The Black Dogs were formed in 1988 by Steve Yocum from a group of Disney World staff musicians. Yocum, a veteran trombonist that had previously worked with artists as diverse as Tom Waits and Banu Gibson, had a vision of a band that would infuse Traditional Jazz with contemporary New Orleans rhythms. In conjunction with a revitalized look at the music, "Uncle Yoke" also had a vision of presenting a dynamic stage presentation with the kind of showmanship typical of a Disney product. The original group was composed of Yocum on trombone and lead vocals, Davy Jones on cornet, Jim Buchmann on reeds, Bob Leary on banjo and guitar, Ed Metz, Jr. on drums, David Gannett on tuba, and Tom Hook on piano. Their first four albums and subsequent tours took the Traditional Jazz world by storm, introducing a diverse self-proclaimed gendre called "Swamp Jazz" which contained elements of traditional New Orleans Jazz, swing, R & B, reggae, zydeco, polka, and the list goes on and on. The band proved to be incredibly popular on the Traditional Jazz circuit and in the course of the next few years, appeared at practically every Traditional Jazz festival in the US, as well as subsequent tours of Europe and China. Yocum left the group to pursue a career in New Orleans , and the leadership of the group passed to Dave Gannet, and later to Tom Hook . In the ensuing years, the group has recorded several additional albums, and issued two greatest hit compilations of Mardi Gras and Traditional Jazz.

The only Black Dog album remaining in print is Hangin’ at the Big Bamboo, details below.