Poppin’ again

The front door of the Louisiana Swamp Pop Museum in Ville Platte was unlocked Friday morning for the first time since March because of COVID-19. With the reopening, the public can now again enjoy the sites and sounds of the music that made Ville Platte the Swamp Pop Capital of the World.
The museum’s curator Sharon Fontenot called Friday’s reopening a “big deal.” She added, “The whole story is something we want to share, and, when you’re closed, you can’t share it.”
As Fontenot explained, Swamp Pop was huge back in its heyday and remains a big thing today.
“It’s important to the people who made that music,” she said. “Those guys and a few women actually created a new genre of music. Many of them had Top 20 hits nationwide. They were on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, which at the time you arrived if you made it on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.”
“They were on tours all around the country with a lot of the big stars of the day such as The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly,” she continued. “They deserve to be recognized. That’s one of the reasons why we created this museum and why we need to continue it for the future.”
Ville Platte, according to Fontenot, is considered the capital of Swamp Pop music because this is where it prospered. “With Floyd Soileau and his Jin record label,” she said, “there was more Swamp Pop music recorded than anywhere else. Plus it was played here in all the clubs.”
Many of the Swamp Pop stars are getting up in age, and many others have passed away. The most recent to pass was Rod Bernard. Because of that, Fontenot said keeping the museum open is a way to “honor the artists and to preserve the music and to try to continue it for future generations so it won’t be lost.”