White Teeth, Black Thoughts

In a July 2010 interview conducted while the Daddies were still touring behind the release of Skaboy JFK, Perry hinted at prospective plans for new Cherry Poppin' Daddies material, mentioning the band was in the process of writing music for possibly two new albums, one "a swing-rockabilly kind of thing" and the other "an R&B...pop thing".[13] By the following January, however, Perry clarified that the swing album had become the band's sole focus, though elements of the R&B project would eventually contribute to the development of White Teeth, Black Thoughts' bonus disc.[4]

Buckwheat Zydeco was one of several guest musicians appearing on White Teeth, Black Thoughts.

Initial production on the album began in March 2011 at Gung Ho Studios in the Daddies' hometown of Eugene, Oregon, where all of the band's previous studio albums have been recorded.[14] Documented through Perry's personal Twitter account, this stage of production lasted throughout most of 2011, with recording lasting into summer, tracking finished by October and mixing taking place over the following months.[15][16] These recording sessions marked the debuts of guitarist Bill Marsh and tenor saxophonist Willie Matheis, both of whom joined the Daddies in 2010, as well as trombonist Joe Freuen, who would later join the band in 2012 as their first full-time trombone player. This would also be the final Daddies album to feature longtime keyboardist Dustin Lanker, who would leave the band in early 2012.

Much like Susquehanna, White Teeth, Black Thoughts features an extensive roster of guest musicians, primarily contributing instruments unique to the genres being performed. Most notably, the album features appearances by Grammy Award-winning accordionist Buckwheat Zydeco on the zydeco-styled song "Tchoupitoulas Congregation", and Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band guitarist Zoot Horn Rollo, a Eugene resident and personal friend of Perry's, on the psychobilly cover "Flat Butts and Beer Guts".[17] John Fohl, a former member of Dr. John's Lower 911 band and Daddies guitarist from 1990 to 1992, provided baritone and slide guitar for the western swing track "Peckerheads and Badasses".[18]

Although the band originally announced a projected release date of winter 2011, updates on the album's development went entirely unheard of until a December 2011 interview with Perry, where he vaguely mentioned continued work on the album but finally confirmed its title, White Teeth, Black Thoughts.[19] Perry later revealed that following initial completion of recording in late 2011, the band ultimately decided to record an additional batch of songs and release an exclusive version of White Teeth, Black Thoughts as a double album.[4][20] According to Perry, he had simply written "so many damn songs" in both the swing and rockabilly/Americana genres that he thought it better to split them into two separate albums rather than attempt to merge the two styles into something stylistically cohesive.[4]

On June 20, 2012, the Daddies launched a PledgeMusic campaign accepting fan donations to help complete the final stages of production, reaching 100% on August 14 and continuing to collect further donations into 2013, ultimately raising 133% of its target sum.[21] Perry announced through a PledgeMusic update on November 16, 2012, that the album and its artwork had been completely finished.[22]

On March 18, 2013, a digital download of the 11-track swing album was released exclusively for contributors to the Daddies' PledgeMusic campaign, while signed physical copies of the single and double-disc CDs were mailed out in the following weeks.[23] The Daddies eventually confirmed a wide release date of July 16 for both versions of White Teeth, Black Thoughts in April, releasing the album's first single and video, "I Love American Music", on May 15, and the second, "The Babooch", on July 2.[11][24] On July 8, Billboard released a full stream of the swing album on their website.[25] Both CD versions of the album were released on July 16 along with a limited vinyl release of the swing album, the first Daddies album since 1990's Ferociously Stoned to be issued on vinyl.

Having retired from full-time touring after their hiatus in late 2000, the Daddies carried out a short fifteen-city tour in support of White Teeth, Black Thoughts, primarily playing within the West Coast and New England.[26] In the midst of the tour on July 25, the band appeared on the Fox-owned KTTV program Good Day L.A., performing the song "I Love American Music" in promotion of their show at the Roxy Theatre in Hollywood that same evening.[27]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
PopMatters	7/10

Critical response to White Teeth, Black Thoughts was generally favorable, though, like Susquehanna five years prior, the album's independent release and distribution flew under the radar of most major music publications. PopMatters gave the album a 7 out of 10 rating, considering it to be a superior effort over Zoot Suit Riot, complimenting the band's "bizarre/twisted/out of left field sense of humor" and agility at "slinky, slow-burning numbers" such as the title track, though criticized parts of the album they felt steered too close to the sounds of other contemporary swing bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.[35] Pop'stache contributed a glowing review, calling it "beautifully recorded" and the Daddies' "most mature and polished release to date", praising their "unconventional lyrics, bouncy guitars, and some strange drums" in making a "contemporary twist on a classic style".[36] The Washington Post also gave a positive review, though expressed mixed feelings over the Daddies' "modern spin" on swing music, writing that most of the songs sounded like "contemporary bar-rock songs in a swing style than the work of a retro act", though highly praised songs such as "Brown Flight Jacket" for the "tender" lyricism and level of subtlety for what the reviewer considered "a group that has never seemed to grow out of its bawdy lyrics and rambunctious style".[37] Cityview offered a more indifferent opinion, calling the album "a solid, well-developed piece of music" which was "more mature and nuanced than maybe anything the band has previously released", though noted that it felt like an "album out of time" and it was "hard to shake the feeling that it's come about a decade too late".[38] In a brief 2014 review, Matt Collar of Allmusic rated the album with 3.5 out of 5 stars, summarizing it as "an album of exuberant, urbane dance music that moves from popular standards to new compositions with devilish ease".[39]

Of the few publications to review the double-disc deluxe edition, Ink 19 called the second disc "more experimental and generally more fun than the first", though recommended both discs as featuring worthwhile material, singling out the "touching" "Brown Flight Jacket" and the "fun to sing along with" "Flat Butts and Beer Guts".[7] ReadJunk called the album "a great swing-influenced album", describing the first disc as containing "some pretty good swing songs", but urged readers to pick up the deluxe version, writing "[y]ou'll be missing out an entire disc of great songs if you don't".[8]

Cherry Poppin' Daddies

• Steve Perry – vocals, guitar, washboard
• Dan Schmid – bass
• Dana Heitman – trumpet
• Joe Manis – alto sax
• Kevin Congleton – drums
• Willie Matheis – tenor saxophone
• Bill Marsh – lead guitar
• Joe Freuen – trombone

Production

• Produced by Steve Perry
• Recorded and mixed by Bill Barnett at Gung Ho Studio, Eugene, Oregon
• Mastered by Brad Blackwood at Euphonic Mastering, Memphis, Tennessee