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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

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

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

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

Dean McKinney Moore learns the answer to her musical question at last

I received an e-mail today with a question about Billy Jack Wills, youngest brother of Bob Wills and a great western swing band leader in his own right. A search for the answer turned up the sad news that Billy Jack's sister-in-law, Dean McKinney Moore, had passed away on November...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 13, 2009 10:16 PM