Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
While he may not have invented Western swing (Milton Brown, Leon Selph, Ted Daffan, and Bill Boyd deserve some credit), Bob Wills defined the genre. Take fiddle-based old-time string-band music from the 1920s and '30s, move it to a city such as Tulsa or Fort Worth, add jazz, blues, pop, and sacred music, back it with strings and horns played by a dozen or so musicians, add an electric steel guitar along the way, and you have Western swing. And when you talk Western swing, you start with Bob Wills. Though the sound began in the 1930s, the '40s proved its heyday, with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys filling dancehalls across the South. Wills picked his musicians carefully: bluesy crooner Tommy Duncan was the vocal lead, Leon McAuliffe played electric steel guitar (doing much to popularize it country-wide), and the great Eldon Shamblin played lead guitar. Wills, a fiddler himself, always featured one or two of the hottest players around, including the incredible Johnny Gimble. One of country music's best-known songs, "San Antonio Rose," was written by Wills and sold a million copies in 1940.
Wills and his Texas Playboys sold so well that they appeared in eight movies, Westerns in which the solitary singing cowboy was replaced by a hot-playing swing band. The mania for Western swing had ended by the '50s, and though Wills played dates (including Las Vegas) throughout the '60s and recorded occasionally, his heights in the '40s were never again reached.
In 1973, Wills called together a group of his best Playboys (plus Merle Haggard, one of his greatest fans) for one last recording session. In a wheelchair, Wills was present for the first day only, suffering a stroke and never regaining consciousness. This final album was titled For the Last Time.
© David Vinopal /TiVo
-
The Essential Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Columbia - Legacy em 25/11/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Legends of Country Music: Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Columbia - Legacy em 03/02/2017
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
San Antonio Rose (Billboard Hot 100 - No 13)
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Music Manager em 23/10/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beaumont Rag
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Jazz - Lançado por The Entertainers em 01/01/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 8
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Texas Playboy
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Good Time Records em 03/03/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
100 Golden Greats (Remastered)
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Puzzle Productions em 01/01/2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthology (100 Classic Hits) [Remastered]
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Puzzle Productions em 01/01/2014
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 1
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 9
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites Volume 9
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 20/06/2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New Spanish Two Step (Billboard Hot 100 - No 20)
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Music Manager em 23/10/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New San Antonio Rose (Billboard Hot 100 - No 16)
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Music Manager em 23/10/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You're from Texas (Billboard Hot 100 - No 14)
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Music Manager em 23/10/2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 2
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 3
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 4
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 5
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 6
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites, Vol. 10
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 21/03/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Selected Favorites Volume 1
Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys
Country - Lançado por Charly Records em 20/06/2006
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo