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Bob Wills Box Set
This collection is unavailable via iTunes, other collections are available but not as large as this one.
To buy this CD box set from Amazon.com, click here: Legends of Country Music
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The Music:
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys created their rich, compelling style by brilliantly synthesizing other musical forms and assimilating recoding by others into something uniquely their own. These song notes attempt to explain the music and its origins – and how all 105 remarkable performances came to be.
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DISC ONE:
February 19, 1932; Dallas:
This Victor recording remains the only example of the Doughboys with Bob and Milton. With Arnspiger out of the band, Derwood Brown and new Doughboy Sleepy Johnson handle rhythm guitars. “Sunbonnet Sue” speaks for itself, Bob playing melodically and Milton singing with a verve even more pronounced on “Nancy Jane,” a double-entrendre number originally recorded by the black jug band the Hokum Boys. With Light Crust a Burrus Mill trademark, Victor credited the record to the Fort Worth Doughboys.
1. Sunbonnet Sue (3:01)
- The Fort Worth Doughboys
(M. Brown)
Produced by Eli Oberstein
Released as Victor single #23653
2. Nancy Jane (3:09)
- The Fort Worth Doughboys
(M. Brown)
Produced by Eli Oberstein
Released as Victor single #23653
Personnel: Tracks 1, 2: Milton Brown, vocals; Bob Wills, Fiddle; Derwood Brown, guitar, vocals on chorus (track 2) Sleepy Johnson, tenor guitar
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September 23, 1935; Dallas:
The first Playboys recording session was nearly their last. Satherley, expecting a string band like the many others he recorded, questioned the need for horns. Bob responded testily that they came with the package. Rehearsing “Osage Stomp,” an adaptation of the Memphis Jug Band’s “Rukus Juice and Chitlin’,” Bob maintained his usual running commentary until Satherley stopped the band and chastised Bob for hollering. Leon McAuliffe never forgot what happened next.
“Is that right? Okay!” Turning to the Playboys, Bob angrily declared, “Pack up! We’re going home!”
“No, Bob, I don’t want you to go home. I want you to make records for us!”
“You hired Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and Bob Wills hollers anytime he feels like it and says whatever he wants to say! Now if you want to accept that, Mr. Satherley, we’ll do it. But if you don’t, we’re going home!”
Satherley wisely backed off, and the band tears loose for a wild ride. Bob’s fiddle leads off, followed by Jesse Ashlock, the Playboy’s first actual swing fiddler. McAuliffe’s amplified steel tears loose, followed by Son Lansford’s relentless slap bass and saxophonist Zeb McNally. To say they established their sound is… putting it mildly.
Tommy Duncan wrote his recorded debut, “Get With It,” by adding original lyrics to the melody of the Mississippi Sheiks’ 1930 recording “The Jazz Fiddler.” While Bob Dunn played amplified steel guitar on records by the Musical Brownies, no country record had ever featured amplified lead guitar – until Leon’s solo here. Bob wrote “Spanish Two Step,” in Roy, New Mexico in 1927, inspired by Mexican musicians he performed with there. His fiddling is flawless, as is Leon’s brief, chime-laden steel guitar. Bob learned the fiddle solo “Maiden’s Prayer,” from his dad. “I Ain’t Got Nobody,” the Emmett Miller favorite that landed Tommy his Doughboy job in 1932, remained in Bob’s repertoire for decades.
3. Osage Stomp (3:00)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3096
4. Get With It (3:00)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills / T. Duncan)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3096
5. Spanish Two Step (2:52)
(B. Wills / T. Duncan)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3230
6. Maiden’s Prayer (3:03)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3924
7. I Ain’t Got Nobody (2:42)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocal
(S. Williams / R. Graham)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh #3206
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September 24, 1935; Dallas:
The Ray Noble Orchestra’s 1934 hit “Who Walks In When I Walk Out” demonstrates McAuliffe’s considerable skills as an upbeat “rhythm” singer. Following Zeb McNally’s sax break, he tears off snappy, raw lead guitar prior to Stricklin’s hell-for-leather piano break. “Oklahoma Rag” reveals Bob’s skill at integrating horns into a fiddle tune. Bob sang the Mississippi Sheiks’ 1930 blues standard “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” throughout his career. Leon’s bluesy amplified lead guitar reflects clear overtones of blues guitar great Lonnie Johnson. Tommy blows out a rousing, danceable rendition of bluesman Big Bill Broonzy’s “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” Leon again on guitar and Bob slipping in a clever fiddle break.
8. Who Walks In When I Walk Out (2:50)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(A. Hoffman/A. Goodhart/ R. Freed)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3206
9. Oklahoma Rag (2:47)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3295
10. Sittin’ On Top Of The World (3:16)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(L. Carter / W. Vinson)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3139
11. I Can’t Be Satisfied (2:59)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Broonzy)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3176
Personnel, tracks 3-11: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar, lead guitar (tracks 4, 8-11); Herman Arnspiger and Sleepy Johnson, guitars; Jonnie Lee Wills, Banjo; Jesse Ashlock, fiddle; Art Haynes, fiddle and trombone (tracks 3, 4, 7-11); Zeb McNally, alto saxophone (tracks 3, 4, 7-11); Al Stricklin, piano; Son Lansford, bass; Smokey Dacus, drums
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September 25, 1935; Dallas:
Aware of bob’s fiddle virtuosity, Satherley had him record four solos accompanied by Sleepy Johnson’s guitar. “Waltz in D” demonstrates the smooth long-bow style his elders taught him.
Bob had Leon audition his instrumental showcase “Steel Guitar Rag” for Satherley at the sessions. McAuliffe remembered in 1982 that Satherley, explaining at ARC had New York guitarist Roy Smeck recording Hawaiian guitar solos declared, “I’m not going to take that song.”
12. Waltz in D (3:00)
(B. Wills)
Not Originally Released
Personnel, track 12: Bob Wills, fiddle; Sleepy Johnson, guitar
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September 29-30, 1936; Chicago:
Tommy has a ball with the Nichols Brothers’ 1931 country ditty “She’s Killing me,” with Bob harmonizing on the chorus. “Bluin’ The Blues” is a variation on “Joe Turner Blues,” a staple in nearly every Texas Western Swing band.
Given the band’s impressive record sales since the Dallas sessions, Bob didn’t ask – he informed Satherley they were going to record “Steel Guitar Rag.” While Leon has composer credit, the song is an adaptation of “Guitar Rag,” written and originally recorded by black guitarist Sylvester Weaver in 1923. In 1930 country guitarists Roy Harvey and Jess Johnson re-recorded it, adding a new section making the song identical to what Leon later recorded. Leon claimed he’d never heard Weaver’s version, which is plausible. He may have heard the Harvey-Johnson recording, however.
Before the take, Bob directed Leon to play a chord and explained he’d “say something” before the song began. That’s how Bob’s famous “take it away” into came to be. “We had never done that before,” Leon remembered. Ray DeGeer’s powerful, aggressive tenor sax solo is a minor miracle. Since the song is in the key of E, he had to play his B-flat instrument in six sharps, a daunting task that he accomplished after uncorking a few beers before recording it.
A blues connoisseur, Bob undoubtedly knew Bertha “Chippie” Hill’s 1926 version of Richard M. Jones’ classic “Trouble In Mind” which inspired the Playboy arrangement. Duncan’s incisive vocal and Ashlock’s keening fiddle made it a Western Swing standard. Bob and Tommy have a rollicking good time swapping verses on Memphis Minnie’s 1930 “What’s The Matter With The Mill.” While Louis Armstrong first recorded “Basin Street Blues,” Wills based his version on one by a fellow Texan: jazz trombone great Jack Teagarden, himself a masterful white blues singer whose 1931 vocal with the Charleston Chasers made it a classic.
The Playboys’ first manager O.W. Mayo, an amateur songsmith, traveled with them to a dance when he added lyrics to Al Stricklin’s jazzy original piano instrumental “Turtle Oil.” That evening, Tommy Duncan debuted the new tune “Red Hot Gal Of Mine,” at the dance. Their spiritual take on the dance band favorite “Too Busy” emulates the spirit of the Casa Loma Orchestra, one of the earliest white swing bands. Zeb McNally, nicknamed “Judge” by Bob, plays the first sax break.
Bob and Sleepy Johnson’s “Crippled Turkey” possesses an eerie, hypnotic modality atypical of Wills’ fiddle solos. Tommy and Bob have a ball trading verses on “Bring It On Home To My House, Honey.” Their love for Emmett Miller’s 1929 recording of “Right Or Wrong” shines through in Tommy’s lively rendition, later adapted by George Strait into a 1984 top 10 single. On “Swing Blues #1” Tommy throws out random blues verses in between some spicy solos.
(September 29, 1936: Chicago)
13. She’s Killing Me (2:44)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(C. Nichols)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3424
14. Bluin’ The Blues (3:09)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3614
15. Steel Guitar Rag (2:46)
(L. McAuliffe / C. Stone / M. Travis)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3394
16. Trouble In Mind (2:56)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(R.M. Jones)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3343 and Conqueror single #9041
17. What’s The Matter With The Mill (2:52)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(arranged by B. Wills / T. Duncan)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3424
18. Basin Street Blues (2:59)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(S. Williams)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3344 and Conqueror single #9040
19. Red Hot Gal Of Mine (3:02)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocal
(A. Stricklin / O.W. Mayo)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3344 and Conqueror single #9040
20. Too Busy (2:32)
(N. Miller / C. Cohn)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3537
21. Crippled Turkey (2:46)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Not originally released
Personnel, track 21: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe and Sleepy Johnson, acoustic guitars
(September 30, 1936: Chicago)
22. Bring It On Down To My House, Honey (2:40)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3492
23. Right or Wrong (2:53)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(A. Sizemore / H. Gillespie / P. Beane)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh Single #3451
24. Swing Blues #1 (2:38)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3394
Personnel, tracks 13-20, 22-24: Bob Wills, fiddle, Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Herman Arnspiger and Sleepy Johnson, guitars; Johnnie Lee Willis, banjo; Jesse Ashlock, fiddle; Everett Stover, trumpet; Zeb McNally, saxophone; Ray DeGeer, saxophone and clarinet; Al Stricklin, piano; Joe Ferguson, bass; Smoky Dacus, drums
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June 7, 1937; Dallas:
“White Heat,” made famous by Jimmie Lunceford’s Orchestra in 1934, showcases Stricklin, DeGeer, Ashlock and McAuliffe. A blues melody that Bob recalled from childhood became the McAuliffe showcase “Steel Guitar Stomp,” Bob adding a bit of breaking news during Stricklin’s solo by announcing the pianist recent fatherhood. Stricklin’s idol, jazz piano giant Earl “Fatha” Hines, wrote and recorded the instrumental “Rosetta” in1933 and re-recorded it with his big band and lyrics in 1935. Bob took his cue from Fats Waller’s 1935 ballad rendition, copying Waller’s asides and plaintive delivery.
25. White Heat (2:41)
(W. Hudson)
Released on Vocalion/OKeh single #3614
DISC TWO:
June 7, 1937; Dallas (con’t):
1. Steel Guitar Stomp (2:35)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3997 and Conqueror single #9039
2. Rosetta (2:51)
- Bob Wills, lead vocal
(E. Hines / W. Woode)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3659
Personnel, track 25 (on Disc One) and track 1, 2: Same on Disc One tracks 13-20, 22-24; add Cecil Browne, fiddle.
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June 8, 1937; Dallas:
Tommy’s on familiar turf with Jimmie Rodger’s classic “Blue Yodel #1” (a.k.a. “T for Texas”), never released until it emerged on Columbia’s 1973 double LP Bob Wills Anthology, the label’s first serious Wills historic reissue.
3. Blue Yodel #1 (2:22)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(J. Rodgers)
Not originally released
Personnel, track 3: Same as Disc One, Track 25, and Disc Two tracks 1, 2; delete Stover, McNally and DeGeer
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June 9, 1937; Dallas:
Both Louis Armstrong and bandleader Johnny Johnson first recorded Phil Baxter’s novelty “I’m A Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas)” in 1930. As he sings, Tommy clearly savors the “morphine, coke or snow” lyric. He and Bob add a similarly salicious spin to country singer Bill Cox’s 1933 “Oozlin’ Daddy Blues.”
4. I’m A Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas) (2:23)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocal
(P. Baxter)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3693
Personnel, track 4: Same as Disc One, Tracks 13-20, 22-24; delete Stover, McNally and DeGeer
5. Oozlin’ Daddy Blues (2:24)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocal
(B. Cox / A. Delmore)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3693
Personnel, track 5: Same as Disc One, Tracks 13-20, 22-24; delete DeGeer
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May 16, 1938; Dallas:
Blues singer Georgia White recorded “Black Rider” in 1936. Charlie Laughton’s sensual clarinet helps the Playboys make it their own. During McAuliffe’s steel break, Bob alludes to the guitarist’s rep with the ladies. “Down Hearted Blues” was Bob’s favorite Bessie Smith number, shambling opens the performance with tasty legato guitar and Bob takes it from there. The versatile Laughton uncorks an intense trumpet solo that brings an ecstatic whoop from the Boss, singing, “I never loved but three women in my life,” with the aside, “that was one too many!” was topical. Eighteen days later, his divorce from third wife Mary Helen would become final.
“Pray For The Lights To Go Out” actually goes back to 1917 though Joe Haymes and his Orchestra’s 1932 remake likely inspired the Playboy rendition. As the horns vamp and rhythm section bounces, Bob has a ball doing a vocal call and response with the band.
6. Black Rider (2:42)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(R.M. Jones / J.M. Williamson)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4132
7. Down Hearted Blues (2:43)
- Bob Wills, lead vocal
(L. Austin / A. Hunter)
Not originally released
8. Pray For The Lights To Go Out (2:49)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(Tunnah / Skidmore)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5401 and Conqueror single #4918
Personnel, tracks 6-8: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, Steel Guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead and rhythm guitar; Sleepy Johnson, banjo; Jesse Ashlock, fiddle; Everett Stover, trumpet; Zeb McNally, saxophone; Charles Laughton, saxophone, trumpet, clarinet; Al Stricklin, piano; Joe Ferguson, bass; Smokey Dacus, drums
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November 28, 1938; Dallas:
Since “Spanish Two Step” sold well, Satherley asked for another similar instrumental. Thinking fast, Bob told the band to simply play “Two Step” backward, starting in D instead of A. Satherley named the new instrumental “San Antonio Rose,” and it became an even bigger hit. Bob lays down two fiddle numbers from his youth: “Silver Bells” and “Beaumont Rag.” Leon’s rhythm vocals and scat-singing dominate “Whoa Babe,” a jivey, jumping tune by trombonist (and future big bandleader) Larry Clinton
9. San Antonio Rose (2:32)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4755 and Conqueror single#9226
10. Silver Bells (2:39)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #49999 and Conqueror single #9721
11. Beaumont Rag (2:38)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #49999 and Conqueror single #9718
12. Whoa Babe (2:34)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(L. Clinton)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4625 and Conqueror single #9210
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November 29, 1938; Dallas:
They kicked off with the traditional “Ida Red,” recorded by Charlie Poole’s North Carolina Ramblers in 1928 and a staple in Bob’s repertoire. The song lingered in the heart of country fan Chuck Berry, who recast it as “Ida May,” then finally as his 1955 debut hit “Maybelline.” Wills loved crooner Gene Austin, a 1920s pop superstar who had a 1925 hit with “Yearning.” In ’38, Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra (another Wills favorite) revived it. Sung by vocalist Jack Leonard, it was a hit again, though Bob emulates Austin’s style.
The night before this session, Bob, aided by Tommy, wrote the ballad “I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do” at Dallas’ Jefferson Hotel on four sheets of hotel letterhead. “Prosperity Special,” another revered fiddle favorite, was also known as “Natchez Under The Hill.” On “You’re Okay,” vocalist Joe Ferguson seems the only sane person in the studio as McAuliffe’s and Ashlock’s crazed choruses swirl around him.
At session’s end, Satherley asked Bob for one more tune. They had nothing ready, but Bob said they did. As the Playboys looked puzzled, Bob told them, “Just play something. Kick it. He won’t know the difference!” Since their improvised 12-bar romp had no title, the producer dubbed it “Liza Pull Down The Shades.” It became a favorite jam tune at dances. “Bob liked it,” said McAuliffe. “He used to dance all over the stage and holler and carry on when we played it.”
13. Ida Red (2:21)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5079
Personnel, tracks 9-13: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead and rhythm guitar; Herman Arnspiger, guitar; Johnnie Lee Wills, banjo; Jesse Ashlock and Sleepy Johnson, fiddles; Charles Laughton, trumpet (track 12); Al Stricklin, piano; Son Lansford, bass; Smoky Dacus, drums
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14. Yearning (2:22)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(B. Davis / J. Burke)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4934 and Conqueror single #9721
15. I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do (2:34)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4566 and Conqueror single #9206
16. Prosperity Special (2:37)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5228
17. You’re Okay (2:25)
- Joe Ferguson, lead vocals
(M. Parish / M. Bloom)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4839 and Conqueror single #9213
18. Liza Pull Down The Shades (2:18)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4839 and Conqueror single #9213
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November 30, 1938; Dallas:
Phil Harris, comedian Jack Benny’s singing, hard-drinking, wisecracking radio bandleader, recorded “That’s What I Like ‘Bout The South” in 1937 for OKeh. McAuliffe has a ball with the vocal, then keeps the momentum going with a runaway rendition of “My Window Faces The South,” based on Fats Waller’s 1937 version (complete with electric steel guitar). “Don’t Let The Deal Go Down” came from Bob’s bottomless fiddle repertoire.
19. That’s What I Like ‘Bout The South (2:31)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(A. Razaf)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4566 and Conqueror single #9206
20. My Window Faces South (2:13)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(A. Silver / M. Parish / J. Livingston)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5161
21. Don’t Let The Deal Go Down (2:40)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5282
Personnel, tracks 14-21: Same as Disc Two, Tracks 9-13, add Everett Stover, trumpet; Zeb McNally and Joe Ferguson, saxophones; Charles Laughton, trumpet, saxophone (tracks 14, 17, 19, 20)
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April 15, 1940; Saginaw, Texas:
“Lone Star Rag” features Bob, Ashlock and new fiddler Louis Tierney, whose solo showcases his powerful, rhythmic sense of swing. “That Brownskin Gal,” another fiddle favorite, follows the same pattern. The original Doughboys performed the Mississippi Sheiks’ 1928 “Corrine Corrina,” redefined here as a genial country tune. McAuliffe, Shamblin and Johnnie Lee Wills ass remembered Duncan bringing a fully written “Time Changes Everything” to the session. Bob likely bought the song from Duncan, common practice in those days.
22. Lone Star Rag (2:42)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released by OKeh single #5637 and Conqueror single #9604
23. That Brownskin Gal (2:28)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5753 and Conqueror single #9394
24. Corrine Corrina (2:50)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(B. Chatman)
Released as OKeh single #6530
25. Time Changes Everything (2:37)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(T. Duncan)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5753 and Conqueror single #9394
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April 16, 1940; Fort Worth:
“Bob Wills Special” introduces Eldon’s and Leon’s revolutionary lead and steel ensemble, a key component of the postwar Playboys sound they discovered playing “Joe Turner Blues” (a.k.a. “Bluin’ The Blues”). “One night for some reason, I began to play a lick behind (Eldon) on the bass strings.” Leon said in 1981. “Eldon was sittin’ on the other side. And he started playin’ harmony to it. Bob flipped over it and so did we.”
With “Steel Guitar Stomp”’s melody still on his mind, Bob asked Eldon if they could turn it into a different type of song. What resulted is the roaring big band instrumental “Big Beaver,” named for a rural Oklahoma dancehall they often played. Shamblin’s arrangement pulses with vigor, as does his rhythm guitar. Following Wayne Johnson’s tenor solo, beefy, dynamic Tubby Lewis unleashes what Eldon called in 1981, “one of the finer choruses I ever heard on trumpet.”
“San Antonio Rose” was a big enough instrumental hit in 1940, legendary songwriter Irving Berlin’s New York publishing company gave Bob a contract to add lyrics. Aided by Playboy trumpeter Everett Stover, he wrote a set that fans loved when he premiered it on KVOO in March. But Berlin’s staff disagreed. Adding new lyrics that rendered it another Tin Pan Alley cowboy fantasy, they published the new lyrics in sheet music. Bob and the band learned the revised lyrics, but outraged fans demanded the originals. After a disgusted Bob got his Tulsa lawyer involved, Irving Berlin, Inc., reinstated Bob’s lyrics and retitled it “New San Antonio Rose” to distance it from their rewrite. With nary a fiddle to be heard, Duncan’s vocal floats atop Shamblin’s swinging, explosive orchestration. A 1941 hit record for both Bob and for Bing Crosby, it became and remains an American standard.
26. Bob Wills Special (2:42)
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #5694 and Conqueror single #9400
Personnel, tracks 22-26: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead and rhythm guitar; Herman Arnspiger, guitar; Johnnie Lee Wills, banjo, rhythm guitar; Jesse Ashlock and Louis Tierney, fiddles; Al Stricklin, piano; Son Lansford, bass; Smoky Dacus, drums
27. Big Beaver (2:39)
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #5905 and Conqueror single #9386
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Disc Three:
(April 16, 1940; Fort Worth: Con’t)
1. New San Antonio Rose (2:36)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #4694 and Conqueror single #9603
Personnel, track 27 (on Disc Two) and track 1: Same as Disc Two, Tracks 22-26; add Everett Stover and Tubby Lewis, trumpets; Louie Tierney, Zeb McNally, Joe Ferguson, Wayne Johnson and, possibly, Tiny Mott, saxophones
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February 24, 1941; Fort Worth:
The Playboys rev up Tommy Dorsey’s 1937 swing adaptation of the classical tune “Liebestraum.” Wayne Johnson’s free-swinging tenor yields to Don Harlan’s Benny Goodman-style clarinet. Tubby Lewis’s febrile trumpet owns the remaining moments. On “Lyla Lou,” Leon’s vocal packs a smile from start to end. Along with superb solos, new drummer Gene Tomlin’s projects authentic Dixieland rhythms.
The big band turns “Maiden’s Prayer” with its added lyrics into a romantic big band ballad and the ancient folk number “The Girl I Left Behind Me” into a roaring swing vehicle with scintillating choruses from Johnson, clarinetist Don Harlan and Tubby, who slashes and burns as an ecstatic Bob eggs him on. Satherley never released “Girl” or “Liebestraum.” He readily acknowledged the big band’s skill, but felt record buyers favored fiddle-dominated tunes like “I Knew The Moment I Left You,” a number Bob wrote while traveling to a dance with Eldon. “Twin Guitar Special,” based on 12-bar blues, truly showcased Eldon and Leon’s ensemble, Leon fading in chords on this volume pedal.
2. Liebestraum (2:51)
(arranged by B. Wills and band)
Not originally released
3. Lyla Lou (2:29)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(H. Sims / R. Ferris)
Released as OKeh single #6327 and Conqueror single #9819
4. Maiden’s Prayer (2:50)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #6205 and Conqueror single #9824
5. The Girl I Left Behind Me (2:38)
(arranged by B. Wills and band)
Not originally released
Personnel, tracks 2-5: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead electric and acoustic guitars, rhythm guitar; Louie Tierney, fiddle, saxophone; Tubby Lewis, Jamie McIntosh and possibly, Everett Stover, trumpets; Zeb McNally, saxophone; Wayne Johnson and Don Harlan, saxophone and clarinet; Al Stricklin, piano; Son Lansford, bass; Gene Tomlins, drums.
6. I Knew The Moment I Lost You (2:47)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
Released as OKeh single #6640
7. Twin Guitar Special (2:34)
(L. McAuliffe / T. Duncan)
Released as OKeh single #6101 and Conquerer single #9818
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February 25, 1941; Fort Worth:
In 1931 the Pelican Wildcats, another Texas string band, recorded the fiddle favorite “Walkin’ Georgia Rose” for ARC. During his early days with the Light Crust Doughboys, the band added lyrics and called it “Take Me Back To Texas,” which Bob later adapted into “Take Me Back To Tulsa.” Eldon and Leon built “Takin’ It Home” on a blues progression, adding harmonic sophistication hinting at the postwar progressive jazz style known as bebop. Tierney’s fiddling is brilliant and Stricklin’s assertive pianistics reveal why some jazz writers of that day compared him to jazz piano virtuoso Jess Stacy.
8. Take Me Back To Tulsa (2:38)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills / T. Duncan)
Released as OKeh single #6101 and Conqueror single #9818
9. Takin’ It Home (2:47)
(E. Shamblin / L. Tierney)
Released as OKeh single #6205 and Conqueror single #9824
Personnel, tracks 6-9: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 2 – 5; delete Lewis, McIntosh, Stover, McNally, Johnson and Harlan
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July 23 – 24, 1941; Hollywood:
During these session, Bob for the first time recorded material by future songwriting legend Cindy Walker, then a twenty-three-year old Texan living in Hollywood. Those tunes included the rousing “Cherokee Maiden” (later a hit single for Merle Haggard) and “Dusty Skies.” Both are stunning, “Skies” somber cowboy realism evoked one of Duncan’s most passionate performances. Leon tackles Ashlock’s upbeat “My Life’s Been A Pleasure” with his usual effervescence.
(July 23, 1941)
10. Cherokee Maiden (2:58)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Released as OKeh single #6568 and Conqueror single #9822
(July 24, 1941)
11. Dusty Skies (2:52)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Released as OKeh single #6598
Personnel, tracks 10, 11: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead guitar and acoustic guitar; Jesse Ashlock, fiddle; Louie Tierney, fiddle, saxophone; Wayne Johnson and Don Harlan, clarinet, saxophone; Al Stricklin, piano; Darrell Jones, bass; Gene Tomlins, drums
12. My Life’s Been A Pleasure (2:24)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(J. Ashlock)
Released as OKeh single #6681
Personnel, track 12: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 10, 11; delete Johnson and Harlan, clarinets.
__________________________________________________
July 14, 1942; Hollywood:
When Duncan joined the Army in May, ex-Light Crust Doughboy vocalist Leon Huff replaced hi. Wills continued indulging his love of Bob Crosby’s Orchestra, a big band renowned for its smaller Dixieland “band within a band” known as the Bobcats. Bob emulated the Bobcats concept in the 1942 band.
Singer-songwriter Johnny Bond, composer of the cowboy standard, “Cimmaron,” wrote the dry-humored “Drop Us Off At Bob’s Place.” The Playboys swing relentlessly behind Huff’s vocal. McAuliffe, using a foot pedal is able to alter volume and tone (a prehistoric “wah wah” pedal) emulates a muted brass section. Woodie Wood provides a fluid, teasing clarinet as drummer Bob Fitzgerald kicks in all the right Dixieland accents.
“Home In San Antone” composer Floyd Jenkins was actually Bob’s friend, Fred Rose, the country and pop songwriter later renowned for discovering Hank Williams. The vocalist here is Playboy trumpeter Danny Alguire. Cindy Walker’s lyrics, applied to a ragtimey fiddle tune Bob gave her, produced “That Hot Lick Fiddlin’ Man,” enjoyably sung by Leon, who likewise excels on Walker’s swinging “Miss Molly” written for the 1942 Western “Silver City Raiders.”
13. Drop Us Off At Bob’s Place (2:32)
- Leon Huff, lead vocals
(J. Bond)
Not originally released
14. Home In San Antone (2:30)
- Danny Alguire, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Released as OKeh single #6710
Personnel, tracks 13, 14: Bob Wills, fiddle, Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Doyle Salathiel, guitar; Joe Holley and Louis Tierney, fiddles; Woody Wood, clarinet; Moe Billington, piano; Darrell Jones, bass; Bob Fitzgerald, drums.
15. That Hot Lick Fiddlin’ Man (2:38)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(B. Wills / C. Walker)
Released as Columbia single #20531
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July 15 – 16, 1942; Hollywood:
One night, wile driving his vehicle ahead of the Playboy’s bus, Wills had an inspiration. McAuliffe remembered that, “He stopped and flagged us down, came back (on the bus) and said, ‘Here’s a song!’ And he started singin’ ‘Sweetheart, I’m so alone tonight.’” That line evolved into “My Confession.” Playboy trumpeter-arranger Alex Brashear gave Johnny Bond’s “Ten Years” a solid Dixieland flavor with Huff again handling vocals. When Bob wanted a them song, he told McAuliffe, “I want something different for a theme song, something that’s lowdown and dirty and bluesy.” Leon and trombonist Neil Duer worked out “Let’s Ride With Bob,” meeting Bob’s specifications with it’s raw, strip joint feel. Despite his misgivings about the Playboy’s big band recordings, Satherley issued it with “My Confession.”
(July 15, 1942)
16. Miss Molly (2:31)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Released as OKeh single #6710
Personnel, tracks 15, 16: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 13, 14: delete Wood.
(July 16, 1942; Hollywood)
17. My Confession (2:55)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #6703
18. Ten Years (2:48)
- Leon Huff, lead vocals
(J. Bond)
Released as OKeh single #6692
19. Let’s Ride With Bob (2:42)
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #6692
Personnel, tracks 17-19: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 13-14, add Danny Alguire, Alex Brashear and Benny Strickler, trumpets; Louie Tierney, tenor saxophone; Woody Wood, alto saxophone; Don Harlan, alto saxophone, clarinet, possibly bariton saxophone (track 18); George Balay, clarinet, tenor saxophone; Neil Duer, trombone.
__________________________________________________
July 24, 1945; Hollywood:
Two and a half years after his last Columbia session. Wills and his leaner, louder Texas Playboys reunited in Hollywood with Satherley. As the band waited to start, Bob and Art hoisted a few to celebrate, then had a few more. Guitarist Jimmy Wyble was half of Bob’s new twin guitar team with his Texas pal Cameron Hill. In 1982 Wyble vividly recalled what transpired at this session. “Lo and behold, Bob was out of it. We got through, but he ‘ah-ha’ed’ and talked excessively…so we had to go back in another night. “Bluer Than Blue” is stellar even if Bob’s boozy, hyperactive commentary nearly breaks up Tommy. Wyble, fiddler Joe Holley and steel guitar great Noel Boggs play burning choruses nonetheless. A sober “Bluer Than Blue,” recorded a few nights later, paled by comparison.
20. Bluer Than Blue (2:36)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Not Originally Released
_______________________________________________________________
January 26 & 28, 1945; Hollywood:
Wyble and Hill are the fire behind Fred Rose’s “Hang Your Hand In Shame” as Brashear’s muted trumpet and Holley’s fiddle buzz around Tommy’s vocal. Bob recycled, “Texas Playboy Rag” from the fiddle tune “Waltz In D” and taught it to steel guitarist Noel Boggs. A pivotal Western Swing innovator, Boggs made it his signature song, reprising it when he (and Wyble) worked with Spade Cooley’s band. Fred Rose’s lighthearted “Roly Poly” likewise became a Wills standard.
Playboy bassist Ted Adams’s walking bass kicks off “Stay A Little Longer,” based on the Texas fiddle favorite “Gone Indian.” Incisive solos from Brashear, Boggs, Holley and pianist Millard Kelso frame Duncan’s swinging vocal on “I Can’t Go On This Way.” Duncan penned “I’m Thru Wasting My Time On You,” with its galvanizing Noel Boggs steel chorus.
(January 26, 1945)
21. Hang Your Head In Shame (2:37)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(E. Nelson – S. Nelson – F. Rose)
Released as OKeh single #6736
22. Texas Playboy Rag (2:36)
(B. Wills)
Released as Columbia single #36841
23. Roly Poly (2:35)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Released as Columbia single #3696
24. Stay A Little Longer (2:45)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – T. Duncan)
Released as Columbia single #37097
(January 28, 1945)
25. I Can’t Go On This Way (2:33)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Released as Columbia single #37097
26. I’m Thru Wasting My Time On You (2:30)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(T. Duncan – E. Whelan)
Not originally released
Personnel, tracks 20, 26: Bob Wills, fiddle; Noel Boggs, steel guitar; Jimmy Wyble and Cameron Hill, electric guitars; Joe Holley, fiddle; Alex Brashear, trumpet; Millard Kelso, piano; Ted Adams, bass; Monte Mountjoy, drums.
___________________________________________________
April 20, 1945; Hollywood:
“New Spanish Two Step” showcases Duncan, Wyble and Boggs. Topping Billboard’s Folk (not yet called “Country”) Charts for 18 weeks – four and-a-half months – in 1946, spoke volumes about the arrangement’s freshness. Similar aggressive instrumental solos later began appearing on recordings by Nashville country singers, a mark of how Will’s musicians inspired sidemen everywhere.
27. New Spanish Two Step (2:30)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – T. Duncan)
Released as Columbia single #36966
Personnel, tracks 27: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 20 – 26; add Preacher Harkness, fiddle; delete Cameron Hill, electric guitar.
__________________________________________________
September 5 – 6, 1946; Hollywood:
Complimenting Tommy’s vibrant vocal on Cindy Walker’s joyous “Sugar Moon.” Kelso, new steel guitarist Herb Remington and Joe Holley each kick in sparkling solos. In 1947, it became the last Playboy Columbia single to hit #1. Bob’s “Brain Cloudy Blues” reworks bluesman Kokomo Arnold’s “Milk Cow Blues,” a minor 1941 hit for Johnnie Lee Wills’ band on Decca. Joe Holley and aggressive lead guitarist Junior Barnard, who played on Johnnie Lee’s version, acquit themselves superbly.
Junior Barnard’s distortion-laden guitar, far ahead of its time, stands out on the 1947 hit “Bob Wills Boogie,” but even more so on “Fat Boy Rag,” a workout for both Barnard and the string ensemble of Eldon, Tiny and steel guitarist Herb Remington. Jesse Ashlock, the Playboys’ first string fiddler and a fine songwriter contributed “The Kind Of Love I Can’t Forget,” another Wills favorite.
__________________________________________________
DISC FOUR
(September 5, 1946)
1. Sugar Moon (2:30)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – C. Walker)
Released as Columbia single #37313
2. Brain Cloudy Blues (2:45)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – T. Duncan)
Released as Columbia single #37313
3. Bob Wills Boogie (2:37)
(B. Wills – M. Kelso – L. Barnard)
Released as Columbia single #37357
(September 6, 1946)
4. Fat Boy Rag (2:51)
(B. Wills – L. Barnard)
Released as Columbia single #37824
5. The Kind Of Love I Can’t Forget (2:41)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(J. Ashlock)
Released as Columbia single #37926
Personnel, tracks 1-5: Bob Wills, fiddle; Herb Remington, steel guitar; Junior Barnard, electric guitar; Jimmie Widener, banjo; Tiny Moore, electric mandolin; Joe Holley and Jesse Ashlock, fiddles; Millard Kelso, piano; Billy Jack Wills, bass; Johnny Cuviello, drums.
__________________________________________________
October 15 – 16, 1947; Chicago:
Satherley, deeply wounded over Bob’s impending defection to MGM, begged off producing his friend’s last sessions, deferring to Fred Rose. Remington’s soaring, in your face “Hometime Stomp” showcases his own powerful solo skills and the string ensemble. Tommy delivered two superb ballads, “Misery” and “Deep Water,” the final Wills Columbia Recordings.
(October 15, 1947)
6. Hometown Stomp (2:33)
(B. Wills – H. Remington)
Produced by Fred Rose
Released as Columbia single #20487
7. Misery (2:39)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(T. Duncan – B. Moore – B. Wills)
Produced by Fred Rose
Released as Columbia single #20582
(October 16, 1947)
8. Deep Water (2:56)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Produced by Fred Rose
Released as Columbia single #38137
_______________________________________________________________
October 30, 1947; Hollywood:
With a January 1, 1948 Musician’s Union strike pending against U.S. record companies, every label was recording artists almost around the clock to stockpile material. At the Playboys’ first MGM date, they made Cindy Walker’s atmospheric ballad “Bubbles In My Beer” a timeless barroom lament. Eldon’s instrumental “Papa’s Jumpin’” showcases the string ensemble of he, Tiny and Herb Remington as drummer Johnny Cuviello slaps down a solid dance rhythm.
9. Bubbles In My Beer (2:16)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – C. Walker – T. Duncan)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10116
10. Papa’s Jumpin’ (2:37)
(B. Wills – E. Shamblin)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10459
_______________________________________________________________
October 31, 1947; Hollywood:
While Bob kicks off the traditional fiddle tune “Sally Goodin’,” following Tommy’s animated vocal, Shamblin, Remington and Moore unleash their cutting edge sound prior to Joe Holley’s intense fiddle break.
11. Sally Goodin’ (2:16)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – T. Duncan)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10292
_______________________________________________________________
November 10, 1947; Hollywood:
Tommy’s rendition of Ashlock’s “Still Water Runs The Deepest” conveys the lyrics’ plangent eloquence. Bob’s Tulsa manager, O.W. Mayo, still in Tulsa managing Johnnie Lee’s band and running Cain’s, wrote “Blues For Dixie” for Bob, a tune as much pop as country, reflecting Mayo’s love of Southern iconography.
12. Still Water Runs The Deepest (2:50)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(J. Ashlock)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10276
13. Blues For Dixie (2:51)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(O.W. Mayo)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10213
_______________________________________________________________
November 12, 1947; Hollywood:
Texas singer songwriter Jerry Irby, who wrote the immortal honky tonk anthem “Drivin’ Nails In My Coffin,” wrote “Keeper Of My Heart,” a 1948 Wills hit. It’s worth noting Eldon’s flowing rhythm guitar, one of the musical constants that held the Playboys, prewar and postwar, together.
14. Keeper Of My Heart (2:40)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – J. Irby)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10175
Personnel, tracks 6 – 14: Bob Wills, fiddle and harmony vocals (track 11); Herb Remington, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, electric guitar; Ocie Stockard, tenor banjo; Tiny Moore, electric mandolin and fiddle; Joe Holley, fiddle; Millard Kelso, piano; Billy Jack Wills, bass; Johnny Cuviello, drums.
__________________________________________________
May 5, 1949; Hollywood:
Tiny Moore and Bob’s youngest brother, drummer Billy Jack Wills loved postwar rhythm and blues. Louis Jordan’s shuffle rhythms clearly inspired Tiny’s original “Ida Red Likes The Boogie.” Playboy Johnny Gimble’s electric mandolin spices things up things behind Tiny’s vocal.
Also at that moment, Leon McAuliffe, now leading his own Tulsa-based Western band, had his first hit on Columbia: the instrumental “Pan Handle Rag.” Bob, a friendly rival, directed Remington to write and instrumental as good or better, “Boot Heel Rag” was the result.
15. Ida Red Likes The Boogie (2:40)
- Tiny Moore, lead vocals
(B. Wills – D. Moore)
Produced by Irving Aaronson
Released as MGM single #10570
16. Boot Heel Drag (2:42)
(H. Remington – B. Wills)
Produced by Irving Aaronson
Released as MGM single #10796
Personnel, tracks 15, 16: Bob Wills, fiddle; Herb Remington, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, electric guitar; Tiny Moore and Johnny Gimble, electric mandolins and fiddles; Alex Brashear, trumpet; Doc Lewis, piano; Jack Lloyd or Luke Wills, bass; Billy Jack Wills, drums.
__________________________________________________
April 27, 1950; Hollywood:
Bob was still a kid when he first heard his dad fiddle “Faded Love,” a melodic variation on the traditional fiddle tune “Darling Nellie Gray.” Billy Jack Wills added the aching lyrics that made it a country standard and the best known Wills tune next to “New San Antonio Rose.” Bob plays lead here, joined by Gimble. Rusty McDonald’s vocal is backed by a bluegrass-like vocal trio with steel guitarist Billy Bowman singing high harmony. Said Johnny Gimble, “It was so unlike anything Bob had done, and that’s the reason people liked it.”
17. Faded Love (2:51)
- Rusty McDonald, lead vocals
(B. Wills – J.L. Wills)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10786
Personnel, track 17: Bob Wills, fiddle; Eldon Shamblin, electric guitar; Johnny Gimble and Keith Coleman, fiddles; Mancel Tierney, piano; Jack Lloyd, bass; Tommy Perkins, drums; Billy Jack Wills, tenor harmony vocals on chorus; Billy Bowman, high tenor harmony vocals on chorus; Jimmie Widener, bass vocals on chorus.
__________________________________________________
March 8, 1954; Hollywood:
Bob had performed W.C. Handy’s immortal “St. Louis Blues” before the Doughboys existed and recorded it with the Playboys in 1935. He modeled his performance on a record by another white minstrel vocalist, Al Bernard. Here, Bob takes advantage of new technology, overdubbing comments and carrying on a jivey dialogue with himself.
18. St. Louis Blues (3:23)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(W.C. Handy)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #11832
______________________________________________________________
March 9, 1954; Hollywood:
From 1950 to 1955, Billy Jack Wills and Tiny Moore led an incredible Western Swing band at Wills Point in Sacramento. The band’s sound and style, combining country with R&B material, rivaled Bill Haley in quality if not success. That sound inspired the Playboys’ “Cadillac In Model “A,”” sung here by Billy Jack.
19. Cadillac In Model “A” (2:00)
- Billy Jack Wills, lead vocals
(B.J. Wills)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #11883
Personnel, tracks 18, 19: Bob Wills, fiddle; Billy Bowman, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, electric guitar; Claude Fewell, tenor banjo; Louie Tierney, fiddle; Skeeter Elkin, piano; Lee Ross or Billy Jack Wills, bass; Johnny Megretto, drums.
__________________________________________________
April 21, 1960; Hollywood:
Hoping to rekindle the old magic, Bob, his great days seemingly past, reunited with Tommy (who’d had only modest solo success) in 1959. After completing an LP for Liberty, they recorded two singles including this ballad by ex-Playboy vocalist Lee Ross. “Heart To Heart Talk” was neither Western nor swing but pure, unfettered honky tonk, Tommy’s show all the way, with Playboy Leon Rausch harmonizing behind him.
20. Heart To Heart Talk (2:37)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(L. Ross)
Produced by Joe Allison
Released as Liberty single #55260
_______________________________________________________________
November 21, 1960; Hollywood:
Other Liberty recordings featured Bob and Tommy dusting off old Playboy favorites or applying their sound to pop favorites like “Wabash Blues,” Bob and Tommy harmonizing as they’d done decades earlier.
21. Wabash Blues (2:40)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Meinken – D. Ringle)
Produce by Joe Allison
Released on the album A Living Legend (Liberty 7182)
Personnel, tracks 20, 21: Bob Wills, fiddle, harmony vocals (track 21); Gene Crownover, steel guitar; Leon Rausch, electric guitar, harmony vocals (track 20); Joe Holley, fiddle; Jack Lloyd, clarinet; Glenn Rhees, saxophone; Luke Wills, bass; Waid Peeler, drums.
__________________________________________________
July 19, 1966; Nashville:
While Bob’s four years with Kapp yielded many overproduced Nashville records that often left him dissatisfied, a few gems slipped through, among them a buoyant 1966 rendition of “A Big Ball in Cowtown (We’ll Dance Around).” Originally written and recorded in 1952 by Bob’s friend, Big Spring, Texas fiddler-bandleader Hoyle Nix. Leon Rausch kicks his vocal along, backed by a hybrid band of Texas players and Nashville studio aces including fiddler Tommy Jackson, a longtime Wills admirer.
22. A Big Ball In Cowtown (We’ll Dance Around) (2:08)
- Leon Rausch, lead vocals
(H. Nix)
Produced by Paul Cohen
Released on the album From The Heart Of Texas (Kapp 3506)
Personnel, track 22: Bob Wills, fiddle; Phil Sperbeck, steel guitar; Harold Bradley, electric guitar; Jerry Case, guitar; Tommy Jackson, Johnnie Manson and Jim Belkin, fiddles; Hargus “Pig” Robbins, piano; Bob Moore, bass; Buddy Harmon or Jerry Howard, drums.
__________________________________________________
February 19, 1969; Nashville:
Bob’s swinging version of Leon McAuliffe’s “Pan Handle Rag,” recorded at his final series of Kapp sessions, spotlights late Fifties-early Sixties Playboys steel guitarist Gene Crownover, Tommy Jackson and ex-Playboy Johnny Gimble. Bob’s lethargic dialogue, however, hints at his coming medical calamity.
23. Pan Handle Blues (2:24)
(L. McAuliffe)
Recorded February 19, 1969; Nashville
Produced by Walter Haynes
Released on the album Bob Wills Plays The Greatest String Band Hits (Kapp 3601)
Personnel, track 23: Bob Wills, fiddle, spoken intro; Gene Crownover, steel guitar; Tagg Lambert, electric guitar; Johnny Gimble, electric mandolin and fiddle; Tommy Jackson, fiddle; Hargus “Pig” Robbins, piano; bass and drums unknown.
__________________________________________________
December 3, 1973
His 1969 strokes robbed him of his ability to fiddle and actively perform, yet Bob’s musical passions remained undiminished, one reason he organized this final session in Dallas. From his wheelchair, his mere presence inspired the Playboy alumni, all close friends. Three were Cindy Walker tunes, one penned for the occasion.
“Blue Bonnet Lane,” from the 1942 Western “Riders Of The Northeast Passage,” featured McAuliffe’s still-effervescent vocals, also featured on “What Makes Bob Holler” a newly-written, swinging homage to Bob’s trademark. As Bob movingly, courageously struggles to speak his brief monologue, the band swings away behind him. “Goin’ Away Party” featured Rausch on vocals, Bob doing his best to interject a bit more.
24. Blue Bonnet Lane (2:12)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Produced by Tommy Allsup
Released on the album For The Last Time (United Artists 216)
25. What Makes Bob Holler (3:29)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Produced by Tommy Allsup
Released on the album For The Last Time (United Artists 216)
26. Goin’ Away Party (2:41)
- Leon Rausch, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Produced by Tommy Allsup
Released on the album For The Last Time (United Artists 216)
Personnel, tracks 24 – 26: Bob Wills, leader, monologue (track 25); Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, guitar; Johnny Gimble and Keith Coleman, fiddles; Al Stricklin, piano; Bob Moore or Tommy Allsup (track 26), bass; Smoky Dacus, drums.
R.K.
All tracks produced by Art Satherley (except where otherwise indicated)
__________________________________________________
Originally recorded 1932. All rights reserved by BMG Music (Disc 1, Tracks 1-2)
Originally released 1935 (Disc 1, Tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 10); 1936 (Disc 1, Tracks 5, 9, 11, 14 – 16, 24); 1937 (Disc 1, Tracks 13, 17 – 20, 22, 23, 25; Disc 2, Tracks 2, 4, 5); 1938 (Disc 1, Track 6; Disc 2, Tracks 1, 6, 10); 1939 (Disc 2, Tracks 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20); 1940 (Disc 2, Tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 9); 1942 (Disc 3, Tracks 6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19); 1945 (Disc 3, Tracks 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27); 1946 (Disc 4, Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5); 1947 (Disc 4, Track 8); 1948 (Disc 4, Track 6); 1949 (Disc 4, Track 7); All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Originally recorded 1935 & released 2006 (Disc 1, Track 12); Originally recorded 1936 & released 2006 (Disc 1, Track 21); Originally recorded 1937 & released 2006 (Disc 2, Track 3); Originally recorded 1938 & released 2006 (Disc 2, Track 7); Originally recorded 1941 & released 2006 (Disc 2, Tracks 2,5); Originally recorded 1942 & released 2006 (Disc 3, Track 13); Originally recorded 1945 & released 2006 (Disc 3, Tracks 20, 26); All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. Courtesy of Mercury Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises (Disc 4, Tracks 9-19, 22, 23)
Courtesy of Capitol Records, under license from EMI Music Special Markets (Disc 4, Tracks 20, 21)
(P) 1974 Capitol Nashville. Courtesy of Capitol Records, under license from EMI Music Special Markets (Disc 4, Track 24)
(P) 1973 Capitol Nashville. Courtesy of Capitol Records, under license from EMI Music Special Markets (Disc 4, Track 25, 26)
Compilation produced by Gregg Geller
Mastered by Vic Anesini at Sony Music Studios, New York
Discographical information thanks to research by the late Bob Pinson
Project Director: John Jackson
A&R Coordination: Stacey Boyle and Jeremy Holiday
Art Direction: David Gorman
Design: Arthur Nakata
Project Manager: Triana D’Orazio
Photography: Glenn White Collection
To buy this CD box set from Amazon.com, click here: Legends of Country Music
_________________________________________________The Music:
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys created their rich, compelling style by brilliantly synthesizing other musical forms and assimilating recoding by others into something uniquely their own. These song notes attempt to explain the music and its origins – and how all 105 remarkable performances came to be.
__________________________________________________
DISC ONE:
February 19, 1932; Dallas:
This Victor recording remains the only example of the Doughboys with Bob and Milton. With Arnspiger out of the band, Derwood Brown and new Doughboy Sleepy Johnson handle rhythm guitars. “Sunbonnet Sue” speaks for itself, Bob playing melodically and Milton singing with a verve even more pronounced on “Nancy Jane,” a double-entrendre number originally recorded by the black jug band the Hokum Boys. With Light Crust a Burrus Mill trademark, Victor credited the record to the Fort Worth Doughboys.
1. Sunbonnet Sue (3:01)
- The Fort Worth Doughboys
(M. Brown)
Produced by Eli Oberstein
Released as Victor single #23653
2. Nancy Jane (3:09)
- The Fort Worth Doughboys
(M. Brown)
Produced by Eli Oberstein
Released as Victor single #23653
Personnel: Tracks 1, 2: Milton Brown, vocals; Bob Wills, Fiddle; Derwood Brown, guitar, vocals on chorus (track 2) Sleepy Johnson, tenor guitar
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September 23, 1935; Dallas:
The first Playboys recording session was nearly their last. Satherley, expecting a string band like the many others he recorded, questioned the need for horns. Bob responded testily that they came with the package. Rehearsing “Osage Stomp,” an adaptation of the Memphis Jug Band’s “Rukus Juice and Chitlin’,” Bob maintained his usual running commentary until Satherley stopped the band and chastised Bob for hollering. Leon McAuliffe never forgot what happened next.
“Is that right? Okay!” Turning to the Playboys, Bob angrily declared, “Pack up! We’re going home!”
“No, Bob, I don’t want you to go home. I want you to make records for us!”
“You hired Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and Bob Wills hollers anytime he feels like it and says whatever he wants to say! Now if you want to accept that, Mr. Satherley, we’ll do it. But if you don’t, we’re going home!”
Satherley wisely backed off, and the band tears loose for a wild ride. Bob’s fiddle leads off, followed by Jesse Ashlock, the Playboy’s first actual swing fiddler. McAuliffe’s amplified steel tears loose, followed by Son Lansford’s relentless slap bass and saxophonist Zeb McNally. To say they established their sound is… putting it mildly.
Tommy Duncan wrote his recorded debut, “Get With It,” by adding original lyrics to the melody of the Mississippi Sheiks’ 1930 recording “The Jazz Fiddler.” While Bob Dunn played amplified steel guitar on records by the Musical Brownies, no country record had ever featured amplified lead guitar – until Leon’s solo here. Bob wrote “Spanish Two Step,” in Roy, New Mexico in 1927, inspired by Mexican musicians he performed with there. His fiddling is flawless, as is Leon’s brief, chime-laden steel guitar. Bob learned the fiddle solo “Maiden’s Prayer,” from his dad. “I Ain’t Got Nobody,” the Emmett Miller favorite that landed Tommy his Doughboy job in 1932, remained in Bob’s repertoire for decades.
3. Osage Stomp (3:00)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3096
4. Get With It (3:00)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills / T. Duncan)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3096
5. Spanish Two Step (2:52)
(B. Wills / T. Duncan)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3230
6. Maiden’s Prayer (3:03)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3924
7. I Ain’t Got Nobody (2:42)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocal
(S. Williams / R. Graham)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh #3206
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September 24, 1935; Dallas:
The Ray Noble Orchestra’s 1934 hit “Who Walks In When I Walk Out” demonstrates McAuliffe’s considerable skills as an upbeat “rhythm” singer. Following Zeb McNally’s sax break, he tears off snappy, raw lead guitar prior to Stricklin’s hell-for-leather piano break. “Oklahoma Rag” reveals Bob’s skill at integrating horns into a fiddle tune. Bob sang the Mississippi Sheiks’ 1930 blues standard “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” throughout his career. Leon’s bluesy amplified lead guitar reflects clear overtones of blues guitar great Lonnie Johnson. Tommy blows out a rousing, danceable rendition of bluesman Big Bill Broonzy’s “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” Leon again on guitar and Bob slipping in a clever fiddle break.
8. Who Walks In When I Walk Out (2:50)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(A. Hoffman/A. Goodhart/ R. Freed)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3206
9. Oklahoma Rag (2:47)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3295
10. Sittin’ On Top Of The World (3:16)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(L. Carter / W. Vinson)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3139
11. I Can’t Be Satisfied (2:59)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Broonzy)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3176
Personnel, tracks 3-11: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar, lead guitar (tracks 4, 8-11); Herman Arnspiger and Sleepy Johnson, guitars; Jonnie Lee Wills, Banjo; Jesse Ashlock, fiddle; Art Haynes, fiddle and trombone (tracks 3, 4, 7-11); Zeb McNally, alto saxophone (tracks 3, 4, 7-11); Al Stricklin, piano; Son Lansford, bass; Smokey Dacus, drums
__________________________________________________
September 25, 1935; Dallas:
Aware of bob’s fiddle virtuosity, Satherley had him record four solos accompanied by Sleepy Johnson’s guitar. “Waltz in D” demonstrates the smooth long-bow style his elders taught him.
Bob had Leon audition his instrumental showcase “Steel Guitar Rag” for Satherley at the sessions. McAuliffe remembered in 1982 that Satherley, explaining at ARC had New York guitarist Roy Smeck recording Hawaiian guitar solos declared, “I’m not going to take that song.”
12. Waltz in D (3:00)
(B. Wills)
Not Originally Released
Personnel, track 12: Bob Wills, fiddle; Sleepy Johnson, guitar
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September 29-30, 1936; Chicago:
Tommy has a ball with the Nichols Brothers’ 1931 country ditty “She’s Killing me,” with Bob harmonizing on the chorus. “Bluin’ The Blues” is a variation on “Joe Turner Blues,” a staple in nearly every Texas Western Swing band.
Given the band’s impressive record sales since the Dallas sessions, Bob didn’t ask – he informed Satherley they were going to record “Steel Guitar Rag.” While Leon has composer credit, the song is an adaptation of “Guitar Rag,” written and originally recorded by black guitarist Sylvester Weaver in 1923. In 1930 country guitarists Roy Harvey and Jess Johnson re-recorded it, adding a new section making the song identical to what Leon later recorded. Leon claimed he’d never heard Weaver’s version, which is plausible. He may have heard the Harvey-Johnson recording, however.
Before the take, Bob directed Leon to play a chord and explained he’d “say something” before the song began. That’s how Bob’s famous “take it away” into came to be. “We had never done that before,” Leon remembered. Ray DeGeer’s powerful, aggressive tenor sax solo is a minor miracle. Since the song is in the key of E, he had to play his B-flat instrument in six sharps, a daunting task that he accomplished after uncorking a few beers before recording it.
A blues connoisseur, Bob undoubtedly knew Bertha “Chippie” Hill’s 1926 version of Richard M. Jones’ classic “Trouble In Mind” which inspired the Playboy arrangement. Duncan’s incisive vocal and Ashlock’s keening fiddle made it a Western Swing standard. Bob and Tommy have a rollicking good time swapping verses on Memphis Minnie’s 1930 “What’s The Matter With The Mill.” While Louis Armstrong first recorded “Basin Street Blues,” Wills based his version on one by a fellow Texan: jazz trombone great Jack Teagarden, himself a masterful white blues singer whose 1931 vocal with the Charleston Chasers made it a classic.
The Playboys’ first manager O.W. Mayo, an amateur songsmith, traveled with them to a dance when he added lyrics to Al Stricklin’s jazzy original piano instrumental “Turtle Oil.” That evening, Tommy Duncan debuted the new tune “Red Hot Gal Of Mine,” at the dance. Their spiritual take on the dance band favorite “Too Busy” emulates the spirit of the Casa Loma Orchestra, one of the earliest white swing bands. Zeb McNally, nicknamed “Judge” by Bob, plays the first sax break.
Bob and Sleepy Johnson’s “Crippled Turkey” possesses an eerie, hypnotic modality atypical of Wills’ fiddle solos. Tommy and Bob have a ball trading verses on “Bring It On Home To My House, Honey.” Their love for Emmett Miller’s 1929 recording of “Right Or Wrong” shines through in Tommy’s lively rendition, later adapted by George Strait into a 1984 top 10 single. On “Swing Blues #1” Tommy throws out random blues verses in between some spicy solos.
(September 29, 1936: Chicago)
13. She’s Killing Me (2:44)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(C. Nichols)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3424
14. Bluin’ The Blues (3:09)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3614
15. Steel Guitar Rag (2:46)
(L. McAuliffe / C. Stone / M. Travis)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3394
16. Trouble In Mind (2:56)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(R.M. Jones)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3343 and Conqueror single #9041
17. What’s The Matter With The Mill (2:52)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(arranged by B. Wills / T. Duncan)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3424
18. Basin Street Blues (2:59)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(S. Williams)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3344 and Conqueror single #9040
19. Red Hot Gal Of Mine (3:02)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocal
(A. Stricklin / O.W. Mayo)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3344 and Conqueror single #9040
20. Too Busy (2:32)
(N. Miller / C. Cohn)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3537
21. Crippled Turkey (2:46)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Not originally released
Personnel, track 21: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe and Sleepy Johnson, acoustic guitars
(September 30, 1936: Chicago)
22. Bring It On Down To My House, Honey (2:40)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3492
23. Right or Wrong (2:53)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(A. Sizemore / H. Gillespie / P. Beane)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh Single #3451
24. Swing Blues #1 (2:38)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3394
Personnel, tracks 13-20, 22-24: Bob Wills, fiddle, Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Herman Arnspiger and Sleepy Johnson, guitars; Johnnie Lee Willis, banjo; Jesse Ashlock, fiddle; Everett Stover, trumpet; Zeb McNally, saxophone; Ray DeGeer, saxophone and clarinet; Al Stricklin, piano; Joe Ferguson, bass; Smoky Dacus, drums
__________________________________________________
June 7, 1937; Dallas:
“White Heat,” made famous by Jimmie Lunceford’s Orchestra in 1934, showcases Stricklin, DeGeer, Ashlock and McAuliffe. A blues melody that Bob recalled from childhood became the McAuliffe showcase “Steel Guitar Stomp,” Bob adding a bit of breaking news during Stricklin’s solo by announcing the pianist recent fatherhood. Stricklin’s idol, jazz piano giant Earl “Fatha” Hines, wrote and recorded the instrumental “Rosetta” in1933 and re-recorded it with his big band and lyrics in 1935. Bob took his cue from Fats Waller’s 1935 ballad rendition, copying Waller’s asides and plaintive delivery.
25. White Heat (2:41)
(W. Hudson)
Released on Vocalion/OKeh single #3614
DISC TWO:
June 7, 1937; Dallas (con’t):
1. Steel Guitar Stomp (2:35)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3997 and Conqueror single #9039
2. Rosetta (2:51)
- Bob Wills, lead vocal
(E. Hines / W. Woode)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3659
Personnel, track 25 (on Disc One) and track 1, 2: Same on Disc One tracks 13-20, 22-24; add Cecil Browne, fiddle.
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June 8, 1937; Dallas:
Tommy’s on familiar turf with Jimmie Rodger’s classic “Blue Yodel #1” (a.k.a. “T for Texas”), never released until it emerged on Columbia’s 1973 double LP Bob Wills Anthology, the label’s first serious Wills historic reissue.
3. Blue Yodel #1 (2:22)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(J. Rodgers)
Not originally released
Personnel, track 3: Same as Disc One, Track 25, and Disc Two tracks 1, 2; delete Stover, McNally and DeGeer
__________________________________________________
June 9, 1937; Dallas:
Both Louis Armstrong and bandleader Johnny Johnson first recorded Phil Baxter’s novelty “I’m A Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas)” in 1930. As he sings, Tommy clearly savors the “morphine, coke or snow” lyric. He and Bob add a similarly salicious spin to country singer Bill Cox’s 1933 “Oozlin’ Daddy Blues.”
4. I’m A Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas) (2:23)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocal
(P. Baxter)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3693
Personnel, track 4: Same as Disc One, Tracks 13-20, 22-24; delete Stover, McNally and DeGeer
5. Oozlin’ Daddy Blues (2:24)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocal
(B. Cox / A. Delmore)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #3693
Personnel, track 5: Same as Disc One, Tracks 13-20, 22-24; delete DeGeer
__________________________________________________
May 16, 1938; Dallas:
Blues singer Georgia White recorded “Black Rider” in 1936. Charlie Laughton’s sensual clarinet helps the Playboys make it their own. During McAuliffe’s steel break, Bob alludes to the guitarist’s rep with the ladies. “Down Hearted Blues” was Bob’s favorite Bessie Smith number, shambling opens the performance with tasty legato guitar and Bob takes it from there. The versatile Laughton uncorks an intense trumpet solo that brings an ecstatic whoop from the Boss, singing, “I never loved but three women in my life,” with the aside, “that was one too many!” was topical. Eighteen days later, his divorce from third wife Mary Helen would become final.
“Pray For The Lights To Go Out” actually goes back to 1917 though Joe Haymes and his Orchestra’s 1932 remake likely inspired the Playboy rendition. As the horns vamp and rhythm section bounces, Bob has a ball doing a vocal call and response with the band.
6. Black Rider (2:42)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(R.M. Jones / J.M. Williamson)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4132
7. Down Hearted Blues (2:43)
- Bob Wills, lead vocal
(L. Austin / A. Hunter)
Not originally released
8. Pray For The Lights To Go Out (2:49)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(Tunnah / Skidmore)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5401 and Conqueror single #4918
Personnel, tracks 6-8: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, Steel Guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead and rhythm guitar; Sleepy Johnson, banjo; Jesse Ashlock, fiddle; Everett Stover, trumpet; Zeb McNally, saxophone; Charles Laughton, saxophone, trumpet, clarinet; Al Stricklin, piano; Joe Ferguson, bass; Smokey Dacus, drums
__________________________________________________
November 28, 1938; Dallas:
Since “Spanish Two Step” sold well, Satherley asked for another similar instrumental. Thinking fast, Bob told the band to simply play “Two Step” backward, starting in D instead of A. Satherley named the new instrumental “San Antonio Rose,” and it became an even bigger hit. Bob lays down two fiddle numbers from his youth: “Silver Bells” and “Beaumont Rag.” Leon’s rhythm vocals and scat-singing dominate “Whoa Babe,” a jivey, jumping tune by trombonist (and future big bandleader) Larry Clinton
9. San Antonio Rose (2:32)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4755 and Conqueror single#9226
10. Silver Bells (2:39)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #49999 and Conqueror single #9721
11. Beaumont Rag (2:38)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #49999 and Conqueror single #9718
12. Whoa Babe (2:34)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(L. Clinton)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4625 and Conqueror single #9210
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November 29, 1938; Dallas:
They kicked off with the traditional “Ida Red,” recorded by Charlie Poole’s North Carolina Ramblers in 1928 and a staple in Bob’s repertoire. The song lingered in the heart of country fan Chuck Berry, who recast it as “Ida May,” then finally as his 1955 debut hit “Maybelline.” Wills loved crooner Gene Austin, a 1920s pop superstar who had a 1925 hit with “Yearning.” In ’38, Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra (another Wills favorite) revived it. Sung by vocalist Jack Leonard, it was a hit again, though Bob emulates Austin’s style.
The night before this session, Bob, aided by Tommy, wrote the ballad “I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do” at Dallas’ Jefferson Hotel on four sheets of hotel letterhead. “Prosperity Special,” another revered fiddle favorite, was also known as “Natchez Under The Hill.” On “You’re Okay,” vocalist Joe Ferguson seems the only sane person in the studio as McAuliffe’s and Ashlock’s crazed choruses swirl around him.
At session’s end, Satherley asked Bob for one more tune. They had nothing ready, but Bob said they did. As the Playboys looked puzzled, Bob told them, “Just play something. Kick it. He won’t know the difference!” Since their improvised 12-bar romp had no title, the producer dubbed it “Liza Pull Down The Shades.” It became a favorite jam tune at dances. “Bob liked it,” said McAuliffe. “He used to dance all over the stage and holler and carry on when we played it.”
13. Ida Red (2:21)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5079
Personnel, tracks 9-13: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead and rhythm guitar; Herman Arnspiger, guitar; Johnnie Lee Wills, banjo; Jesse Ashlock and Sleepy Johnson, fiddles; Charles Laughton, trumpet (track 12); Al Stricklin, piano; Son Lansford, bass; Smoky Dacus, drums
__________________________________________________
14. Yearning (2:22)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(B. Davis / J. Burke)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4934 and Conqueror single #9721
15. I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do (2:34)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4566 and Conqueror single #9206
16. Prosperity Special (2:37)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5228
17. You’re Okay (2:25)
- Joe Ferguson, lead vocals
(M. Parish / M. Bloom)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4839 and Conqueror single #9213
18. Liza Pull Down The Shades (2:18)
(B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4839 and Conqueror single #9213
__________________________________________________
November 30, 1938; Dallas:
Phil Harris, comedian Jack Benny’s singing, hard-drinking, wisecracking radio bandleader, recorded “That’s What I Like ‘Bout The South” in 1937 for OKeh. McAuliffe has a ball with the vocal, then keeps the momentum going with a runaway rendition of “My Window Faces The South,” based on Fats Waller’s 1937 version (complete with electric steel guitar). “Don’t Let The Deal Go Down” came from Bob’s bottomless fiddle repertoire.
19. That’s What I Like ‘Bout The South (2:31)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(A. Razaf)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #4566 and Conqueror single #9206
20. My Window Faces South (2:13)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(A. Silver / M. Parish / J. Livingston)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5161
21. Don’t Let The Deal Go Down (2:40)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5282
Personnel, tracks 14-21: Same as Disc Two, Tracks 9-13, add Everett Stover, trumpet; Zeb McNally and Joe Ferguson, saxophones; Charles Laughton, trumpet, saxophone (tracks 14, 17, 19, 20)
__________________________________________________
April 15, 1940; Saginaw, Texas:
“Lone Star Rag” features Bob, Ashlock and new fiddler Louis Tierney, whose solo showcases his powerful, rhythmic sense of swing. “That Brownskin Gal,” another fiddle favorite, follows the same pattern. The original Doughboys performed the Mississippi Sheiks’ 1928 “Corrine Corrina,” redefined here as a genial country tune. McAuliffe, Shamblin and Johnnie Lee Wills ass remembered Duncan bringing a fully written “Time Changes Everything” to the session. Bob likely bought the song from Duncan, common practice in those days.
22. Lone Star Rag (2:42)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released by OKeh single #5637 and Conqueror single #9604
23. That Brownskin Gal (2:28)
(arranged by B. Wills)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5753 and Conqueror single #9394
24. Corrine Corrina (2:50)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(B. Chatman)
Released as OKeh single #6530
25. Time Changes Everything (2:37)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(T. Duncan)
Released as Vocalion/OKeh single #5753 and Conqueror single #9394
__________________________________________________
April 16, 1940; Fort Worth:
“Bob Wills Special” introduces Eldon’s and Leon’s revolutionary lead and steel ensemble, a key component of the postwar Playboys sound they discovered playing “Joe Turner Blues” (a.k.a. “Bluin’ The Blues”). “One night for some reason, I began to play a lick behind (Eldon) on the bass strings.” Leon said in 1981. “Eldon was sittin’ on the other side. And he started playin’ harmony to it. Bob flipped over it and so did we.”
With “Steel Guitar Stomp”’s melody still on his mind, Bob asked Eldon if they could turn it into a different type of song. What resulted is the roaring big band instrumental “Big Beaver,” named for a rural Oklahoma dancehall they often played. Shamblin’s arrangement pulses with vigor, as does his rhythm guitar. Following Wayne Johnson’s tenor solo, beefy, dynamic Tubby Lewis unleashes what Eldon called in 1981, “one of the finer choruses I ever heard on trumpet.”
“San Antonio Rose” was a big enough instrumental hit in 1940, legendary songwriter Irving Berlin’s New York publishing company gave Bob a contract to add lyrics. Aided by Playboy trumpeter Everett Stover, he wrote a set that fans loved when he premiered it on KVOO in March. But Berlin’s staff disagreed. Adding new lyrics that rendered it another Tin Pan Alley cowboy fantasy, they published the new lyrics in sheet music. Bob and the band learned the revised lyrics, but outraged fans demanded the originals. After a disgusted Bob got his Tulsa lawyer involved, Irving Berlin, Inc., reinstated Bob’s lyrics and retitled it “New San Antonio Rose” to distance it from their rewrite. With nary a fiddle to be heard, Duncan’s vocal floats atop Shamblin’s swinging, explosive orchestration. A 1941 hit record for both Bob and for Bing Crosby, it became and remains an American standard.
26. Bob Wills Special (2:42)
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #5694 and Conqueror single #9400
Personnel, tracks 22-26: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead and rhythm guitar; Herman Arnspiger, guitar; Johnnie Lee Wills, banjo, rhythm guitar; Jesse Ashlock and Louis Tierney, fiddles; Al Stricklin, piano; Son Lansford, bass; Smoky Dacus, drums
27. Big Beaver (2:39)
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #5905 and Conqueror single #9386
__________________________________________________
Disc Three:
(April 16, 1940; Fort Worth: Con’t)
1. New San Antonio Rose (2:36)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #4694 and Conqueror single #9603
Personnel, track 27 (on Disc Two) and track 1: Same as Disc Two, Tracks 22-26; add Everett Stover and Tubby Lewis, trumpets; Louie Tierney, Zeb McNally, Joe Ferguson, Wayne Johnson and, possibly, Tiny Mott, saxophones
__________________________________________________
February 24, 1941; Fort Worth:
The Playboys rev up Tommy Dorsey’s 1937 swing adaptation of the classical tune “Liebestraum.” Wayne Johnson’s free-swinging tenor yields to Don Harlan’s Benny Goodman-style clarinet. Tubby Lewis’s febrile trumpet owns the remaining moments. On “Lyla Lou,” Leon’s vocal packs a smile from start to end. Along with superb solos, new drummer Gene Tomlin’s projects authentic Dixieland rhythms.
The big band turns “Maiden’s Prayer” with its added lyrics into a romantic big band ballad and the ancient folk number “The Girl I Left Behind Me” into a roaring swing vehicle with scintillating choruses from Johnson, clarinetist Don Harlan and Tubby, who slashes and burns as an ecstatic Bob eggs him on. Satherley never released “Girl” or “Liebestraum.” He readily acknowledged the big band’s skill, but felt record buyers favored fiddle-dominated tunes like “I Knew The Moment I Left You,” a number Bob wrote while traveling to a dance with Eldon. “Twin Guitar Special,” based on 12-bar blues, truly showcased Eldon and Leon’s ensemble, Leon fading in chords on this volume pedal.
2. Liebestraum (2:51)
(arranged by B. Wills and band)
Not originally released
3. Lyla Lou (2:29)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(H. Sims / R. Ferris)
Released as OKeh single #6327 and Conqueror single #9819
4. Maiden’s Prayer (2:50)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #6205 and Conqueror single #9824
5. The Girl I Left Behind Me (2:38)
(arranged by B. Wills and band)
Not originally released
Personnel, tracks 2-5: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead electric and acoustic guitars, rhythm guitar; Louie Tierney, fiddle, saxophone; Tubby Lewis, Jamie McIntosh and possibly, Everett Stover, trumpets; Zeb McNally, saxophone; Wayne Johnson and Don Harlan, saxophone and clarinet; Al Stricklin, piano; Son Lansford, bass; Gene Tomlins, drums.
6. I Knew The Moment I Lost You (2:47)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
Released as OKeh single #6640
7. Twin Guitar Special (2:34)
(L. McAuliffe / T. Duncan)
Released as OKeh single #6101 and Conquerer single #9818
__________________________________________________
February 25, 1941; Fort Worth:
In 1931 the Pelican Wildcats, another Texas string band, recorded the fiddle favorite “Walkin’ Georgia Rose” for ARC. During his early days with the Light Crust Doughboys, the band added lyrics and called it “Take Me Back To Texas,” which Bob later adapted into “Take Me Back To Tulsa.” Eldon and Leon built “Takin’ It Home” on a blues progression, adding harmonic sophistication hinting at the postwar progressive jazz style known as bebop. Tierney’s fiddling is brilliant and Stricklin’s assertive pianistics reveal why some jazz writers of that day compared him to jazz piano virtuoso Jess Stacy.
8. Take Me Back To Tulsa (2:38)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills / T. Duncan)
Released as OKeh single #6101 and Conqueror single #9818
9. Takin’ It Home (2:47)
(E. Shamblin / L. Tierney)
Released as OKeh single #6205 and Conqueror single #9824
Personnel, tracks 6-9: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 2 – 5; delete Lewis, McIntosh, Stover, McNally, Johnson and Harlan
__________________________________________________
July 23 – 24, 1941; Hollywood:
During these session, Bob for the first time recorded material by future songwriting legend Cindy Walker, then a twenty-three-year old Texan living in Hollywood. Those tunes included the rousing “Cherokee Maiden” (later a hit single for Merle Haggard) and “Dusty Skies.” Both are stunning, “Skies” somber cowboy realism evoked one of Duncan’s most passionate performances. Leon tackles Ashlock’s upbeat “My Life’s Been A Pleasure” with his usual effervescence.
(July 23, 1941)
10. Cherokee Maiden (2:58)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Released as OKeh single #6568 and Conqueror single #9822
(July 24, 1941)
11. Dusty Skies (2:52)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Released as OKeh single #6598
Personnel, tracks 10, 11: Bob Wills, fiddle; Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, lead guitar and acoustic guitar; Jesse Ashlock, fiddle; Louie Tierney, fiddle, saxophone; Wayne Johnson and Don Harlan, clarinet, saxophone; Al Stricklin, piano; Darrell Jones, bass; Gene Tomlins, drums
12. My Life’s Been A Pleasure (2:24)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(J. Ashlock)
Released as OKeh single #6681
Personnel, track 12: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 10, 11; delete Johnson and Harlan, clarinets.
__________________________________________________
July 14, 1942; Hollywood:
When Duncan joined the Army in May, ex-Light Crust Doughboy vocalist Leon Huff replaced hi. Wills continued indulging his love of Bob Crosby’s Orchestra, a big band renowned for its smaller Dixieland “band within a band” known as the Bobcats. Bob emulated the Bobcats concept in the 1942 band.
Singer-songwriter Johnny Bond, composer of the cowboy standard, “Cimmaron,” wrote the dry-humored “Drop Us Off At Bob’s Place.” The Playboys swing relentlessly behind Huff’s vocal. McAuliffe, using a foot pedal is able to alter volume and tone (a prehistoric “wah wah” pedal) emulates a muted brass section. Woodie Wood provides a fluid, teasing clarinet as drummer Bob Fitzgerald kicks in all the right Dixieland accents.
“Home In San Antone” composer Floyd Jenkins was actually Bob’s friend, Fred Rose, the country and pop songwriter later renowned for discovering Hank Williams. The vocalist here is Playboy trumpeter Danny Alguire. Cindy Walker’s lyrics, applied to a ragtimey fiddle tune Bob gave her, produced “That Hot Lick Fiddlin’ Man,” enjoyably sung by Leon, who likewise excels on Walker’s swinging “Miss Molly” written for the 1942 Western “Silver City Raiders.”
13. Drop Us Off At Bob’s Place (2:32)
- Leon Huff, lead vocals
(J. Bond)
Not originally released
14. Home In San Antone (2:30)
- Danny Alguire, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Released as OKeh single #6710
Personnel, tracks 13, 14: Bob Wills, fiddle, Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Doyle Salathiel, guitar; Joe Holley and Louis Tierney, fiddles; Woody Wood, clarinet; Moe Billington, piano; Darrell Jones, bass; Bob Fitzgerald, drums.
15. That Hot Lick Fiddlin’ Man (2:38)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(B. Wills / C. Walker)
Released as Columbia single #20531
__________________________________________________
July 15 – 16, 1942; Hollywood:
One night, wile driving his vehicle ahead of the Playboy’s bus, Wills had an inspiration. McAuliffe remembered that, “He stopped and flagged us down, came back (on the bus) and said, ‘Here’s a song!’ And he started singin’ ‘Sweetheart, I’m so alone tonight.’” That line evolved into “My Confession.” Playboy trumpeter-arranger Alex Brashear gave Johnny Bond’s “Ten Years” a solid Dixieland flavor with Huff again handling vocals. When Bob wanted a them song, he told McAuliffe, “I want something different for a theme song, something that’s lowdown and dirty and bluesy.” Leon and trombonist Neil Duer worked out “Let’s Ride With Bob,” meeting Bob’s specifications with it’s raw, strip joint feel. Despite his misgivings about the Playboy’s big band recordings, Satherley issued it with “My Confession.”
(July 15, 1942)
16. Miss Molly (2:31)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Released as OKeh single #6710
Personnel, tracks 15, 16: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 13, 14: delete Wood.
(July 16, 1942; Hollywood)
17. My Confession (2:55)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #6703
18. Ten Years (2:48)
- Leon Huff, lead vocals
(J. Bond)
Released as OKeh single #6692
19. Let’s Ride With Bob (2:42)
(B. Wills)
Released as OKeh single #6692
Personnel, tracks 17-19: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 13-14, add Danny Alguire, Alex Brashear and Benny Strickler, trumpets; Louie Tierney, tenor saxophone; Woody Wood, alto saxophone; Don Harlan, alto saxophone, clarinet, possibly bariton saxophone (track 18); George Balay, clarinet, tenor saxophone; Neil Duer, trombone.
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July 24, 1945; Hollywood:
Two and a half years after his last Columbia session. Wills and his leaner, louder Texas Playboys reunited in Hollywood with Satherley. As the band waited to start, Bob and Art hoisted a few to celebrate, then had a few more. Guitarist Jimmy Wyble was half of Bob’s new twin guitar team with his Texas pal Cameron Hill. In 1982 Wyble vividly recalled what transpired at this session. “Lo and behold, Bob was out of it. We got through, but he ‘ah-ha’ed’ and talked excessively…so we had to go back in another night. “Bluer Than Blue” is stellar even if Bob’s boozy, hyperactive commentary nearly breaks up Tommy. Wyble, fiddler Joe Holley and steel guitar great Noel Boggs play burning choruses nonetheless. A sober “Bluer Than Blue,” recorded a few nights later, paled by comparison.
20. Bluer Than Blue (2:36)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Not Originally Released
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January 26 & 28, 1945; Hollywood:
Wyble and Hill are the fire behind Fred Rose’s “Hang Your Hand In Shame” as Brashear’s muted trumpet and Holley’s fiddle buzz around Tommy’s vocal. Bob recycled, “Texas Playboy Rag” from the fiddle tune “Waltz In D” and taught it to steel guitarist Noel Boggs. A pivotal Western Swing innovator, Boggs made it his signature song, reprising it when he (and Wyble) worked with Spade Cooley’s band. Fred Rose’s lighthearted “Roly Poly” likewise became a Wills standard.
Playboy bassist Ted Adams’s walking bass kicks off “Stay A Little Longer,” based on the Texas fiddle favorite “Gone Indian.” Incisive solos from Brashear, Boggs, Holley and pianist Millard Kelso frame Duncan’s swinging vocal on “I Can’t Go On This Way.” Duncan penned “I’m Thru Wasting My Time On You,” with its galvanizing Noel Boggs steel chorus.
(January 26, 1945)
21. Hang Your Head In Shame (2:37)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(E. Nelson – S. Nelson – F. Rose)
Released as OKeh single #6736
22. Texas Playboy Rag (2:36)
(B. Wills)
Released as Columbia single #36841
23. Roly Poly (2:35)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Released as Columbia single #3696
24. Stay A Little Longer (2:45)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – T. Duncan)
Released as Columbia single #37097
(January 28, 1945)
25. I Can’t Go On This Way (2:33)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Released as Columbia single #37097
26. I’m Thru Wasting My Time On You (2:30)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(T. Duncan – E. Whelan)
Not originally released
Personnel, tracks 20, 26: Bob Wills, fiddle; Noel Boggs, steel guitar; Jimmy Wyble and Cameron Hill, electric guitars; Joe Holley, fiddle; Alex Brashear, trumpet; Millard Kelso, piano; Ted Adams, bass; Monte Mountjoy, drums.
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April 20, 1945; Hollywood:
“New Spanish Two Step” showcases Duncan, Wyble and Boggs. Topping Billboard’s Folk (not yet called “Country”) Charts for 18 weeks – four and-a-half months – in 1946, spoke volumes about the arrangement’s freshness. Similar aggressive instrumental solos later began appearing on recordings by Nashville country singers, a mark of how Will’s musicians inspired sidemen everywhere.
27. New Spanish Two Step (2:30)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – T. Duncan)
Released as Columbia single #36966
Personnel, tracks 27: Same as Disc Three, Tracks 20 – 26; add Preacher Harkness, fiddle; delete Cameron Hill, electric guitar.
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September 5 – 6, 1946; Hollywood:
Complimenting Tommy’s vibrant vocal on Cindy Walker’s joyous “Sugar Moon.” Kelso, new steel guitarist Herb Remington and Joe Holley each kick in sparkling solos. In 1947, it became the last Playboy Columbia single to hit #1. Bob’s “Brain Cloudy Blues” reworks bluesman Kokomo Arnold’s “Milk Cow Blues,” a minor 1941 hit for Johnnie Lee Wills’ band on Decca. Joe Holley and aggressive lead guitarist Junior Barnard, who played on Johnnie Lee’s version, acquit themselves superbly.
Junior Barnard’s distortion-laden guitar, far ahead of its time, stands out on the 1947 hit “Bob Wills Boogie,” but even more so on “Fat Boy Rag,” a workout for both Barnard and the string ensemble of Eldon, Tiny and steel guitarist Herb Remington. Jesse Ashlock, the Playboys’ first string fiddler and a fine songwriter contributed “The Kind Of Love I Can’t Forget,” another Wills favorite.
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DISC FOUR
(September 5, 1946)
1. Sugar Moon (2:30)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – C. Walker)
Released as Columbia single #37313
2. Brain Cloudy Blues (2:45)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – T. Duncan)
Released as Columbia single #37313
3. Bob Wills Boogie (2:37)
(B. Wills – M. Kelso – L. Barnard)
Released as Columbia single #37357
(September 6, 1946)
4. Fat Boy Rag (2:51)
(B. Wills – L. Barnard)
Released as Columbia single #37824
5. The Kind Of Love I Can’t Forget (2:41)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(J. Ashlock)
Released as Columbia single #37926
Personnel, tracks 1-5: Bob Wills, fiddle; Herb Remington, steel guitar; Junior Barnard, electric guitar; Jimmie Widener, banjo; Tiny Moore, electric mandolin; Joe Holley and Jesse Ashlock, fiddles; Millard Kelso, piano; Billy Jack Wills, bass; Johnny Cuviello, drums.
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October 15 – 16, 1947; Chicago:
Satherley, deeply wounded over Bob’s impending defection to MGM, begged off producing his friend’s last sessions, deferring to Fred Rose. Remington’s soaring, in your face “Hometime Stomp” showcases his own powerful solo skills and the string ensemble. Tommy delivered two superb ballads, “Misery” and “Deep Water,” the final Wills Columbia Recordings.
(October 15, 1947)
6. Hometown Stomp (2:33)
(B. Wills – H. Remington)
Produced by Fred Rose
Released as Columbia single #20487
7. Misery (2:39)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(T. Duncan – B. Moore – B. Wills)
Produced by Fred Rose
Released as Columbia single #20582
(October 16, 1947)
8. Deep Water (2:56)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Rose)
Produced by Fred Rose
Released as Columbia single #38137
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October 30, 1947; Hollywood:
With a January 1, 1948 Musician’s Union strike pending against U.S. record companies, every label was recording artists almost around the clock to stockpile material. At the Playboys’ first MGM date, they made Cindy Walker’s atmospheric ballad “Bubbles In My Beer” a timeless barroom lament. Eldon’s instrumental “Papa’s Jumpin’” showcases the string ensemble of he, Tiny and Herb Remington as drummer Johnny Cuviello slaps down a solid dance rhythm.
9. Bubbles In My Beer (2:16)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – C. Walker – T. Duncan)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10116
10. Papa’s Jumpin’ (2:37)
(B. Wills – E. Shamblin)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10459
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October 31, 1947; Hollywood:
While Bob kicks off the traditional fiddle tune “Sally Goodin’,” following Tommy’s animated vocal, Shamblin, Remington and Moore unleash their cutting edge sound prior to Joe Holley’s intense fiddle break.
11. Sally Goodin’ (2:16)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – T. Duncan)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10292
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November 10, 1947; Hollywood:
Tommy’s rendition of Ashlock’s “Still Water Runs The Deepest” conveys the lyrics’ plangent eloquence. Bob’s Tulsa manager, O.W. Mayo, still in Tulsa managing Johnnie Lee’s band and running Cain’s, wrote “Blues For Dixie” for Bob, a tune as much pop as country, reflecting Mayo’s love of Southern iconography.
12. Still Water Runs The Deepest (2:50)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(J. Ashlock)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10276
13. Blues For Dixie (2:51)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(O.W. Mayo)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10213
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November 12, 1947; Hollywood:
Texas singer songwriter Jerry Irby, who wrote the immortal honky tonk anthem “Drivin’ Nails In My Coffin,” wrote “Keeper Of My Heart,” a 1948 Wills hit. It’s worth noting Eldon’s flowing rhythm guitar, one of the musical constants that held the Playboys, prewar and postwar, together.
14. Keeper Of My Heart (2:40)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(B. Wills – J. Irby)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10175
Personnel, tracks 6 – 14: Bob Wills, fiddle and harmony vocals (track 11); Herb Remington, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, electric guitar; Ocie Stockard, tenor banjo; Tiny Moore, electric mandolin and fiddle; Joe Holley, fiddle; Millard Kelso, piano; Billy Jack Wills, bass; Johnny Cuviello, drums.
__________________________________________________
May 5, 1949; Hollywood:
Tiny Moore and Bob’s youngest brother, drummer Billy Jack Wills loved postwar rhythm and blues. Louis Jordan’s shuffle rhythms clearly inspired Tiny’s original “Ida Red Likes The Boogie.” Playboy Johnny Gimble’s electric mandolin spices things up things behind Tiny’s vocal.
Also at that moment, Leon McAuliffe, now leading his own Tulsa-based Western band, had his first hit on Columbia: the instrumental “Pan Handle Rag.” Bob, a friendly rival, directed Remington to write and instrumental as good or better, “Boot Heel Rag” was the result.
15. Ida Red Likes The Boogie (2:40)
- Tiny Moore, lead vocals
(B. Wills – D. Moore)
Produced by Irving Aaronson
Released as MGM single #10570
16. Boot Heel Drag (2:42)
(H. Remington – B. Wills)
Produced by Irving Aaronson
Released as MGM single #10796
Personnel, tracks 15, 16: Bob Wills, fiddle; Herb Remington, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, electric guitar; Tiny Moore and Johnny Gimble, electric mandolins and fiddles; Alex Brashear, trumpet; Doc Lewis, piano; Jack Lloyd or Luke Wills, bass; Billy Jack Wills, drums.
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April 27, 1950; Hollywood:
Bob was still a kid when he first heard his dad fiddle “Faded Love,” a melodic variation on the traditional fiddle tune “Darling Nellie Gray.” Billy Jack Wills added the aching lyrics that made it a country standard and the best known Wills tune next to “New San Antonio Rose.” Bob plays lead here, joined by Gimble. Rusty McDonald’s vocal is backed by a bluegrass-like vocal trio with steel guitarist Billy Bowman singing high harmony. Said Johnny Gimble, “It was so unlike anything Bob had done, and that’s the reason people liked it.”
17. Faded Love (2:51)
- Rusty McDonald, lead vocals
(B. Wills – J.L. Wills)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #10786
Personnel, track 17: Bob Wills, fiddle; Eldon Shamblin, electric guitar; Johnny Gimble and Keith Coleman, fiddles; Mancel Tierney, piano; Jack Lloyd, bass; Tommy Perkins, drums; Billy Jack Wills, tenor harmony vocals on chorus; Billy Bowman, high tenor harmony vocals on chorus; Jimmie Widener, bass vocals on chorus.
__________________________________________________
March 8, 1954; Hollywood:
Bob had performed W.C. Handy’s immortal “St. Louis Blues” before the Doughboys existed and recorded it with the Playboys in 1935. He modeled his performance on a record by another white minstrel vocalist, Al Bernard. Here, Bob takes advantage of new technology, overdubbing comments and carrying on a jivey dialogue with himself.
18. St. Louis Blues (3:23)
- Bob Wills, lead vocals
(W.C. Handy)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #11832
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March 9, 1954; Hollywood:
From 1950 to 1955, Billy Jack Wills and Tiny Moore led an incredible Western Swing band at Wills Point in Sacramento. The band’s sound and style, combining country with R&B material, rivaled Bill Haley in quality if not success. That sound inspired the Playboys’ “Cadillac In Model “A,”” sung here by Billy Jack.
19. Cadillac In Model “A” (2:00)
- Billy Jack Wills, lead vocals
(B.J. Wills)
Produced by Jesse Kaye
Released as MGM single #11883
Personnel, tracks 18, 19: Bob Wills, fiddle; Billy Bowman, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, electric guitar; Claude Fewell, tenor banjo; Louie Tierney, fiddle; Skeeter Elkin, piano; Lee Ross or Billy Jack Wills, bass; Johnny Megretto, drums.
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April 21, 1960; Hollywood:
Hoping to rekindle the old magic, Bob, his great days seemingly past, reunited with Tommy (who’d had only modest solo success) in 1959. After completing an LP for Liberty, they recorded two singles including this ballad by ex-Playboy vocalist Lee Ross. “Heart To Heart Talk” was neither Western nor swing but pure, unfettered honky tonk, Tommy’s show all the way, with Playboy Leon Rausch harmonizing behind him.
20. Heart To Heart Talk (2:37)
- Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(L. Ross)
Produced by Joe Allison
Released as Liberty single #55260
_______________________________________________________________
November 21, 1960; Hollywood:
Other Liberty recordings featured Bob and Tommy dusting off old Playboy favorites or applying their sound to pop favorites like “Wabash Blues,” Bob and Tommy harmonizing as they’d done decades earlier.
21. Wabash Blues (2:40)
- Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, lead vocals
(F. Meinken – D. Ringle)
Produce by Joe Allison
Released on the album A Living Legend (Liberty 7182)
Personnel, tracks 20, 21: Bob Wills, fiddle, harmony vocals (track 21); Gene Crownover, steel guitar; Leon Rausch, electric guitar, harmony vocals (track 20); Joe Holley, fiddle; Jack Lloyd, clarinet; Glenn Rhees, saxophone; Luke Wills, bass; Waid Peeler, drums.
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July 19, 1966; Nashville:
While Bob’s four years with Kapp yielded many overproduced Nashville records that often left him dissatisfied, a few gems slipped through, among them a buoyant 1966 rendition of “A Big Ball in Cowtown (We’ll Dance Around).” Originally written and recorded in 1952 by Bob’s friend, Big Spring, Texas fiddler-bandleader Hoyle Nix. Leon Rausch kicks his vocal along, backed by a hybrid band of Texas players and Nashville studio aces including fiddler Tommy Jackson, a longtime Wills admirer.
22. A Big Ball In Cowtown (We’ll Dance Around) (2:08)
- Leon Rausch, lead vocals
(H. Nix)
Produced by Paul Cohen
Released on the album From The Heart Of Texas (Kapp 3506)
Personnel, track 22: Bob Wills, fiddle; Phil Sperbeck, steel guitar; Harold Bradley, electric guitar; Jerry Case, guitar; Tommy Jackson, Johnnie Manson and Jim Belkin, fiddles; Hargus “Pig” Robbins, piano; Bob Moore, bass; Buddy Harmon or Jerry Howard, drums.
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February 19, 1969; Nashville:
Bob’s swinging version of Leon McAuliffe’s “Pan Handle Rag,” recorded at his final series of Kapp sessions, spotlights late Fifties-early Sixties Playboys steel guitarist Gene Crownover, Tommy Jackson and ex-Playboy Johnny Gimble. Bob’s lethargic dialogue, however, hints at his coming medical calamity.
23. Pan Handle Blues (2:24)
(L. McAuliffe)
Recorded February 19, 1969; Nashville
Produced by Walter Haynes
Released on the album Bob Wills Plays The Greatest String Band Hits (Kapp 3601)
Personnel, track 23: Bob Wills, fiddle, spoken intro; Gene Crownover, steel guitar; Tagg Lambert, electric guitar; Johnny Gimble, electric mandolin and fiddle; Tommy Jackson, fiddle; Hargus “Pig” Robbins, piano; bass and drums unknown.
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December 3, 1973
His 1969 strokes robbed him of his ability to fiddle and actively perform, yet Bob’s musical passions remained undiminished, one reason he organized this final session in Dallas. From his wheelchair, his mere presence inspired the Playboy alumni, all close friends. Three were Cindy Walker tunes, one penned for the occasion.
“Blue Bonnet Lane,” from the 1942 Western “Riders Of The Northeast Passage,” featured McAuliffe’s still-effervescent vocals, also featured on “What Makes Bob Holler” a newly-written, swinging homage to Bob’s trademark. As Bob movingly, courageously struggles to speak his brief monologue, the band swings away behind him. “Goin’ Away Party” featured Rausch on vocals, Bob doing his best to interject a bit more.
24. Blue Bonnet Lane (2:12)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Produced by Tommy Allsup
Released on the album For The Last Time (United Artists 216)
25. What Makes Bob Holler (3:29)
- Leon McAuliffe, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Produced by Tommy Allsup
Released on the album For The Last Time (United Artists 216)
26. Goin’ Away Party (2:41)
- Leon Rausch, lead vocals
(C. Walker)
Produced by Tommy Allsup
Released on the album For The Last Time (United Artists 216)
Personnel, tracks 24 – 26: Bob Wills, leader, monologue (track 25); Leon McAuliffe, steel guitar; Eldon Shamblin, guitar; Johnny Gimble and Keith Coleman, fiddles; Al Stricklin, piano; Bob Moore or Tommy Allsup (track 26), bass; Smoky Dacus, drums.
R.K.
All tracks produced by Art Satherley (except where otherwise indicated)
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Originally recorded 1932. All rights reserved by BMG Music (Disc 1, Tracks 1-2)
Originally released 1935 (Disc 1, Tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 10); 1936 (Disc 1, Tracks 5, 9, 11, 14 – 16, 24); 1937 (Disc 1, Tracks 13, 17 – 20, 22, 23, 25; Disc 2, Tracks 2, 4, 5); 1938 (Disc 1, Track 6; Disc 2, Tracks 1, 6, 10); 1939 (Disc 2, Tracks 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20); 1940 (Disc 2, Tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 9); 1942 (Disc 3, Tracks 6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19); 1945 (Disc 3, Tracks 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27); 1946 (Disc 4, Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5); 1947 (Disc 4, Track 8); 1948 (Disc 4, Track 6); 1949 (Disc 4, Track 7); All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Originally recorded 1935 & released 2006 (Disc 1, Track 12); Originally recorded 1936 & released 2006 (Disc 1, Track 21); Originally recorded 1937 & released 2006 (Disc 2, Track 3); Originally recorded 1938 & released 2006 (Disc 2, Track 7); Originally recorded 1941 & released 2006 (Disc 2, Tracks 2,5); Originally recorded 1942 & released 2006 (Disc 3, Track 13); Originally recorded 1945 & released 2006 (Disc 3, Tracks 20, 26); All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. Courtesy of Mercury Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises (Disc 4, Tracks 9-19, 22, 23)
Courtesy of Capitol Records, under license from EMI Music Special Markets (Disc 4, Tracks 20, 21)
(P) 1974 Capitol Nashville. Courtesy of Capitol Records, under license from EMI Music Special Markets (Disc 4, Track 24)
(P) 1973 Capitol Nashville. Courtesy of Capitol Records, under license from EMI Music Special Markets (Disc 4, Track 25, 26)
Compilation produced by Gregg Geller
Mastered by Vic Anesini at Sony Music Studios, New York
Discographical information thanks to research by the late Bob Pinson
Project Director: John Jackson
A&R Coordination: Stacey Boyle and Jeremy Holiday
Art Direction: David Gorman
Design: Arthur Nakata
Project Manager: Triana D’Orazio
Photography: Glenn White Collection
