IDA RED LIKES THE BOOGIE
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys
Released 2024 on the Bear Family Label
Bear Family Records.
Reviewed on the 22nd of September by Tom Doel
Released on the Bear Family label and as part of the long running series “Gonna shake this shack” this compilation of the King of Western Swing covers quite a few years of the recording years from Bob and his band from the many labels the numbers were released on from 1939 to 1963 and includes songs on Vocation/Colombia, Master, MGM, and Liberty Labels. It includes all the classics in the Western Swing, Hillbilly genres.
Now there could be someone reading this who has no idea who Bob Wills is so here is a little background on the man. Bob Wills was an American musician, songwriter and bandleader who is considered to be the founder of Western Swing. He played the fiddle as well as being the band leader and had huge success playing his Jazz influenced swing music through the 30’s and 40’s and into the early 50’s before Rock and Roll became popular.
The band changed over the years with different vocalists and musicians being added over the years many well known some not so much.
Tommy Duncan was the first vocalist who also played piano, June Whalin on Rhythm Guitar, Johnnie Lee Wills on Tenor Banjo, Kermit Whalin on Bass and Steel guitar Eldon Shamblin joined in the late 30’s Leon McAuliffe on Steel Smokey Dacus on drums and a horn section was added which as well allowed jazz arrangements which helped increase the bands popularity.
1 There's Not a Hundred Miles Left in Me - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
2 Nothin' but the Best for My Baby- Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
3 Charlie Changed His Mind - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
4 Steamboat Stomp - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
5 Keep Knocking but You Can't Come In - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
6 Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
7 I Didn't Realize - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
8 Ida Red Likes the Boogie - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
9 Trouble, Trouble Blues - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
10 Talkin' 'Bout You- Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
11 So Let's Rock - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
12 Bottle Baby Boogie - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
13 The Devil Ain't Lazy - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
14 Twin Guitar Special - BobWills & His Texas Playboys
15 Snatchin' and Grabbin' - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
16 I'll Have Somebody Else - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
17 Yearning - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
18 What's The Matter with The Mill - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
19 Texas Drummer Boy - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
20 Cadillac in Model 'A' - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
21Sugar Baby- Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
22 Hubbin' It - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
23 Nothing but Trouble - Bob Wills & His TexasPlayboys
24 Whoa Babe - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
25 Jolie Blonde Likes the Boogie - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
26 I Laugh When I Think How I Cried Over You - Bob Wills & His TexasPlayboys
27 Bring It on Down To my House - Bob Wills & His TexasPlayboys
28 Rock-A-Bye Baby Blues - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
29 Pray For The Lights To Go Out - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
30 I Won't Be Back Tonight - -Bob Wills & His Texas Play
As usual The Bear Family label has gathered together a collection of the best songs recorded by Bob and his band including many of his big hits throughout the years he was touring and recording across America. As this is such a good collection of songs its all you really need to own to get an insight into Bob Wills and his bands.
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys: Ida Red Likes The Boogie - Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight (CD)
1-CD (Digipak) with 36 page booklet, 30 tracks. Total playing time approx. 79 min.
Bear Family Records® presents the undisputed 'King of Western Swing', Bob Wills, in the long-running 'Gonna Shake This Shack' series.
A carefully curated selection in our CD series of fast-paced hillbilly boogie recordings.
The album traces Bob Wills' career from 1939 to 1963 with material from the Vocalion/Columbia and Kapp, Master, MGM and Liberty labels.
Among the classics here are Keep Knocking But You Can't Come In, Don't Be Afraid Of Your Age and Twin Guitar Special, pure western swing alongside hillbilly boogie and rockabilly.
Extensive liner notes by Roland Heinrich Rumtreiber, rare illustrations and a discography in the booklet as well as carefully remastered recordings promise an all-round successful and enjoyable album by a grand master!
Bob Wills is the undisputed ‘King of Western Swing.’ Whether he was the originator, the best fiddler, the best arranger, or whatever is an ongoing discussion among die-hard fans of the man and the genre. But Bob Wills put the big beat in country music and thus is long overdue in Bear Family’s up-tempo hillbilly series ‘Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight.’
This carefully compiled selection spans Bob Wills’ career from 1939 until 1963 and picks material from his stints with Vocalion/Columbia and Kapp, Master, MGM, and Liberty. Among the highlights of the CD are several classics: the old blues Keep Knocking But You Can’t Come In, which Wills had initially played with his erstwhile partner, the legendary Milton Brown, in the Fort Worth Doughboys; country writer Cindy Walker’s gem Don’t Be Afraid of Your Age; and the influential Twin Guitar Special.
Outstanding, however, is the tasteful compilation of Bob Wills's up-tempo dancefloor smashes – he was renowned for operating the best dance orchestra in the South-West, some say in the entire USA (but we leave that to the already mentioned die-hard fans and experts). Many of the (almost) career-spanning swing smashes may seem unfamiliar to those who have missed out on Bear Family’s box sets of the man. Many featured string band sizzlers from various labels and periods have never been arrayed in that way.
Bob Wills mostly stuck to his tried-and-true formula. Still, this CD features concessions to trends such as hillbilly boogie and rockabilly, as well as picking on themes of contemporary pop lore, like spreading gossip about ‘Jolie Blonde.’
The CD is a must for dancing and will make you smile. It proves once again that Bob Wills could catch his charisma and his band’s fire on a platter and serve a tasty stew of various ethnic ingredients of American music, delivered with the bouncing beats of hot jazz and bawdy blues.
Grab your partner and get to it. Or put the CD on while sweeping the floor or doing your chores. It will have you holler out “Ah-Haah” in no time.
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