Bob Wills’ feature film debut including performances with Leon McAuliffe and Tex Ritter. Bob Wills is one of the most important musicians in the history of 20th century country music. The King of Western Swing, Wills’ songs have become an influential part of the repertoire of Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, Waylon Jennings, […]
MORE ...Hawaiian Hula Song, a classic. A seductive beauty does the hula while a duo play on guitar and slide. During the last third of the song, the rhythm picks up, becoming swingy. Where Hawaiian traditional and American Jazz meet, practically western swing.
MORE ...Ozark Jubilee Boys perform “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” live in this country tinged version of Jerry Lee Lewis’s rhythm & blues hit. Witness rockabilly in the making as this young western swing band goes rock & roll. According to Wikipedia – The origins of the song are disputed, but the writing is co-credited to […]
MORE ...Who doesn’t love a great yodeler? It’s Rosalie Allen, who taught herself to play music as a child in Pennsylvania on her brother’s guitar. Involving herself with radio, she scored her first hit covering Patsy Montana’s “I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” In this piece, Rosalie sees her beau off to war, a scenario […]
MORE ...In this clip, western-swing act Jimmy Wakely & the Sunshine Girls perform “You Are My Sunshine.” Jimmy Wakely was a Hollywood B-Western personality. With his career zenith during the studio system, Wakely would star in cowboy matinees and be featured in a comic book series. “You are my Sunshine,” one of the most covered songs […]
MORE ...Who Are the People of America? is a relatively egalitarian look at America, a country of different races, religions and ethnicities, in the country, in towns and in cities. The diversity of the US is seen through the conventional wisdom of the 1950’s, where conquistadors like Christopher Columbus, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, and Sir Walter […]
MORE ...In this clip, from the B Western “Take Me Back to Oklahoma,” Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys croon in perfect harmony ‘Oklahoma we love you’ in an upbeat version of “Good Old Oklahoma” with Wills’ signature backup calls. Riding with Tex Ritter, they sing together ‘Calamity Kate.’ But, clearly, the King of Western Swing […]
MORE ...Bob Wills: Fiddlin’ Man – 1950’s Bob Wills exhibits his master showmanship as both bandleader and musician in this short known as Fiddlin’ Man. Backing the king of western swing, the gum-chewing pianist, the expressionless guitarist, and the giddy drummer make playing with Wills look easy.
MORE ...In this clip, from a 1940’s B Western, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, on stage to entertain the locals, are introduced by Tex Ritter. The King of Western Swing then launches into a rendition of his classic ‘Lone Star Rag.’ “They’re good, aren’t they?” Tex Ritter responds, “Best in the West.” Too right, too […]
MORE ...Produced in 1954, Navajo Canyon Country takes both a historical and anthropological look in examining the traditional lifestyle of the Navajo community. The film visits contemporary, working homes inhabited by this Southwestern tribe of the US. Not far from the modern world of skyscrapers and motorways, the canyons of northern Arizona and New Mexico, is […]
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