Rod Bernard, born on August 12, 1940, in Opelousas, Louisiana, is an American singer who pioneered "swamp pop." Raised in a French-speaking Cajun family, he was influenced early by traditional Cajun music, which shaped his style as he began performing with the Blue Room Gang around 1950 while also hosting a live music radio program on KSLO in Opelousas. Bernard’s breakthrough came in 1959 with "This Should Go On Forever" for Floyd Soileau's Jin label, a national hit that led to appearances on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand and tours with Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. Later that year he signed with Mercury Records, though the label’s stylistic changes limited his success, prompting a move to Bill Hall’s Hall-Way label where he released "Who's Gonna Rock My Baby" and a rock ’n’ roll version of the Cajun folksong "Allons Danser Colinda." From 1962 to 1968 Bernard served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, and in the mid-1960s he formed The Shondells with Warren Storm and Skip Stewart, recording several singles and hosting a live dance program on KLFY-TV called Saturday Hop. In the 1970s he released several country and western albums, among them Country Lovin’ and Boogie In Black & White with Clifton Chenier, and later returned with Louisiana Tradition in 2003. Bernard passed away on July 12, 2020.
