The first time I heard the name Bob Wills was in the Brian Setzer/Joe Strummer-penned tune “Ghost Radio” from Setzer’s Guitar Slinger album. I learned a little more about Wills and his Texas Playboys from one of my many visits to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and decided to take the plunge and scrounge some of Wills’ western swing to actually listen to.
Confession: I hated it.
Wills constant, high-pitched interjections of “A-haaa!” and “Yes, yes…” got on my nerves in record time. I could appreciate the music, but I couldn’t get past Wills’ voice. So I set Wills aside, thinking it just wasn’t for me.
A few years later, I checked out the first volume (and the only volume that my library has…) of the PBS documentary series American Roots Music. Not only was Wills mentioned in the doc itself, but one of the extras on that first disc is a full performance of Bob and his boys playing “Sitting on Top of the World”.
I kinda fell in love.
It seems in the later years, Bob cut down on the high-pitched interjections and cranked up the funny asides. I decided it was time to give Mr. Wills another go. I found that if I started with the later work, I could get past the frequent “Ahhh!”s of the early work. I could even begin to enjoy them because they started to make me smile.
Wills’ music not only hits the spot on two-stepping, but it also throws in some down ‘n’ dirty booty-shakin’ and it also fills a niche for music I don’t have enough of: sweet, languid fiddle music that puts me in mind of a mild summer evening, sitting on a porch swing with a glass of sweet tea and a sweet boy.
This is the very performance that turned the tide for me. Please try to ignore Bob’s old man pants. And the wife beater seen through his shirt. I repeat, DO NOT STARE DIRECTLY INTO BOB’S CLOTHING.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sS5jSbV0Vg]
And a clip from one of a number of film appearances that Bob and the boys made, this one of my favorite Wills tune, “Stay a Little Longer”:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM50ZQpSSTY]
