few modern male country stars, from Hank Williams to the cowboy hat-wearing young singers of recent generations far removed stylistically from anything remotely ‘western’, who don’t present themselves as cowboys – Stetson hat, boots and all. This lingering affectation is a testimony to the huge impact of western music and western swing from the 1930s to the early 1950s ...
music of slaves and their descendents, and that of other ethnic groups like Czechs, Germans, Poles and Mexicans. The historical development of the cowboy song and singing cowboys, however, was less straightforward, even controversial. N. Howard Thorpe and others had collected cowboy songs since the late-nineteenth century, but it remains unclear how much of ...
in entertainment habits altered the scene even more, limited the impact of radio and effectively killed off the dancehall scene in which so many bands had flourished. Introduction | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
, Hofner was the first western-swing crooner, and his San Antonio-based bands featured such top-flight musicians as fiddler J. R. Chatwell and pianist Walter Kleypas. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | Pee Wee King | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
himself by the 1940s, he essentially retired from producing in the early 1950s. He was elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1971. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | The Shelton Brothers | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
into the 1990s, working with The Light Crust Doughboys, with whom he had first worked in 1938–39; he recorded for RCA Victor during 1949–51. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | Milton Brown | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
, it was a massive hit – a song, Wills later joked, that ‘took us off the hamburgers and put us on the steaks’. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | Red Allen | Bluegrass | Country ...
(Vocals, 1895–1979) Carl T. Sprague was one of the earliest singing cowboys to record and, like Jules Verne Allen, he was the genuine article, having worked as a cowboy. He began recording in 1925 and ‘When The Work’s All Done This Fall’ sold almost a million copies. His recording career was short-lived and after 1927 he worked ...
she concentrated solely on writing and turned out dozens of classics, including ‘Dusty Skies’, ‘Bubbles In My Beer’, ‘You Don’t Know Me’ and many more. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | Curley Williams & Paul Howard | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
to lead popular regional bands through the 1940s before giving up full-time music in 1950. He continued to play on a part-time basis until his death. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | Harry Choates | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
they wanted to play on their own terms. Williams co-wrote the classic ‘Half As Much’, while Howard penned another classic, ‘With Tears In My Eyes’. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | Bob Wills | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
on his own terms, living modestly off songwriting royalties, until his death. He was elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1984. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | The Tune Wranglers | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
It’s hard to fathom now – 70 years on – the enormous impact that the laid-back, unassuming Gene Autry (1907–98) had when he rose to national stardom in 1935. Cowboys and western music had enjoyed a certain currency and mystique before he came along, but the first singing movie cowboy’s phenomenal rise inspired an entire generation and changed the ...
(Vocals, guitar, bandleader, 1918–92) Hank Penny was, with his Radio Cowboys, the most ardent exponent of western swing in the south-east prior to the Second World War. He relocated to California after the war and led excellent bands, though as time passed he eased towards comedy at the expense of music. He recorded prolifically from ...
that he initially didn’t want to record. It underscores the fact that at heart, despite the western-swing trappings, Thompson was a great country singer. Styles & Forms | Cowboys & Playboys | Country Personalities | Floyd Tillman | Cowboys & Playboys | Country ...
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