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On this day, May 13, 1975, Bob Wills died.
Hat tip, This Day in Rock
Bob Wills
Wills c. 1946
Background information
Birth name: James Robert Wills
Also known as: "King of Western Swing"
Born: March 6, 1905; Kosse, Texas, U.S.
Died: May 13, 1975 (aged 70); Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Genres: Western swing
Years active: 1929‒1973
James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade Cooley self-promoted the moniker "King of Western Swing" from 1942 to 1969).
Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills, and Kermit Whalin, who played steel guitar and bass. The band played regularly on Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station KVOO and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band's sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as "Steel Guitar Rag", "New San Antonio Rose", "Smoke On The Water", "Stars And Stripes On Iwo Jima", and "New Spanish Two Step".
Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded with several publishers and companies, including Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, and MGM, frequently moving. In 1950, he had two top 10 hits, "Ida Red Likes the Boogie" and "Faded Love", which were his last hits for a decade. Throughout the 1950s, he struggled with poor health and tenuous finances, but continued to perform frequently despite the decline in popularity of his earlier music as rock and roll took over. Wills had a heart attack in 1962 and a second one the next year, which forced him to disband the Playboys, although Wills continued to perform solo.
The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music.
In 1972, Wills accepted a citation from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in Nashville. He was recording an album with fan Merle Haggard in 1973 when a stroke left him comatose until his death in 1975. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1999.
{snip}
Wills c. 1946
Background information
Birth name: James Robert Wills
Also known as: "King of Western Swing"
Born: March 6, 1905; Kosse, Texas, U.S.
Died: May 13, 1975 (aged 70); Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Genres: Western swing
Years active: 1929‒1973
James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade Cooley self-promoted the moniker "King of Western Swing" from 1942 to 1969).
Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills, and Kermit Whalin, who played steel guitar and bass. The band played regularly on Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station KVOO and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band's sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as "Steel Guitar Rag", "New San Antonio Rose", "Smoke On The Water", "Stars And Stripes On Iwo Jima", and "New Spanish Two Step".
Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded with several publishers and companies, including Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, and MGM, frequently moving. In 1950, he had two top 10 hits, "Ida Red Likes the Boogie" and "Faded Love", which were his last hits for a decade. Throughout the 1950s, he struggled with poor health and tenuous finances, but continued to perform frequently despite the decline in popularity of his earlier music as rock and roll took over. Wills had a heart attack in 1962 and a second one the next year, which forced him to disband the Playboys, although Wills continued to perform solo.
The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music.
In 1972, Wills accepted a citation from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in Nashville. He was recording an album with fan Merle Haggard in 1973 when a stroke left him comatose until his death in 1975. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1999.
{snip}
Bob Wills - Take Me Back To Tulsa(Vocal Luke Wills) Live!!!
22,951 views•Sep 21, 2016
When The Cowboy Sings
249K subscribers
James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western swing,[ he was universally known as the King of Western Swing (after the death of Spade Cooley who used the moniker "King Of Western Swing" from 1942 to 1969.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Wills
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys: "Stay a Little Longer"
336,258 views•Jan 28, 2010
GtrWorkShp
136K subscribers
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys perform a rather hammy version of "Stay a Little Longer." From the DVD "Legends of Western Swing Guitar."
This is just about too good to be true:
Bob Wills plays & Glen Campbell sings San Antonio Rose Live TV
220,185 views•Aug 12, 2009
radiobob805
9.94K subscribers
Tommy Duncan was scheduled to appear, but he was ill, so Glen got the gig. He said it was a huge thrill. This is before Glen became a star. The production values are incredibly cheap. Love
Leon McAuliffe - Steel Guitar Rag
7,714 views•Jan 3, 2018
When The Cowboy Sings
249K subscribers
Leon McAuliffe Steel Guitar Rag live perfomance