I’ll tell you what: I’m more than ready for another live broadcast of SWING ON THIS from the legendary home of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, the Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hope you are, too, because that’s just what’ll be coming your way this Saturday at 7 p.m., as I… Read More »24 JULY 2021
This Saturday, SWING ON THIS digs a little deeper than usual into the “western” side of western-swing music, with tunes from, among others, Johnny Bond and the Willis Brothers and Jack Guthrie — all Okies, by the way. There’s also Ole Rasmussen and His Cornhuskers… Read More »17 JULY 2021
I’ve known Bob Wiles since the late ‘80s, when I first began writing about the band he co-founded, the trailblazing and enduring Red Dirt Rangers. Since those days, Wiles has been cutting his own path through Oklahoma’s music scene, with a band he originally thought… Read More »THE STORY OF COWBOY JONES
This Saturday, SWING ON THIS features a few Bob Wills classics interpreted by others, including Ida Red (from that group’s brand-new album), the Nashville Seven, Billly Parker, and Bob’s brother Johnnie Lee. In addition, the Great American Songbook is once again represented with swingin’ versions… Read More »10 JULY 2021
— “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby.” — “As Time Goes By” — “Some of These Days” — “Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me.” Call ‘em standards, evergreens, classic pop tunes, entries from the Great American Songbook — whatever you want to… Read More »2 JULY 2021
Let’s open with a question this time: Does anyone know if the Frank Sims who announced for the Johnnie Lee Wills radio broadcasts in the early ‘50s is the same Frank Sims who went on to become, in the next decade, an announcer for TV… Read More »26 JUNE 2021
One of the most famous classic pop tunes was written on the University of Oklahoma campus by a guy who was trying to impress a girl. Of course, there’s always been a lot of that going around, but few tunes with that sort of origin… Read More »19 JUNE 2021
You probably didn’t figure I’d be starting this week’s SWING ON THIS blog with a quote from Noel Coward’s 1930 play PRIVATE LIVES. I didn’t, either. But the first song on the playlist this Saturday got me thinking about it, and specifically about a line… Read More »12 June 2020
In the June issue of OKLAHOMA Magazine, I devote my column to one of my favorite Tulsa-based artists, the immensely talented and creatively ingenious composer and pianist, Barron Ryan. Whatever he turns his hand to never fails to intrigue, and that includes his current projects,… Read More »DEFYING EXPECTATIONS
James Robert Webb is a rare guy indeed. Not only does he own athriving Tulsa-based medical practice; he’s also an up-and-comingcountry singer-songwriter — known for, among other things, hiswestern-swing reimagining of the classic “Tulsa Time.”Webb and his juggling of two very different careers take center… Read More »THREE CHORDS AND THE TRUTH