Charles Mann

Born Charles Louis Dominique, Charles Mann stands among the foremost figures in swamp pop, the rock-infused sound native to southeast Louisiana. Recognition has remained largely confined to Louisiana's French Triangle, yet several regional hits have emerged under his name, among them "Keep Your Arms Around Me," "You're No Longer Mine," and "She's Walking Towards Me." The strongest commercial moments arrived through his 1969 cover of Neil Diamond's "Red, Red, Wine" and his 1988 reading of Dire Strait's "Walk Of Life." As a child he passed countless hours singing along with radio broadcasts. By his early teens he had entered a church choir. The year 1960 brought membership in his first rock ensemble, Rick and the Hound Dogs. Four years afterward he moved to the more seasoned unit the Eltradoors. Lee Lavergne, record producer and proprietor of the Lanor label, learned of the singer and placed him under contract. The resulting debut single, "Keep Your Arms Around Me," registered as a regional success. Performances stayed concentrated in the corridor linking southeast Louisiana with southwest Texas, from Baton Rouge to Beaumont, where his vigorous swamp-pop delivery steadily enlarged his audience. Induction into the Louisiana Hall of Fame occurred in 1990; in April 1998 he received a Louisiana Living Legend award.