California's Big Bad Voodoo Daddy emerged in the 1990s as a leading force behind the neo-swing revival, delivering old-school swing and jump blues rooted in the sounds of earlier decades. Alongside fellow travelers Squirrel Nut Zippers and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, the group reintroduced big-band traditions and swing dancing to audiences raised on MTV and afterward. Like many acts in that movement, the band looked back to the 1940s and 1950s, adopting Rat Pack phrasing and outfitting each member in zoot suits. Although closely tied to the decade's swing resurgence, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy sustained a career through constant touring and gradually enriched its approach with deeper jazz elements.
Scotty Morris, serving as lead singer and guitarist, joined drummer Kurt Sodergren to found the ensemble in Los Angeles in 1989. The pair cultivated a local following through steady appearances on the lounge circuit, where Gen-X listeners embraced the playful nostalgia of the cocktail nation. That same scene gained wider notice through the 1996 independent film Swingers, whose soundtrack included a track by the band and which featured the musicians in an onscreen appearance. Before 1997 closed, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy had issued two self-released collections, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and What'chu Want for Christmas, both of which succeeded regionally and secured a deal with Capitol Records.
Capitol introduced the band's major-label debut, Americana Deluxe, in February 1998; the album is also identified as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy despite differing from the earlier independent release. This Beautiful Life arrived the following year. When the musicians reconvened for their next project, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy had already moved more than three million units, shared the stage at Super Bowl XXXIII with Stevie Wonder and Gloria Estefan, and placed music in over sixty film and television trailers. By then the swing revival had largely subsided, returning the group to its earlier underground footing.
Save My Soul, the ensemble's fifth album, reached stores in 2003, five years after the Interscope debut. Drawing inspiration from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the record broadened the band's palette to encompass jazz, swamp funk, and Cajun traditions associated with the Big Easy. A concert CD/DVD package and a holiday collection both appeared in 2004. In 2009 the band issued How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway, which delved further into core jazz and swing repertoire. After moving to the Savoy Jazz imprint, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy maintained that focus on Rattle Them Bones in 2012. Its third holiday set, It Feels Like Christmas Time, arrived in fall 2013.
In the ensuing years the musicians maintained an active schedule of tours and festival dates worldwide. For their 25th anniversary in 2017 they released their eleventh studio album, Louie Louie Louie. The project paid tribute to Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, and Louis Jordan through new renditions of several signature compositions by the three jazz and blues figures.
