Tagged: westernswing

Elvis caps his remarkable comeback Recorded in 1970 and released in 1971, Elvis Country was the culmination of a remarkable career resurrection. Starting with his 1968 Comeback Special , Elvis went on to reel off the brilliant From Elvis in Memphis (and the second-helping, Back in Memphis ), the smartly constructed Vegas show of On Stage , and the studio/live That's the Way It Is . [...]

News Flash: Hank Williams still not a Texan It appears Rocks Off's efforts of a few weeks ago were all for naught. Despite presenting what we thought was a fairly persuasive San Jacinto Day a... Continue reading "Legislature Makes Western Swing Official Texas Music" >

Austin trio salutes the King of Western Swing Hot Club of Cowtown's affinity for Bob Wills has always been a fundamental element of their sound, but the ad hoc covers of their early years have taken fifteen years to ripen into a full-fledged tribute. The trio long ago settled into their winning combination Texas swing and gypsy jazz, but here they lean heavily on the former, with Elena James sawing her fiddle more sweet than hot, and Whit Smith swinging his guitar more polite than fiery. Both James and Smith sing in the style [...]

• The Hot Club of Cowtown - Smith's Reel

Click image to download full album Sounds like: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, She and Him "Hes My Brother, Shes My Sister - Howm I Gonna Get Back Home Tonight" What's so good? The multi-faceted Los Angeles band He's My Brother, She's My Sister is definitely one of the more delightfully original groups I've come across in a long time. The band has just wrapped up their first national tour opening for Edward Sharpe and the [...]

• Hes My Brother, Shes My Sister - Howm I Gonna Get Back Home

The Marshall Ford Swing Band proves that Western Swing is still appreciated even today. Western swing - art - Swing - Willie Nelson - Music

Western Swing is a type of country music that's been around for years, but is still popular with many (including me). A combination of big band swing and traditional country music, in its heyday it usually featured large groups of musicians with everything from fiddles to harps. It was fast and flashy, brimming with showmanship and stylized costumes, and was impossible to resist. Although it has influenced many performers, including Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, modern practitioners like Asleep At The Wheel and similar groups probably come closest to recreating the original sound. And most [...]

• Spade Cooley - Detour

His signature song turned out to be prophetic.

Finely aged collection of alcohol-themed country and blues This is a 40-song set heavily populated with songs of grape and grain. There are blues tunes by Floyd Dixon, Big Jay McNeely, Lightnin' Hopkins, Jimmy Liggins and Sonny Terry, but the bulk of the collection is drawn from classic country artists such as Merle Haggard, the Louvin Brothers, Wanda Jackson, Merle Travis, Hank Thompson and Faron Young. There's also western swing from Bob Wills and bluegrass harmonies from Jim & Jessie. The album mixes classic songs of drink, drinking and drunkenness with tunes, such as [...]

It'd be sooo great if other established artists used some of their pull to expose people to deserving but less popular bands. Willie Nelson has always been very gracious that way sharing the spotlight any number of different ways. Now he has collaborated with the great trad band Asleep At The Wheel on his upcoming record Willie and the Wheel . Now I haven't followed Willie Nelson's career very closely of late. Still I'm guessing I would have gotten a kick out of all his recent genre jumping. [...]

• Hesitation Blues » Willie_Hesitation_Blues.mp3