Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys

Whenever Nicole and I have been driving with her dad in Illinois he’s had his satellite radio tuned to a station called “Hank’s Place”. Looks like it’s changed its name to “Willie’s Place”. The website describes “Willie’s Place” as featuring "sounds of traditional country from the 50s and 60s.” Hmm, that sounds sort of limiting; “Hank’s Place” played music from the ‘30s through the ‘60s. We’ll find out when we visit for Thanksgiving.

My favorite band I heard on “Hank’s Place” was Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Bob Wills is the King of Western Swing. “Hank’s Place” used to play his music from the ‘30s and ‘40s and I finally got a CD.

Bob Wills music is appealing as old timey, tinkly, quirky swing music. I like western swing fiddle music as it appears here in its original context. I don’t like the resurrected western swing fiddle music which public radio has been cloyed with for the past twenty years. What I like best about Bob Wills are his falsetto cries of “Ah haa!” or simply “Ahhh!” Sometimes he pays semi-intelligible, swing-talk compliments to his musicians or singers. His outburst that I remember best from “Hank’s Place” was an enthusiastic murmur of “Yeah…!” He sounded as though the band was laying down some smokin’ hot beats instead of antique miniature hoedown music.