Bobby Charles (born Robert Charles Guidry, February 21, 1938, Abbeville, Louisiana) is an American singer and songwriter.
An ethnic Cajun, Charles grew up listening to Cajun music and the country and western music of Hank Williams. At the age of 15, he heard a performance by Fats Domino, an event that "changed my life forever," he recalled.[citation needed]
Charles helped to pioneer the south Louisiana musical genre known as swamp pop. His compositions include the hits "See You Later, Alligator," which he initially recorded himself as "Later Alligator", but which is best known from the cover version by Bill Haley & His Comets; and "Walking to New Orleans", written for Fats Domino. "See You Later, Alligator" (though more commonly spelled without the comma in the title) is the title of an iconic rock and roll song of the 1950s.
Originally entitled "Later Alligator", the song, based on a 12-bar blues chord structure (141541)[1], was written by Louisiana songwriter Robert Charles Guidry and first recorded by him under his professional name "Bobby Charles" in 1955. Guidry, a white Cajun musician, adopted a New Orleans-influenced blues style for the.