Over the last few years, Tony Joe White’s work has been continually released, driven by the work of his son and archivist, Jody White. Through his digging, Jody has found The Swamp Fox’s treasure trove of lost, rare, and mostly-unreleased material.

Earlier this year, Jody re-released one of his father’s forgotten albums,The Real Thang, which included not only the original album, but a stack of never-before-heard recordings from that era. Now, with the release of The Real Thang Deluxe Edition, even more has been unearthed.

For the digital-only deluxe release, two new songs are included with the original eighteen tracks: “Fine Country Woman” and “Gringo.” 

The former is an ode to White’s wife, Leann. The latter, “Gringo,” is a rare instrumental written by White and his friend Waylon Jennings.

Jody says:

Nobody really knows the story behind this song, as these two men took it to their graves. Apparently, it was recorded one night while they were just hanging out and buried deep in the archives of the Tony Joe White audio tapes.

More About Tony Joe White:

Across five decades as a performer and storyteller, Tony Joe White—a.k.a. “The Swamp Fox”—left an indelible mark on American music. His catalog offers indisputable classics such as “Polk Salad Annie” and “Rainy Night in Georgia,” and his songs have been recorded by Ray Charles, Kenny Chesney, Waylon Jennings, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, and Tina Turner.