Legends of Country Music

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Barnes & Noble - David McGee
The year 2005 marked the 100th anniversary of Bob Wills’s birth, an occasion this four-CD box set celebrates in grand style. There’s a sampling of Wills’s earliest recordings; a full helping from his heyday, 1935-47; and a well-considered overview of his still-vital music through the ‘50s and ‘60s -- culminating in four tracks from the 1973 album For the Last Time, which represented the final reunion of Wills, then disabled by a stroke, and ten of his former Playboys. Wills never thought of himself as a country artist, and he made sure the Playboys were virtually unclassifiable as anything but one hell of a band. Western-flavored swing, blues (Bessie Smith was a Wills ...
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - David McGee
The year 2005 marked the 100th anniversary of Bob Wills’s birth, an occasion this four-CD box set celebrates in grand style. There’s a sampling of Wills’s earliest recordings; a full helping from his heyday, 1935-47; and a well-considered overview of his still-vital music through the ‘50s and ‘60s -- culminating in four tracks from the 1973 album For the Last Time, which represented the final reunion of Wills, then disabled by a stroke, and ten of his former Playboys. Wills never thought of himself as a country artist, and he made sure the Playboys were virtually unclassifiable as anything but one hell of a band. Western-flavored swing, blues (Bessie Smith was a Wills favorite, and he did her proud in 1938 with a solid treatment of “Down Hearted Blues”); pop (a rich component of the Wills repertoire, with striking adaptations of Tommy Dorsey’s take on the classical favorite “Liebestraum” and the Ray Noble Orchestra’s 1934 hit “Who Walks In when I Walk Out,” being among the most enduring performances in the Wills canon); traditional country (he put songwriter Cindy Walker on the map with “Cherokee Maiden,” “Dusty Skies,” and “Sugar Moon”); and jazz (clearly inspired by Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings) -- all were part of the Playboys’ wide-ranging repertoire. A stern taskmaster, Wills drew to his ranks some of the most gifted musicians of his time: giants such as vocalist-songwriter Tommy Duncan, steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe, guitarists Eldon Shamblin and Herman Arnspiger, piano virtuosos Al Stricklin and Millard Kelso, fiddlers Jesse Ashlock and Johnny Gimble, bassist Joe Ferguson and drummer Smoky Dacus, among others, who could bring home a formal arrangement in the studio and improvise with breathtaking facility in live settings (this box set includes no live recordings, however). Wills himself, fiddler, songwriter, singer, and bandleader, lorded over it all, with a joie de vivre that remains as infectious as it is distinctive. Wills and the Playboys’ classics are American standards, and they’re all here -- “New San Antonio Rose,” “Faded Love,” “Take Me Back to Tulsa,” “Right or Wrong,” “Time Changes Everything,” “Steel Guitar Rag,” et al. -- in this authoritatively annotated collection. In vision, spirit, and execution, what Wills and his Playboys wrought in their heyday stands with the greatest music of the 20th century, as these four discs attest.
All Music Guide - Jeff Tamarkin
That Bob Wills was one of the architects of American music is a given, but his particular creation -- he didn't name it Western swing, but that's what it came to be called -- did not arise from the dust. Wills, refusing to be restricted, subsumed virtually every genre available to him at the time, from blues to big band, popular song to old-timey, and forged something new and exciting, something uniquely of the American South yet universally accessible. Among the first bands of its kind -- the term country music had not yet been applied to white Southern music, and Wills detested the "hillbilly" tag -- to incorporate drums and electric guitars, as well as jazzy brass, Wills and his musicians, whom he gave unprecedented creative leeway, were as vital an American musical institution as any. Yet with dozens of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys compilation albums on the market, ranging from single-disc primers to encyclopedic collections of radio transcriptions, the consumer, particularly the initiate, might understandably be flummoxed. Where to begin? Rhino's two-disc Anthology, released in the early '90s, remains the single tidiest summation of the Wills oeuvre, but for a next step up, Legends of Country Music is the way to go. A four-CD box set, it focuses on the bandleader/fiddler's key recording years (mid-'30s to mid-'40s) for the OKeh and Columbia labels, before winding up with later sides cut for such labels as MGM, Kapp, and Liberty. Legends of Country Music packs in 105 tracks, among them all of the original recordings that established Wills as an icon. To set the scene, it kicks off with a pair of tracks Wills made in 1932 with the Fort Worth Doughboys, before skipping ahead a few years to the earliest Texas Playboys sessions. The band takes a while, but not too much of a while, to find its groove. Seriously stellar musicianship is present from the start, but by the late '30s, when Wills' fiddle meets up with Leon McAuliffe's steel guitar, Eldon Shamblin and Herman Arnspiger's guitars, Johnnie Lee Wills' banjo, and Al Stricklin's piano, this band was making sounds like no other. Lead vocals alternate, Tommy Duncan or McAuliffe taking the lion's share, but history will probably note that Wills' constant between-lines banter, and his frequent "ah-haaaa"s, adding levity to the performances, ultimately became the vocal trademark most often associated with the Texas Playboys. The set dutifully features all of the cornerstone Wills recordings -- "New San Antonio Rose," "Faded Love," "Bubbles in My Beer," "Take Me Back to Tulsa," "Steel Guitar Rag" -- and, by necessity, many known mainly to converts. But there's much more to be discovered beyond the basics, particularly on the second and third discs. By disc four, as Wills leaves Columbia Records and American music begins heading in radically new directions, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys can be heard becoming less prolific and, for some time, less important. But he was never quite forgotten. The set follows through, into the '50s, '60s, and even his final session in 1973, by which time Wills had influenced a generation of acolytes, some of whom (Asleep at the Wheel, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard) continued to honor him decades after his death.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 8/29/2006
  • Label: Sony
  • UPC: 827969385821
  • Catalog Number: 93858

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 Sunbonnet Sue - Fort Worth Doughboys (3:03)
  2. 2 Nancy Jane - Fort Worth Doughboys (3:11)
  3. 3 Osage Stomp - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:01)
  4. 4 Get with It - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:02)
  5. 5 Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:54)
  6. 6 Maiden's Prayer - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:04)
  7. 7 I Ain't Got Nobody - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:44)
  8. 8 Who Walks in When I Walk Out - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:52)
  9. 9 Oklahoma Rag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:49)
  10. 10 Sittin' on Top of the World - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:17)
  11. 11 I Can't Be Satisfied - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:00)
  12. 12 Waltz in D - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:02)
  13. 13 She's Killing Me - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:46)
  14. 14 Bluin' the Blues - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:10)
  15. 15 Steel Guitar Rag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:48)
  16. 16 Trouble in Mind - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:58)
  17. 17 What's the Matter with the Mill - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:53)
  18. 18 Basin Street Blues - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:00)
  19. 19 Red Hot Gal of Mine - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:04)
  20. 20 Too Busy - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:34)
  21. 21 Crippled Turkey - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:47)
  22. 22 Bring It on Down to My House, Honey - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:42)
  23. 23 Right or Wrong - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:54)
  24. 24 Swing Blues #1 - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:39)
  25. 25 White Heat - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:41)
Disc 2
  1. 1 Steel Guitar Stomp - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:37)
  2. 2 Rosetta - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:52)
  3. 3 Blue Yodel #1 - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:24)
  4. 4 I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas) - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:24)
  5. 5 Oozlin' Daddy Blues - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:26)
  6. 6 Black Rider - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:43)
  7. 7 Down Hearted Blues - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:45)
  8. 8 Pray for the Lights to Go Out - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:50)
  9. 9 San Antonio Rose - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:34)
  10. 10 Silver Bells - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:41)
  11. 11 Beaumont Rag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:39)
  12. 12 Whoa Babe - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:35)
  13. 13 Ida Red - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:22)
  14. 14 Yearning - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:24)
  15. 15 I Wonder If You Feel the Way I Do - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:36)
  16. 16 Prosperity Special - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:39)
  17. 17 You're Okay - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:26)
  18. 18 Liza Pull Down the Shades - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:19)
  19. 19 That's What I Like 'Bout the South - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:33)
  20. 20 My Window Faces the South - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:15)
  21. 21 Don't Let the Deal Go Down - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:42)
  22. 22 Lone Star Rag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:44)
  23. 23 That Brownskin Gal - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:30)
  24. 24 Corrine Corrina - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:52)
  25. 25 Time Changes Everything - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:39)
  26. 26 Bob Wills Special - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:44)
  27. 27 Big Beaver - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:39)
Disc 3
  1. 1 New San Antonio Rose - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:38)
  2. 2 Liebestraum - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:52)
  3. 3 Lyla Lou - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:31)
  4. 4 Maiden's Prayer - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:51)
  5. 5 The Girl I Left Behind Me - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:40)
  6. 6 I Knew the Moment I Lost You - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:49)
  7. 7 Twin Guitar Special - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:41)
  8. 8 Take Me Back to Tulsa - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:40)
  9. 9 Takin' It Home - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:49)
  10. 10 Cherokee Maiden - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:59)
  11. 11 Dusty Skies - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:54)
  12. 12 My Life's Been a Pleasure - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:25)
  13. 13 Drop Us off at Bob's Place - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:33)
  14. 14 Home in San Antone - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:31)
  15. 15 That Hot Lick Fiddlin' Man - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:29)
  16. 16 Miss Molly - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:33)
  17. 17 My Confession - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:56)
  18. 18 Ten Years - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:50)
  19. 19 Let's Ride with Bob - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:44)
  20. 20 Bluer Than Blue - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:37)
  21. 21 Hand Your Head in Shame - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:39)
  22. 22 Texas Playboy Rag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:38)
  23. 23 Roly Poly - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:37)
  24. 24 Stay a Little Longer - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:47)
  25. 25 I Can't Go on This Way - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:35)
  26. 26 I'm Thru Wasting Time on You - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:32)
  27. 27 New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:30)
Disc 4
  1. 1 Sugar Moon - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:31)
  2. 2 Brain Cloudy Blues - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:47)
  3. 3 Bob Wills Boogie - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:39)
  4. 4 Fat Boy Rag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:52)
  5. 5 The Kind of Love I Can't Forget - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:43)
  6. 6 Hometown Stomp - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:35)
  7. 7 Misery - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:41)
  8. 8 Deep Water - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:58)
  9. 9 Bubbles in My Beer - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:17)
  10. 10 Papa's Jumpin' - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:38)
  11. 11 Sally Goodin' - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:17)
  12. 12 Still Water Runs the Deepest - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:52)
  13. 13 Blues for Dixie - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:53)
  14. 14 Keeper of My Heart - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:41)
  15. 15 Ida Red Likes to Boogie - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:41)
  16. 16 Boot Heel Drag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:44)
  17. 17 Faded Love - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:52)
  18. 18 St. Louis Blues - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (3:24)
  19. 19 Cadillac in Model "A" - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:02)
  20. 20 Heart to Heart Talk - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:38)
  21. 21 Wabash Blues - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:41)
  22. 22 A Big Ball in Cowtown (We'll Dance Around) - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:11)
  23. 23 Pan Handle Rag - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:26)
  24. 24 Blue Bonnet Lane - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:14)
  25. 25 What Makes Bob Holler - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:32)
  26. 26 Goin' Away Party - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (2:40)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Bob Wills Primary Artist, Fiddle, Vocals, Voices, Vocal Harmony
Johnny Gimble Fiddle, Mandolin
Tiny Moore Fiddle, Mandolin, Vocals
Johnnie Lee Wills Banjo
Jimmy Wyble Electric Guitar
Wayne Johnson Clarinet, Saxophone
Leon McAuliffe Acoustic Guitar, Guitar, Steel Guitar, Vocals
Leon Rausch Electric Guitar, Vocal Harmony
Noel Boggs Steel Guitar
Milton Brown Vocals
Ted Adams Bass
Danny Alguire Trumpet, Vocals
Herman Arnspiger Guitar
Jesse Ashlock Fiddle
Lester Barnard Jr. Electric Guitar
Harold Bradley Electric Guitar
Alex Brashear Trumpet
Keith Coleman Fiddle
Johnny Cuviello Drums
Ray DeGeer Clarinet, Saxophone
Tommy Duncan Vocals
Cameron Hill Electric Guitar
Tommy Jackson Fiddle
Sleepy Johnson Acoustic Guitar, Fiddle, Guitar, Guitar (Tenor)
Millard Kelso Piano
Jack Lloyd Clarinet
Jamie MacIntosh Trumpet
Monte Mountjoy Drums
Tommy Perkins Drums
Herb Remington Steel Guitar
Hargus "Pig" Robbins Piano
Eldon Shamblin Acoustic Guitar, Guitar, Electric Guitar, Rhythm Guitar
Everett Stover Trumpet
Al Stricklin Piano
Billy Jack Wills Bass, Drums
Cecil Brower Fiddle
Joe Holley Fiddle
Ocie Stockard Tenor Banjo
Luke Wills Bass
Derwood Brown Guitar, Vocals
Son Lansford Bass, Bass Guitar
Gene Tomlins Drums
George Balay Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone
Billy Bowman Steel Guitar
Gene Crownover Steel Guitar
Neil Duer Trombone
Skeeter Elkins Piano
Claude Fewell Tenor Banjo
Bob Fitzgerald Drums
Don Harlan Clarinet, Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Doc Lewis Piano
Tubby Lewis Trumpet
Jack Loyd Bass
Rusty McDonald Vocals
Zeb McNally Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Doyle Salathiel Guitar
Benny Strickler Trumpet
Jimmie Widener Banjo, Bass (Vocal)
Jim Belken Fiddle
Art Haines Fiddle, Trombone
Darrell Jones Bass
Johnnie Manson Fiddle
Glenn Rhees Saxophone
Phil Sperbeck Steel Guitar
Mancel Tierney Piano
Bob Moore & His Orchestra Bass
Woody Wood Clarinet, Alto Saxophone
Joe Ferguson Bass, Saxophone
Jerry Case Guitar
Johnny Megretto Drums
Waid Harris Peeler Drums
Lewis E. "Louie" Tierney Fiddle, Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Preacher Harkness Fiddle
Charles Laughton Clarinet, Trumpet, Saxophone
Leon Huff Vocals
Smoky Dacus Drums
Art Haynes Fiddle, Trombone
Technical Credits
Merle Travis Composer
W.C. Handy Composer
Tommy Allsup Producer
Leon McAuliffe Composer
Cliffie Stone Composer
Cindy Walker Composer
Richard M. Jones Composer
Art Satherley Producer
Irving Aaronson Producer
Joe Allison Producer
A. Delmore Composer
Tommy Duncan Arranger, Composer
Walter Haynes Producer
Jerry Livingston Composer
Eli Oberstein Producer
Fred Rose Producer
S. Williams Composer
Bob Wills Arranger, Composer
Rich Kienzle Liner Notes
C. Walker Composer
Jesse Kaye Producer
Vic Anesini Mastering
David Gorman Art Direction
Abner Silver Composer
Lonnie Carter Composer
D. Moore Composer
A.K. Hunter Composer
E. Nelson Composer
J. Bond Composer
O.W. Mayo Composer
R.M. Jones Composer
J.B. Rodgers Composer
Paul Cohen Producer
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