Ten Favorite John D. Loudermilk Compositions: Waterloo (#10)

Tweet

I was going to start this countdown last night, but we had, ahem, “issues” here on myLot (if you were around until the flyswatter came down you know what I mean). Last month I did a countdown of favorite songs written by Allen Toussaint. I thought I’d try that again, this time focusing on someone else you’ve probably never heard of, John D. Loudermilk. As I go through the songs, though, there are some that, like Toussaint, you’ll probably recognize. Here’s the first one. #10: Waterloo Quickly: NOT THE ABBA SONG!!!!! In 1959, when rock and roll was new, there were a lot of crossover hits. Elvis was topping the country charts, and Marty Robbins was scoring #1 pop hits. That included “Nashville sound”-type songs, where a lot of the “country” sound was removed (e.g., “The Three Bells” by the Browns, “He’ll Have to Go” by Jim Reeves) as well as songs where there was no argument as to whether or not it was “country.” Such as this song. This Loudermilk song became the biggest hit in the career of country singer Stonewall Jackson (yes, his real name). It was #1 for a month on the country chart and made the pop top five. The banjo that kicks the song off lets you know rather quickly this isn’t an Elvis song. (Not an Abba song, either. ) While not Jackson’s only #1 song, it’s the one that people remember the most. Waterloo Written by John D. Loudermilk and Marijohn Wilkin Recorded by Stonewall Jackson Released as a single, 1959 Now he swings where the little birdies sing: