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
I don’t want to break my arm patting myself on the back, as my mother used to say, but it strikes me that there may only be one radio show in the world that’ll start out with a one-two punch of Bob WILLS and Bob… Read More »5 JUNE 2021
I don’t want to break my arm patting myself on the back, as my mother used to say, but it strikes me that there may only be one radio show in the world that’ll start out with a one-two punch of Bob WILLS and Bob… Read More »29 May 2021
Given the nature of western-swing music, there’s always going to be a significant amount of steel-guitar playing on SWING ON THIS. But for the latest installment, I’ve put a little more of an emphasis on the instrument and some of its stellar practitioners, past and… Read More »22 May 2021
This Saturday night, western swing once again merges with the Great American Songbook and songs from the Big-Band Era, as SWING ON THIS begins with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys doing a Gershwin tune and ends with that fine new act Ida Red taking… Read More »15 May 2021
Last week, SWING ON THIS featured a little bit of Bach, courtesy of a weirdly compelling LP called CLASSICAL COUNTRY, one of two discs that came out from the producer Snuff Garrett’s Texas Opera Company in the ‘70s. Because I’ve received so many comments on… Read More »8 May 2021
As the story goes, Clarence Albert Poindexter had a waitress in his Turnertown, Texas tavern who was fooling around with a married man. One evening, the man’s wife showed up, toting a pistol, and chased the waitress out of the bar and through a pasture… Read More »Al Dexter, born May 4, 1905
Along with his wife, Linda, my friend Christopher Lewis was a pioneering filmmaker in the made-for-home-video market, directing — among other things — what was maybe the first truly successful feature film not intended to be shown in theaters . I remember Chris and his… Read More »Saying Goodbye to an Icon
Longtime listeners know that they’re liable to hear just about anyone on SWING ON THIS. However, in the 18 years that the show’s been on the air, I honestly don’t believe we’ve every had Johann Sebastian Bach on the playlist. Well, all of that changes this… Read More »1 May 2021
Now here’s a fun couple for you: Eldon Shamblin and William Castle. As far as I know, the master of the horror-movie gimmick and one of the greatest guitarists who ever lived never met one another. However, they were both born on this day, two… Read More »Eldon Shamblin and William Castle, born April 24