Sunday, August 12, 2007

Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys Singing Ida Red

It's a beautiful summer sunny California afternoon and I felt like hearing some Bob Wills. Trouble is--all my Bob Wills music is in AZ. Not to worry--found some on YouTube.
You remember that line in "Blues Brothers" where the bar owner says "We got both kinds of music here. Country and Western."
Well, Bob Wills music was definitely western! His brand of western swing music was unique then and holds up (to me anyway) to this day. A weird amalgamation of country fiddle music, big band swing music, and proto-rock'n'roll.
The thing I respect about Wills more than almost anything, was that he believed that his band was onstage for one reason and one reason only--to give the folks something irresistible to dance to. He was never satisfied unless his audience was jumping and whirling on the dance floor.

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