Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

Legends of Country Music (Columbia/Legacy)

Though hailed as the "King of Western Swing," Bob Wills was never much for labels. The Kosse-born fiddler/bandleader didn't consider himself a country performer, and Nashville never fully embraced him. First and foremost, Wills and his amazing cast of sidemen were dance-hall entertainers, playing a lively mix of country, blues, pop, and jazz that appealed to wide demographic swaths of the American West. This 4-CD set zeroes in on Wills' most fruitful recording sessions for Columbia and its subsidiaries, along with key tracks from his post-Columbia career. Legends of Country Music begins with "Sunbonnet Sue" and "Nancy Jane" from a 1932 Victor session in Dallas with Western swing pioneer Milton Brown on vocals, which was credited to the Fort Worth Doughboys since Pappy O'Daniel wouldn't let them use the Light Crust trademark. From there, the classic Texas Playboys lineup emerges with vocalist Tommy Duncan, guitarist Leon McAuliffe, saxophonist/clarinetist Ray DeGeer, and pianist Al Stricklin. Chugging instrumentals like melancholy fiddle fete "Spanish Two-Step" and the McAuliffe vehicle "Steel Guitar Rag" fly by like highway signs in the afternoon sun. Marvel at how the Playboys nail perfectly pocketed solos in song after song at Wills' trademark hollered behest. Wills and Duncan trade verses on raucous versions of Memphis Minnie's "What's the Matter With the Mill" and Phil Baxter's "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy (From Dumas)" that leave little to the imagination. In the Forties, Wills pulled off big-band-leaning pop hits like "New San Antonio Rose" alongside classics like "Take Me Back to Tulsa" and "Roly Poly." Although Wills' fortunes began to slip after leaving Columbia, he still managed to crank out future standards like 1947's "Bubbles in My Beer" and 1950's "Faded Love." The box ends poignantly with 1973's "Goin' Away Party," cut just one day before a stroke left Wills comatose until his 1975 death. No Texas music collection is complete without an ample helping of Bob Wills, and this overview is good a place as any to dig in.