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Eldon Shamblin and Smokey Dacus tell tales of the Texas Playboys

As the rhythm section of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, rhythm guitarist Eldon Shamblin and drummer Smokey Dacus, along with Al Stricklin on piano, defined the beat that drove dancers across the southwestern U. S. in the 1930s from the band's home base at Tulsa's Cain's Ballroom. Dacus was...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 4, 2014 11:07 PM

Tulsa Playboys tonight at Cain's Ballroom

The Tulsa Playboys are back at Cain's Ballroom tonight, Thursday, July 25, 2013, from 7 pm to 10 pm. Guests on the bandstand include vocalists Janet Rutland, Devon Dawson, and Kristyn Harris, Evan Alexander on fiddle, and Isaac Eicher on electric mandolin. The Tulsa Playboys are a very talented western...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 25, 2013 12:31 PM

Bob Wills 108th Birthday Bash: Cain's Ballroom, March 2, 2013

Tomorrow (Saturday) night, March 2, 2013, the historic Cain's Ballroom at 423 N. Main St. in downtown Tulsa's Bob Wills District will ring with the music that made it famous. Bob Wills' Texas Playboys, led by vocalist Leon Rausch and guitarist Tommy Allsup, will headline the annual Bob Wills Birthday...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 1, 2013 11:37 AM

Candidates to dance around the issues at Cain's Ballroom, tonight, 5:30-7:30

KRMG, TYpros, the League of Women Voters, and Leadership Tulsa are teaming up once again to bring candidates and voters together to meet and talk one-on-one about the issues in a relaxed environment. The Contenders is tonight, Monday, June 18, 2012, from 5:30 to 7:30. This time it's at Tulsa's...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 18, 2012 12:22 PM

Riders in the Sky at the Home of Bob Wills

If you weren't at Cain's Ballroom on Saturday, April 14, 2012, you missed an evening of family-friendly fun and great music, starting with the induction of Woody Paul, Herman Johnson, Keith Coleman, and Kenny Baker (the latter two, posthumously) into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame, and ending with a...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 9, 2012 1:03 AM

Tulsa Playboys at Cain's tonight, Thursday, January 12, 2012; Tommy Duncan Celebration Saturday

Local western swing band, the Tulsa Playboys, play their monthly dance tonight (Thursday, January 12, 2012) at Cain's Ballroom tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12.50 and can be purchased at the door or by phone at (866) 977-6849. Student tickets ($5) are available only at the door. According to...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 12, 2012 12:07 PM

58 years later, Hank Williams returns to Cain's, October 17, 2010

On October 17, 1952, Hank Williams performed -- sort of -- at Cain's Ballroom. Former Cain's owner Larry Schaeffer tells the story in a 1999 article by Dave Hoekstra: Shaeffer's office is a cornucopia of country music lore, ranging from original Ernest Tubb movie posters to love letters from Bob...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 23, 2010 11:51 AM

Texas Playboys celebrate Bob Wills's birthday tonight at Cain's Ballroom

It's March 6, 2010, Bob Wills's 105th birthday, and there's a celebration tonight at Cain's Ballroom, the legendary dance hall that was home to his daily radio show and twice-weekly dances. Headlining tonight's event are Bob's own Texas Playboys, led by Leon Rausch and Tommy Allsup, both of whom have...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 6, 2010 2:06 PM

Bob Wills Radio podcast

bobwills.com, the official Bob Wills website, has launched a podcast called Bob Wills Radio, hosted by Jim Goff. Each episode features music and excerpts from interviews with members of the Texas Playboys. New episodes will go up each Monday at noon. The inaugural edition features a 1983 interview with steel...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 9, 2009 7:32 PM

Let's Have a Party! Wanda Jackson tonight at Cain's

Wanda Jackson, a native of Maud, Okla., and a resident of the Oklahoma City area, will be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland next month, but tonight she's playing Cain's Ballroom here in Tulsa. Deeply rooted in the western swing music of Bob Wills, Spade...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 13, 2009 2:09 PM

Happy Birthday, Bob Wills

An edited version of this column was published in the March 1 - 7, 2007, issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly. The published version is available on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Posted April 11, 2024. Happy Birthday, Bob By Michael D. Bates It looked like a typical scene in an...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 28, 2007 6:56 PM