It is possible, with very little effort, to stream live video of Elvis Presley singing “Polk Salad Annie,” back during his final credibility scare, and then of the songwriter, Tony Joe White, singing it on network T.V. with the host of “The Johnny Cash Show” (oh yeah, that's the one) and, much, much later, with the Foo Fighters.
“Polk Salad Annie,” to be clear, is in part a song written about a weed so poisonous it can only be harvested in the spring and must be boiled — twice — before it is safe to eat. Tony Joe White grew up eating that stuff, with cornbread.
Handsome fella, Mr. White was (he died in 2018), seventh son from Goodwill, Louisiana with a warm, deep voice and slow mischief simmering behind his eyes. He took his guitar cues from Lightnin' Hopkins and John Lee Hooker — and a bit of his act from Elvis, another white boy who could sing the blues. White's top charting hit came in 1970, “Rainy Night in Georgia,” the last big song for rock and roll/R&B musician Brook Benton and a global sensation. He hung with Mickey Newbury and Waylon Jennings and Tina Turner. Oh, and Dusty Springfield cut “Willie & Laura Mae Jones,” a single from the In Memphis sessions.
High cotton, all of that.
And yet.
