Celebrating the music of Naptown bassist Heavy Swain – Part 1

September 07, 2025

For the next three weeks, we’ll celebrate the work of the bass player Leonard Wilson Swain Jr., better known as “Heavy” Swain, an unsung hero of the Avenue music scene. During his career, Swain performed with many legendary jazz and R&B musicians, including Dinah Washington, Cootie Williams, Willis Jackson, Tiny Bradshaw and more. On this week’s show, we’ll focus on his recordings with “Champion” Jack Dupree and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson.

Swain was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1916. By the 1930s, he was living in Indianapolis. The 1940 census listed his address as 2039 North Capitol. Swain began working professionally in music as a teenager, performing at Avenue venues like the Cotton Club, and Mitchellyne. During his time in Naptown, Swain worked with the city’s best musicians, including Jerry Daniels of the Ink Spots, Step Wharton, Bessie Moore, Baggie Hardiman, Eldridge Morrison, Fred Wisdom, Cleve Bottoms and many others. 

Swain first gained notoriety on the six-string guitar. A 1936 article in the Indianapolis Recorder called him the “best six-string player in town.” By 1940, Swain had switched to the upright bass. He made his first recordings that set year, cutting a series of sessions with “Champion” Jack Dupree in Chicago.