When the music that would become known as Western swing took off from Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, via Tulsa’s Cain’s Ballroom and radio station KVOO, a lot of bands came along that looked to Wills for inspiration — and sometimes, for outright imitation.… Read More »15 JANUARY 2022
Like the blues and other musical genres, Western swing — especially Western swing from the ‘30s and ‘40s — loves its double entendre songs. One of the best-known, whose origin is attributed to the blues artist Memphis Minnie, is “What’s the Matter with the Mill?”… Read More »9 JANUARY 2022
1. “She’s Killing Me,” Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys 2. “What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round?” the Monkees(for NORMA HAMBRICK) 3. “Show Me the Way to Go Home,” Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies(for CAT & CHRIS BURTON and the GLASS LIFTERS) 4. “Till Then,” Tom… Read More »1 JANUARY 2022
It just may be that all the holiday company has mostly, or completely, left your place after a big Christmas day, and you’re settling down with a big tankard of nog to reflect on things. If that’s going to be what’s happening with you at… Read More »25 DECEMBER 2021
For my money, the late Michael Nesmith never got the credit he should’ve gotten as a writer, vocalist, and musical innovator. I’ve always felt he was especially suited to SWING ON THIS listeners, as he combined classic pop, old-time country, swing, and rock — crafting… Read More »18 DECEMBER 2021
compositions from songwriters ranging from George Gershwin and Irving Berlin to Hank Snow and Johnny Bond, this week’s installment of SWING ON THIS offers a little something for everyone with a musically adventurous spirit. And for those who are TRULY adventurous — and yep, you… Read More »11 DECEMBER 2021
I’d like to think that any radio show featuring a song by a Canadian act called Crazy Carl and the Newfies (which, as I understand it, is slang for the Newfoundland breed of dogs) ought to be pretty interesting — but, as always, SWING ON… Read More »4 DECEMBER 2021
If you feel like a little post-Thanksgiving boogie music, you’ll find just what you’re craving in Saturday’s installment of SWING ON THIS, where I’ve got not one, not two, but three mighty fine boogie recordings from Jim Boyd and His Men of the West, Ida… Read More »27 NOVEMBER 2021
One of the great joys I get out of doing SWING ON THIS is the chance to pair up things that might, upon first and even second glance, seem incongruous. I will always be grateful for your indulgence in this area; over the years, you’ve… Read More »20 NOVEMBER 2021
This week on SWING ON THIS, Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1920s supply us with three famous tunes, all done up as western-swing numbers. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys check in with their ‘40s radio transcription of the timeless number from Fats Waller… Read More »13 NOVEMBER 2021