June 19, 1944 - June 23, 1990                    Nederland, TX

Isaac Payton Sweat was born in Port Arthur and graduated from Nederland High School in Nederland, Texas. He briefly attended Lamar University in Beaumont as a pre-med student, but left after only a few months because he was already performing music at night and found it too difficult to balance the two.

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His father and uncles played in local bands such as The Fruit Jar Drinkers and the Firestone Boys, performing lively “hoedowns” at area dance halls. Sweat began playing banjo at age 13 and later switched to guitar, performing with several high-school rock bands. One of his early groups, The Continentals, paid him eight dollars a night, though the band lasted only a year.

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Sweat and blues guitarist Johnny Winter became acquainted through their band activities and their time at Lamar University. After leaving Lamar, Sweat eventually joined Winter’s band. Together they recorded the regional No. 1 hit “Eternally” and toured for three years, expanding their reach as far as Georgia.

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Sweat played bass on Johnny Winter’s Columbia Records release White, Hot & Blue, one of Winter’s most successful albums. After several years in the psychedelic rock scene, Sweat cut his hair, shifted away from rock, and returned to the country and roots music that had always meant the most to him.

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In 1980, Sweat recorded a vocal version of Al Dean’s instrumental “Cotton Eyed Joe,” which became a major regional hit and inspired its own dance. The song’s success earned Sweat the nickname “Mr. Cotton-Eyed Joe.” Because it was adapted from an earlier recording, however, he made very little money from its popularity. He also recorded his own versions of Cajun standards such as “Matilda” and “Jole Blon.”

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Later, in Nashville, he recorded “A Redneck Is the Backbone of America” and several other songs for Telstar Records, including “The Day the Music Died.” Tragically, Isaac Payton Sweat was shot and fatally wounded in the garage of his Richmond home on June 23, 1990. The case remains unsolved. He was inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast, Music Hall of Fame in 1999.