There’s hardly a person in the so-called civilized world that hasn’t heard Phil Phillips’ dreamy, ethereal “Sea Of Love.” Cresting on the Billboard Pop Charts at Number Two in 1959, it’s the song that put swamp pop music on the map. Yet the man behind it remains a mysterious figure who rarely gigs. Hailing from Lake Charles, Phillips is a friendly family man who makes his home in nearby Jennings.

“When I was real young I started off singing spirituals,” says Phillip. “I got in a g...