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Smoky Dacus: Texas Playboys drummer remembers his work with Bob Wills

A little diversion from all the political stuff: I just came across a fascinating unpublished 1981 interview with Smoky Dacus (1911-2001), the original drummer for Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. The interview was conducted by Scott K. Fish for Modern Drummer magazine. Dacus tells of his early days growing...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 31, 2020 11:17 AM

Mandolin Special: Johnny Gimble, Tiny Moore, Jethro Burns, Eldon Shamblin

These seem to vanish as soon as they're posted, but here's a series of clips from a 1981 Austin City Limits episode featuring three virtuoso mandolinists, playing blues and swing: The line up, from left to right, front to back: Johnny Gimble - mandolin and fiddle Tiny Moore - mandolin...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 15, 2017 12:38 PM

Merle Haggard, RIP: His role in the western swing revival

Legendary country singer and songwriter Merle Haggard died Wednesday on his 79th birthday. It might be going too far to say he saved western swing from oblivion, but Merle Haggard's efforts to honor Bob Wills went a long way toward introducing a new generation to the sound. In 1946 or...

Posted by Michael Bates on April 8, 2016 1:52 PM

The oral history of Western Swing

I've been reading a very interesting book, The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing by Jean A. Boyd (1998, University of Texas Press). Boyd is professor of musicology at Baylor University. The book begins by tracing the overall history of the genre, as it began in...

Posted by Michael Bates on January 7, 2016 10:30 PM

Original Texas Playboys and Eldon Shamblin recordings; Tiny Moore interview

Bob Wills' passing in 1975 happened just as the music he made famous was enjoying a resurgence of interest, a comeback that might be traceable to Merle Haggard's decision to share his superstar spotlight with the music that shaped him. In 1970, Haggard invited six members of the Texas Playboys...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 30, 2015 2:09 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

Cherokee Maiden (not 1/32, the real deal)

Here's Merle Haggard, singing lead and doing his best imitation of Bob Wills' hollers, with three Texas Playboys: Johnny Gimble playing fiddle, Tiny Moore (next to Merle, holding a fiddle) and Eldon Shamblin (playing his Stratocaster) singing harmony. Let's send this one out to Elizabeth "Fauxcahontas" Warren in Massachusetts. Tiny...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 31, 2012 12:32 AM

Let's call it Wills Park

The Wills boys, from left to right, youngest to oldest: Brothers Billy Jack Wills, Luther J. "Luke" Wills, Johnnie Lee Wills, and Bob Wills, and their father John Tompkins "Uncle John" Wills. From BobWills.com The George Kaiser Family Foundation is looking for public input on the name of the...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 16, 2012 10:10 PM

Eldon Shamblin, Tiny Moore, Dean McKinney Moore 1981 interview online

On March 10, 1981, Tom Diamant recorded an hour-long interview with three veteran members of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, Eldon Shamblin (guitarist, arranger, and sometime band manager), Tiny Moore (mandolin, fiddle, and occasional vocals), and Tiny's wife Dean McKinney Moore, one half of the McKinney Sisters. Diamant, whose...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 29, 2011 12:35 AM

Original Texas Playboys final concert, 1986

James Shamblin, nephew of legendary guitarist Eldon Shamblin, has digitized and uploaded the final concert of Bob Wills' Original Texas Playboys, November 16, 1986, at the Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. I've organized all 13 parts into a YouTube playlist, so you can watch the entire 90...

Posted by Michael Bates on February 21, 2011 8:24 PM

Oklahoma Swingin' Country, 1989

(Originally published 2010/02/26, bumped to the top for the benefit of my fellow guitar students.) In the fall of 1989, shortly after we were married, my wife, who had been playing violin since elementary school, decided she'd like to learn some fiddle techniques. She found a teacher in Inola named...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 9, 2010 6:23 PM

Eldon, Tiny, and Merle: Columbus Stockade Blues

From 1978, Merle Haggard and the Strangers perform "Columbus Stockade Blues." You'll hear Eldon Shamblin's distinctive style of rhythm guitar throughout (and you can see him to the left of the trumpeter at about a minute in). At 1:30, Tiny Moore takes a short solo on his Bigsby 5-string electric...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 21, 2009 12:16 AM

Eldon Shamblin sings

Via Tyson Wynn, a wonderful clip of legendary western swing guitarist Eldon Shamblin playing and singing "Changes Made," following a bit of banter with steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe. This appears to be from a performance by The Original Texas Playboys (the drumset you'll see in the background is on display...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 27, 2007 12:33 PM

A cruise up 66 and on the Pinafore

NOTE: Started this last week. Wanted to add photos, but it was not to be -- haven't had time to edit them down to a reasonable size. Thursday afternoon (June 17) I took off work and we drove up old 66 to Miami to see Light Opera Oklahoma's road performance...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 1, 2004 10:22 PM