Bob Wills
James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade Cooley self-promoted the moniker "King of Western Swing" from 1942 to 1969). He was also noted for punctuating his music with his trademark "ah-haa" calls. Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills, and Kermit Whalin who played steel guitar and bass. Oklahoma guitar player Eldon Shamblin joined the band in 1937 bringing jazzy influence and arrangements. The band played regularly on Tulsa, Oklahoma, radio station KVOO and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band's sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as "Steel Guitar Rag", "San Antonio Rose", "Smoke on the Water", "Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima", and "New Spanish Two Step". Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded with several publishers and companies, including Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, and MGM. In 1950, Wills had two top 10 hits, "Ida Red likes the Boogie" and "Faded Love", which were his last hits for a decade. Throughout the 1950s, he struggled with poor health and tenuous finances. He continued to perform frequently despite a decline in the popularity of his earlier hit songs, and the growing popularity of rock and roll. Wills had a heart attack in 1962, and a second one the next year, which forced him to disband the Texas Playboys. Wills continued to perform solo. The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music. In 1972, Wills accepted a citation from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in Nashville. He recorded an album with fan Merle Haggard in 1973. Wills suffered two strokes that left him partially paralyzed, and unable to communicate. He was comatose the last two months of his life, and died in a Fort Worth nursing home in 1975. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1999. |
Birth and Death Data: Born March 6, 1905 (Limestone County), Died May 13, 1975 (Fort Worth)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1932 - 1957
Roles Represented in DAHR: leader, violin, composer, songwriter, vocalist, lyricist, harmony vocal, arranger, speaker
Notes: Bob Wills is known for his "hollers" - spoken interjections during most of his records.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 185 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | H839 | 10-in. | 7/14/1942 | Miss Molly | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
Columbia | H841 | 10-in. | 7/15/1942 | Honeymoon trail | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal trio | vocalist, instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
Columbia | H843 | 10-in. | 7/15/1942 | You're from Texas | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
Columbia | H844 | 10-in. | 7/15/1942 | Goodbye, Liza Jane | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal trio | instrumentalist, violin, leader | |
Columbia | H845 | 10-in. | 7/16/1942 | My confession | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist, composer, lyricist, leader | |
Columbia | H846 | 10-in. | 7/16/1942 | Ten years | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | H849 | 10-in. | 7/16/1942 | Let's ride with Bob (Theme song) | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | H851 | 10-in. | 7/16/1942 | Whose heart are you breaking now? | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | leader | |
Columbia | DAL975 | 10-in. | 4/15/1940 | Let me call you sweetheart (I'm in love with you) | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, leader, instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | DAL981 | 10-in. | 4/16/1940 | New San Antonio rose | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | composer, lyricist | |
Columbia | H1241 | 10-in. | 1/26/1945 | Hang your head in shame | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | H1242 | 10-in. | 1/24/1945 | Smoke on the water | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | H1243 | 10-in. | 1/26/1945 | Texas playboy rag | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band | leader, instrumentalist, violin, composer | |
Columbia | H1245 | 10-in. | 1/26/1945 | Roly poly | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | H1246 | 10-in. | 1/26/1945 | You don't care what happens to me | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | H1247 | 10-in. | 1/26/1945 | Stay a little longer | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, violin, songwriter, vocalist, harmony vocal | |
Columbia | H1250 | 10-in. | 1/28/1945 | You should have thought of that before | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | H1251 | 10-in. | 1/28/1945 | I can't go on this way | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | H1366 | 10-in. | 4/20/1945 | Stars and stripes on Iwo Jima | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, songwriter | |
Columbia | H1367 | 10-in. | 4/20/1945 | Silver dew on the blue grass tonight | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader | |
Columbia | H1369 | 10-in. | 4/20/1945 | New Spanish two step | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, songwriter, instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | C1475 | 10-in. | 9/29/1936 | She's killing me | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | C1477 | 10-in. | 9/29/1936 | No matter how she done it (she's just a dirty dame) | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, violin | |
Columbia | C1479 | 10-in. | 9/29/1936 | Steel guitar rag | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band | leader | |
Columbia | C1480 | 10-in. | 9/29/1936 | Get along home Cindy | Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys | String band, with male vocal solo | leader, instrumentalist, violin |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Wills, Bob," accessed November 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103732.
Wills, Bob. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/103732.
"Wills, Bob." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Bob Wills
Discogs: Bob Wills
Allmusic: Bob Wills
Grove: Bob Wills
IMDb: Bob Wills
Britannica: Bob Wills
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Wills, Bob, 1905-1975 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82096228
Wikidata: Bob Wills - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q888326
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/10035134
MusicBrainz: Bob Wills - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c727f585-54e0-4e0d-b8ad-05f216f99244
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