The master Texas fiddle player Bob Wills is considered the king of Western Swing, a style he put together with his Texas Playboys (originally the Light Crust Doughboys) for a radio station in Ft. Worth in 1930. His band had been rehearsing at a furniture store where they also listened to the latest records to expand their repertory. Bob loved the 78s of white minstrel Emmett Miller – especially the way one of his musicians shouted “Up, boys!” to boost dance numbers. So Bob hollered “a-Haaa!” whenever the music moved him. And he never stopped doing that.
Wills became a member of both the Country Music and the Rock and Roll Halls of Fame for the mix of country, blues, jazz and pop with which his band packed dance halls in the Southwest for over two decades. But he never considered himself country, though he loved rock n’ roll when it hit the nation in the 50s. Bob Wills’ special style has influenced many country artists of today – among them Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel and Merle Haggard.
The lavish package from Legacy was chosen to be the initial release in a planned series on various Legends of Country Music. It brings together a total of 105 separate tracks on 4 CDs, plus a delightful bound booklet full of photos, memorabilia and a running commentary by country music historian Rich Kienzle on the history of Wills and his band. One of the souvenir items is the menu from the Chuck Wagon Chow cafe at his Wills Point, near Sacramento, California: It lists “Hamburger….33¢” All the details about each track are listed, including personnel in the band, original disc number and date of release. The compendium starts with the very first recordings with the Doughboys in 1932, explores their most famous recordings in the period of 1935 thru 1947, and ends with selections from the final recording session in l973, when Wills was wheelchair bound. Nine songs are included which were not ever released during the heyday of the band in the 1930s and 40s. Some of the labels for which Wills recorded included Victor, Okeh, Vocalion, Columbia, MGM, Liberty, Kapp and United Artists. Altogether the band had 43 recording sessions spanning 41 years. The lead singers were Tommy Duncan, Leon McAuliffe and Leon Rausch. Wills was the first country performer to use a drummer, among his other innovations.
I found the tracks on Disc 1 fascinating with their repertory from various traditional jazz, blues and novelty acts of the period. You can hear the influence of such as Bessie Smith, Big Bill Broonzy, Jack Teagarden, Fats Waller and various sweet swing bands of the time. Basin St. Blues and Red Hot Gal of Mine are fairly straight jazz of mid-30s vintage, with a hot violin obligatto and a bit of steel guitar thrown in, plus Wills’ patter of comments on the lyrics following each line. Swing Blues #1 is exactly that. Rosetta is 100% traditional jazz except that it has to be s l o w e s t Rosetta every put on records! Too Busy sounds like 1920s-style Chicago jazz and both Osage Stomp and Get With It like early New Orleans trad jazz but with country-style lyrics and delivery. Some of these Vocalion/Okeh sides sound like a couple guys from Ft. Worth sitting in with a band in New Orleans. Those already familiar with the band’s middle period will find all of their familiar hits here, including Steel Guitar Rag, New San Antonio Rose, Bubbles in My Beer, Ida Red, Stay a Little Longer, Faded Love, and Take Me Back to Tulsa. Wills’ voice is heard less on disc 4 from a Kapp recording session of 1969, because he had suffered a mild stroke. There are three tracks from the 1973 reunion album; the day after the session Wills had another serious stroke and he died in 1975.
I taped a lot of Bob Wills tracks from a program that had been on the Pacifica station in Berkeley, California and I listened to them in the car. I like the sophistication and humor of the band which is different from typical country music. As one writer from the region observed: “In jukeboxes and roadhouses thruout the Southwest, it’s Bob Wills – not Benny Goodman – who remains “The King of Swing.” I also had a few CD reissues of the band, but none of the tracks were from the early more jazz-oriented period – which, not being into country music, I find I enjoy more. The sound restoration is so much better than anything I have, even on these early sides. There is a fullness and impact to the sound that is missing from most of the reissues on LP as well as the CD reissues of the 80s. As was true with the recent Legacy package on Fats Waller and the Mosaic Django set of some time ago, it’s almost like enjoying some brand new releases from these long-gone artists!
Tracks =
Disc: 1
1. Sunbonnet Sue – Fort Worth Doughboys
2. Nancy Jane – Fort Worth Doughboys
3. Osage Stomp
4. Get with It
5. Spanish Two Step
6. Maiden’s Prayer
7. I Ain’t Got Nobody
8. Who Walks in When I Walk Out
9. Oklahoma Rag
10. Sittin’ on Top of the World
11. I Can’t Be Satisfied
12. Waltz in D
13. She’s Killing Me
14. Bluin’ the Blues
15. Steel Guitar Rag
16. Trouble in Mind
17. What’s the Matter with the Mill
18. Basin Street Blues
19. Red Hot Gal of Mine
20. Too Busy
21. Crippled Turkey
22. Bring It on Down to My House, Honey
23. Right or Wrong
24. Swing Blues #1
25. White Heat
Disc: 2
1. Steel Guitar Stomp
2. Rosetta
3. Blue Yodel #1
4. I’m a Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas)
5. Oozlin’ Daddy Blues
6. Black Rider
7. Down Hearted Blues
8. Pray for the Lights to Go Out
9. San Antonio Rose
10. Silver Bells
11. Beaumont Rag
12. Whoa Babe
13. Ida Red
14. Yearning
15. I Wonder If You Feel the Way I Do
16. Prosperity Special
17. You’re Okay
18. Liza Pull Down the Shades
19. That’s What I Like ‘Bout the South
20. My Window Faces the South
21. Don’t Let the Deal Go Down
22. Lone Star Rag
23. That Brownskin Gal
24. Corrine Corrina
25. Time Changes Everything
26. Bob Wills Special
27. Big Beaver
Disc: 3
1. New San Antonio Rose
2. Liebestraum
3. Lyla Lou
4. Maiden’s Prayer
5. Girl I Left Behind Me
6. I Knew the Moment I Lost You
7. Twin Guitar Special
8. Take Me Back to Tulsa
9. Takin’ It Home
10. Cherokee Maiden
11. Dusty Skies
12. My Life’s Been a Pleasure
13. Drop Us off at Bob’s Place
14. Home in San Antone
15. That Hot Lick Fiddlin’ Man
16. Miss Molly
17. My Confession
18. Ten Years
19. Let’s Ride with Bob
20. Bluer Than Blue
21. Hand Your Head in Shame
22. Texas Playboy Rag
23. Roly Poly
24. Stay a Little Longer
25. I Can’t Go on This Way
26. I’m Thru Wasting Time on You
27. New Spanish Two Step
Disc: 4
1. Sugar Moon
2. Brain Cloudy Blues
3. Bob Wills Boogie
4. Fat Boy Rag
5. Kind of Love I Can’t Forget
6. Hometown Stomp
7. Misery
8. Deep Water
9. Bubbles in My Beer
10. Papa’s Jumpin’
11. Sally Goodin’
12. Still Water Runs the Deepest
13. Blues for Dixie
14. Keeper of My Heart
15. Ida Red Likes to Boogie
16. Boot Heel Drag
17. Faded Love
18. St. Louis Blues
19. Cadillac in Model “A”
20. Heart to Heart Talk
21. Wabash Blues
22. Big Ball in Cowtown (We’ll Dance Around)
23. Pan Handle Rag
24. Blue Bonnet Lane
25. What Makes Bob Holler
26. Goin’ Away Party
– John Sunier
