On this day in 1905, Bob Wills was born in Kosse, Texas. Over the years, he was a member of two influential bands. First came the Light Crust Doughboys. After that band dissolved, he formed his Texas Playboys, which featured some of the same musicians. The Doughboys carved out the style that is now called western swing. Later, the Texas Playboys honed the sound to a razor’s edge. The music they created was a major influence on George Strait and other Texas artists, as well as Bakersfield Sound acts like Merle Haggard and Buck Owens.
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Wills grew up in a musical family. He learned to play frontier-style fiddle from his father, an award-winning fiddler. Additionally, the area in which the Wills family lived produced legendary Black musicians, including Scott Joplin, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Victoria Spivey, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. He learned blues and jazz from his Black neighbors and migrant workers. So, when he left the family home at the age of 17, he was a phenomenal fiddler, and he would only get better with time.
Bob Wills Forms the Texas Playboys
Wills was a drifter, taking odd jobs where he could before moving to the next town. He also played ranch dances and traveled with medicine shows when he got the chance. Finally, when Wills was in his mid-20s, he put down roots. In 1930, he partnered with Herman Arnspiger and Milton and Derwood Brown. Their band became the Aladdin Lamp Company’s Aladdin Laddies and performed on WBAP in Fort Worth. Banjo player Sleepy Johnson later joined the group that, later that year, became the Light Crust Doughboys. Together, they played the first iterations of western swing.
After some personnel changes in the Doughboys, Wills left the band, and fiddler Tommy Duncan came with him. Together, they formed the Texas Playboys.
“Aah-Haa!” the Playboys Take Tulsa
By 1940, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys had a regular spot on the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based KVOO. However, the five-piece string band he performed with in Texas had transformed into something much larger. The Playboys became a 16-piece band that included drums, brass, woodwinds, as well as fiddlers and guitarists. Around this time, they released their signature song “New San Antonio Rose.”
In 1942, he enlisted in the United States Army. However, the 37-year-old Wills didn’t see combat. Instead, he received a medical discharge in 1943. Afterward, he relocated to Hollywood and rebuilt the Texas Playboys.
There, he replaced his horn section with electric guitars. Soon, the Texas Playboys were packing some of the biggest dance halls on the West Coast, and Wills became one of the highest-paid entertainers in the United States. More importantly, because they were so popular in the region, western swing spread like wildfire.
Bob Wills Inspired Country Greats
It is impossible to deny Bob Wills’ influence on some of country music’s biggest names. For example, George Strait’s early recordings featured many toned-down swing arrangements. For instance, his 1984 No. 1 hit, “Right or Wrong,” was a cover of Wills’ version of an old jazz tune.
Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and other artists associated with the Bakersfield Sound pulled inspiration from Wills’ music. In 1970, Haggard released the album A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills). The album didn’t just show off Haggard’s love for Wills. It helped introduce his music to a new audience.
Bob Wills’ influence didn’t stop with country musicians. For instance, Chuck Berry credited Wills’ “Ida Red” as the inspiration for “Maybellene,” his first hit. If that’s not enough, here’s a video of the Rolling Stones doing Waylon Jennings’ “Bob Wills Is Still the King.”
Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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