On , Bernard's son announced his father's death, following a short illness. Bernard was 79.


Selected discography


Singles

* "All Night In Jail"/"Set Me Free", Carl, (matrix numbers J8OW-1229/J8OW-1230 ssued w/o record number, 1957. * "Linda Gail"/"Little Bitty Mama", Carl, (matrix numbers H8OW-2441/H8OW-2442 ssued w/o record number, 1957. * "This Should Go On Forever"/"Pardon Mr. Gordon", Jin 105, 1958; Argo 5327, 1959. * "You're On My Mind", Argo 5338, 1959. * "One More Chance", Mercury 71507, 1959. * "Colinda"/"Who's Gonna Rock My Baby", Hall-Way 1902, 1962. ("Colinda" also on '' Tomorrow's Hits (Vee-Jay Records album)'') * "Fais Do Do"/"New Orleans Jail", Hall-Way 1906, 1962. * "Forgive", Hall 1915, 1962. * " Diggy Liggy Lo", Hall 1917, 1963. * "Our Teenage Love"/"Doing The Oo-Wa-Woo", Tear Drop 3044, 1964. * "You're The Reason I'm in Love"/" My Jole Blon", Tear Drop 3052, 1965. * "No Money Down"/"Little Green Man", Tear Drop 3060, 1965. * "Recorded in England"/"This Should Go On Forever", Tear Drop 3117, 1965. * "Recorded in England"/"Somebody Wrote That Song for Me", Arbee 101, 1965. * "These Were Our Songs"/"Just Another Lie", Arbee 105, 1966. * "These Were Our Songs"/"Recorded in England", Scepter 12195, 1967. * "Papa Thibodeaux", Copyright 2316, 1968. * "Congratulations To You Darling", Jin 232, 1968. * "New Orleans Jail"/"Big Mamou", Jin 240, 1969. * "Sometimes I Talk in My Sleep", Jin 325, 1975.


LPs

* ''Rod Bernard'', Jin 4007, ca. 1965. * ''Country Lovin'', Jin 9008, 1974. * ''Night Lights and Love Songs'', Jin 9010, 1975. * ''Boogie in Black and White'' ith Clifton Chenier Jin 9014, 1976. * ''This Should Go On Forever And Other Bayou Classics'', Crazy Cajun 1086, 1978.


Cassettes

* ''A Lot of Dominos'', Jin 4012, 1991.


CDs

(* = compilation) * ''Swamp Rock 'n' Roller'', Ace KCDCHD 488, 1994.* * ''The Essential Collection'', Jin 9056, 1998.* * ''Cajun Blue'', Edsel 593 K 1999.* * ''Louisiana Tradition'', CSP 1018, 1999. * ''Boogie in Black and White'' ith Clifton Chenier Jin 9014, 1976; issued on CD, 2014.


References


External links

* Video Documentary * Video Documentary * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Rod 1940 births 2020 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American rock musicians American rock singers Cadet Records artists Cajun people Country musicians from Louisiana Mercury Records artists Military personnel from Louisiana Musicians from Lafayette, Louisiana People from Opelousas, Louisiana Scepter Records artists Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Swamp pop music Tear Drop Records artists United States Marines