I got to know the late Gary Stewart a little bit when I was working the country-music beat at the TULSA WORLD; at one point, he was interested in having me collaborate on some sort of Civil War project he had in his head. He… Read More »2 OCTOBER 2021
Because I got an unusual amount of commentary on the Bob Wills big-band-style song I played last week, “When It’s Honey Suckle Time in the Valley” (yeah, that’s the way “honeysuckle” is spelled on the original record label), I thought I’d start this week’s SWING… Read More »25 SEPTEMBER 2021
Although their duties have changed a bit over the years, the A&R (artists and repertoire) people at record labels are generally responsible for overseeing recording sessions and suggesting songs to be recorded by an act. In the pre-Internet days, they exerted a tremendous amount of… Read More »18 SEPTEMBER 2021
This week on SWING ON THIS, the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, andcomposer Shelby Eicher drops by Studio D, where we play a couple of songs from the Tulsa Playboy CD and he gives us some nice backstory. Other attractions this time around include a return of the Sweet Violet… Read More »11 SEPTEMBER 2021
There’s maybe even a little more variety than usual — and that’s saying something — on this Saturday’s installment of SWING ON THIS. For instance: How about Clyde McPhatter’s greatest chart hit, nicely reinterpreted by Candy Noe? Or a famous Cab Calloway big-band tune given the… Read More »4 SEPTEMBER 2021
This Sunday at the Cain’s Ballroom, the Brazos Valley Boys celebrate their 75th anniversary, as well as the 70th anniversary of their former boss’s first big hit, “Wild Side of Life.” That man, of course, was Hank Thompson, who I think is one of the… Read More »28 AUGUST 2021
This Saturday on SWING ON THIS, my special in-studio guest is Morey Sullivan, leader of the Brazos Valley Boys, who’ll be celebrating their 75th anniversary with a big Cain’s Ballroom CD release party on Sunday, August 29. From 1946 on, the Brazos Valley Boys were… Read More »21 AUGUST 2021
This Saturday on SWING ON THIS, you’ll find a couple of Oklahoma western-swing stars in unexpected places: Eldon Shamblin as a lead vocalist and Jesse Ashlock playing his fiddle with someone other than Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Also, by popular demand, Rocky Bill Ford… Read More »14 AUGUST 2021
If you know your Oklahoma performers, you probably know Kay Starr, the 1940s and ‘50s pop-music hitmaker from Dougherty. And if you REALLY know your Oklahoma performers, you may be acquainted with the work of Spencerville’s Rocky Bill Ford. We’ve got ‘em both on the… Read More »7 AUGUST 2021
Regular — or even semi-regular — listeners to SWING ON THIS know that while the emphasis will always be on western swing and cowboy jazz, I have a tendency to wander somewhat far afield from time to time, especially when I find a tune that’s… Read More »30 JULY 2021