4A: Bob Wills

Bob Wills was born on a cotton farm near Kosse, Texas in 1905. This is between Dallas and Austin. (Question — Can you locate this area on a map?)

As a kid, Bob played both with white and black kids. He listened to all kind of music – country, blues, and jazz. He once rode 50 miles on horseback to hear Bessie Smith sing. He said it was “the greatest thing I ever heard.”

Bessie Smith performing St.Louis Blues (1929). Nicknamed The Empress of the Blues she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. (Click...

He was known as the King of Western Swing. “Western swing” is a style of music that combines two very different forms of music:

“Western” is often thought of as “cowboy music.” It comes from the tradition of cowboys riding on a trail or camping around a fire. Here is an example of Western music. This is Gene Autry, who made a lot of cowboy movies.

Singing Cowboy Gene Autry, his side kick Smiley Burnette, and friends sing a medley including the classic songs "You Are My Sunshine," "Home on the Range," a...

“Swing” is a form of jazz. It originated in big cities. It’s usually performed by “big bands” – ten or more musicians, including lots of horns, like saxophones, trumpets, and trombones. People loved dancing to swing music. One of the early players was the Count Basie Orchestra. Here’s one of his songs. Look at all those horns!

COUNT BASIE Excerpts from the oddly titled "Dance of the Gremlins" (thanks to mfb25890 & mbdavis10025 for the song I.D.), and "Swingin' the Blues", c. 1941. ...

Bob used the instruments of Western music – guitar, steel guitar, fiddle – and the horns of swing music. His band always dressed up in their “cowboy best.”

Bob Wills didn’t sing. He was mainly known as a fiddler and a bandleader. His signature was his high-pitched, “Aaaaah!” Watch this video of “Ida Red.” Pay attention to how he interacts with the band. And listen for Bob’s holler.

Another song that Bob recorded many times. IT's said that Chuch Berry based Mabelline on this old song. Bob first heard it by Jimmie Davis according to an in...

Here’s an example of Bob using a full, swing band — horns and all.

Three songs featuring the Bob Wills Big Band. He had a full horn section, but they were only used for certain recordings. The first song of that type was his...

From 1935 until about 1945, Bob Wills and his band, the Texas Playboys, played weekly noontime dances at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. People packed the place to dance. The radio station KVOO broadcast the shows around the country. Here’s what it sounded like.

this is from kvoo radio 1956 or57 bob wills fiddle luke wills base johnny lee wills banjo glen duncan vocal leon rauch vocal billy bowman steel benny garica ...

Lots of musicians today are still inspired by Bob Wills. In the 1990s, a group of Chicago musicians recorded an album full of Bob Wills songs. Check out this version of “San Antonio Rose.” (Questions: 1. How does this sound different than Bob Wills? 2. Can you hear the clarinet? 3. Listen for this lyric: “If she don’t like biscuits, feed her …” what?)

Bonus video: Remember the Rolling Stones? Here they are singing “Bob Wills is Still the King.”

Order Bridges To Bremen on a variety of audio/visual formats: https://the-rolling-stones.lnk.to/BridgestoBYT This is the full-length show performed by the Ro...