Bix Beiderbecke, born March 10, 1903
MARCH 10 — It’s the birthday of the superlative cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, born in Davenport, Iowa in 1903. Sadly, he’d be done in by John Barleycorn well before he could…
Striking Gold
With the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre justifiably receiving national and international attention this year, we remember another Oklahoma-related centennial, acknowledging the first movies made especially for Black…
Swingin’ Our Way
Like their former boss, Hank Thompson, the current members of the western-swing-based Brazos Valley Boys have never shied away from a little musical experimentation. That certainly holds true for their…
Bob Wills, born March 6, 1905
Today is the birthday of Bob Wills, the man who did more to create and popularize the wonderfully piebald music known as western swing than any other figure. Not that there weren’t…
John Steinbeck, born February 27, 1902
It’s the birthday of my No. 1 writing hero John Steinbeck, who’ll be forever known as the author of one of America’s all-time greatest novels, THE GRAPES OF WRATH. (My personal…
Sleepy Johnson, born February 25, 1909
Today is the birthday of one of the pioneers of western-swing music, Clifton “Sleepy” Johnson, a very early member of the Fort Worth-based Light Crust Doughboys, the pioneering band that spawned…