Word has it that Bob Wills’ favorite singer was Bessie Smith, which would go a long way toward explaining the strong Black blues influence in the Texas Playboys’ repertoire. I’ll start this Saturday’s SWING ON THIS with not only a blues tune, but a Bessie Smith classic, reimagined by vocalist Tommy Duncan and the rest of the Playboys, all of them in fine form on the naughty “Empty Bed Blues” from 1938.
The playlist this time around also includes a Bob Wills classic, done for us by the dynamic duo of Billy Parker and Bob’s brother Johnnie Lee Wills, as well as an encore airing of Michael H. Price’s “Just Like A Rose of San Antone, Approximately.” (And I believe I showed admirable restraint by not mentioning the grand opening of the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa in conjunction with this tune. It’s a great thing to have the Bob Dylan Center here in T-town; and, in its own way, “Just Like A Rose of San Antone, Approximately,” is a great thing as well.)
Lots more terrific music, old and new and in-between, await you Saturday at 7 p.m.It’s SWING ON THIS, now in its 19th year of presenting Western swing, cowboy jazz, and a few surprises, broadcast over Tulsa’s NPR affiliate KWGS, 89.5 FM and live-streaming everywhere in the known universe at publicradiotulsa.org
1. “Empty Bed Blues,” Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
2. “Secret Love,” Rose Sinclair
3. “Sick, Sober and Sorry,” Tommy Duncan
(for JAMES MILLER and the GLASS LIFTERS)
4. “Main Street USA,” Red Dirt Rangers
(for GABRIEL CASTILLO)
5. “Take Me Back to Tulsa,” Billy Parker and Johnnie Lee Wills
(for GARY & KATHY CRAPSTER)
6. “I’ve Just Seen A Face,” Leon Russell with the Newgrass Revival
(for the LEON LIFERS)
7. “San Antonio Rose,” Los Texas Wranglers
(for AP MCQUIDDY and JACK & CAROLE BENDER)
8. “Just Like A Rose of San Antone, Approximately,” Michael H. Price and His Western Swingmasters
9. “Green Door,” Leon McAuliff
(for HAMILL TIME)
10. “Tulsa Straight Ahead,” Tom Morrell and the Time-Warp Tophands
11. “Kansas City Blues,” Ernest Tubb
(in memory of DARLEEN & JACK KASSEN)
12. “Minnie the Moocher,” Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
(for TROY PIERCE and MARK & JACKIE DARRAH)
13. “Stompin’ at the Riverside,” Al Clauser and His Oklahoma Outlaws
14. “I Don’t Get It,” Bill Mounce and the Sons of the South
(for GARY & PAT ADAIR)
15. “Mama Don’t Like No Music,” Bill Boyd’s Cowboy Ramblers
(for TOME & FRANCIE BOMER)