Stan Paregien, Editor
Bob Wills had a good life, but not a perfect one. He was married five times (twice to the same woman). And he liked alcohol just a little too much. His struggles with the bottle over the years usually resulted in a "no-show" for a scheduled Texas Playboys concert. At least by cancelling, few people ever saw him drunk. Bob was a binge drinker, not a constant drunk. Band manager Eldon Shamblin must be credited with controlling Bob's drinking as well as he did. Eldon would put his foot down and say, "Bob, we've got a tour to do. And the bar's closed." Usually that worked.
Bob Wills, often with his band, appeared in these and other movies: Take Me Back to Oklahoma (1940), Go West, Young Lady (1941), The Lone Prairie (1942), Silver City Raiders (1943), Saddles and Sagebrush (1943), Riders of the Northwest Mounted (1943), The Vigilantes Ride (1944), Wyoming Hurricane (1944), Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (1944), The Last Horseman (1944), Rhythm Roundup (1945), Blazing the Western Trail (1945), Frontier Frolic (1946) and Lawless Empire (1946).
By the 1950's Boy Wills and his Texas Playboys were still extremely successful because of their records and radio, personal and movie appearances. But their greatest popularity was behind them as the postwar 1950's brought decline of interest in western swing. In fact, it was mostly dormant for about twenty years.
A list of Playboys and female singers (indicated by an asterisk) who were a part of the band at different times include: Teddy Adams, Danny Alguier, Les Anderson, Joe Andrews, Herman Arnspiger, Jesse Ashlock, Junior Bernard, Bobby Boatright, Noel Boggs, Billy Bowman, Alex Brashear, Billy Briggs, Billy Carter, Keith Coleman, Gene Crownover, Johnny Cuviello, Smokey Dacus, Casey Dickens, Glenn Duncan, Tommy Duncan, Joe Ferguson, Benny Garcia, Gene Gasaway.
And Johnny Gimbel, Cameron Hill, Joe Holley, Leon Huff, Sleepy Johnson, Millard Kelso, Tag Lambert, Sonny Lansford, Doc Lewis, Jack Lloyd, O. W. Mayo (Mgr.), Leon McAuliffe, Billy McBay, Bobby McBay, *Laura Lee McBride, Rusty McDonald, Paul McGhee, Dean McKinney, *Evelyn McKinney, Zeb McNally, Tommy Morrell, Tiny Moore, Tiny Mott, Monty Mountjoy.
And Tommy Perkins, Leon Rausch, *Ramona Reed, Herb Remington, Glen Rhees, Lee Ross, *Louses Rowe, Eldon Shamblin, Al Stickland, Louie Tierney, Gene Tomlins, June Whalen, Kermit Whalen, Bob White (Steel Guitar), Bob White (Fiddle), Jimmy Widener, Billy Jack Wills, Johnnie Lee Wills, Luke Wills, Woody Wood and Jimmy Wyble.
By the early 1960's, Bob Wills himself was in declining health and the IRS was after him. So he sold his club, the Bob Wills Ranch House in Dallas, to another Dallas club owner - Jack Ruby. (You may recall that it was Jack Ruby who gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald, the killer of John F. Kennedy, in the Dallas jail.)
In 1964 Bob Wills had a second heart attack. So he sold the management of the band for $10,000 to Leon Rausch, a longtime singer with the band. They made Fort Worth something of a home, and Bob would sometimes still play with them.
Bob's IRS troubles continued. Bob sold his homes, his land, and even the rights to much of his music. He needed to be on the road performing in order to pay his bills and make a living. But now he was reduced to traveling from show to show in his own car with Tag Lambert or another performing driving, and he would hire local musicians to perform as "Bob Wills and His Boys".
In 1968 Bob Wills was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The plaque read, "Bob Wills - established himself as King of Western Swing - a living legend whose road map has chartered new pathways into the world of American stage, radio, TV, records and movies."
In the early 1970's he suffered a stroke that left him unable to sing or play, and he was confined to a wheelchair. However, it was decided that there should be a "reunion" recording of Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys. So the remaining members gathered in a recording studio in Dallas in December of 1973.
The plan was to spend two days, Dec. 3rd and 4th, recording Bob Wills music. Bob Wills was there the first day and tried to lead the band from a wheelchair. They put a mike in front of him so he could do some of his "ah-hahhs." He was so weak the sounds couldn't be used on the recording. It was Bob's old friend Hoyle Nix who dubbed in the "ah-hahhs" that you hear on the record. Ironically, Ray Benson and his fellow Asleep At The Wheel-ers also had the privilege of meeting their musical mentor at those sessions the first day.
But that night Bob Wills had a massive stroke and slipped into unconsciousness. The next day, of course Bob couldn't be there. And the guys were recording "San Antonio Rose," and they all started crying. The album of twenty-four songs was appropriately titled, "Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, For The Last Time".
Bob Wills died in Dallas about a year and a half later, on May 13, 1975, without ever regaining consciousness. His body was buried in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The headstone of his grave bears the epitaph, "Deep Within My Heart Lies A Melody."
Bob Wills became the undisputed King of Western Swing. And decades later, folks like Waylon Jennings can rightly say, " I'm proud to be from Texas, Where Bob Wills is still the king" (Song: "Bob Wills is Still the King").
On March 13, 2004 we got to meet and visit with Rosetta Wills, daughter of the legendary Bob Wills. The occasion was a Byron Berline concert in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Stan Paregien, Rosetta Wills & Peggy ParegienRosetta Wills was kind enough to autograph for us a copy of her book about her famous father. It is titled, "The King of Western Swing: Bob Wills Remembered".
You can buy a copy of the book from Rosetta Wills at: P.O. Box 173, Turkey, Texas 79261.
CLICK HERE to read a detailed biography of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.
This listing is far from complete and may contain errors.
Therefore, all Western entertainers and/or their agents
are requested to submit recommended changes by
contacting Stan Paregien through his e-mail address.
Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
--- Bible: Colossians 3:17
© 2003 by Stan Paregien, Sr.
