Dallas | Old Time Blues

I just found out that today (March 6) is the birthday of the late, great Bob Wills. Now, I’m not about to let the 111th anniversary of the day that such a hero of Texas’ music was brought into this world fall by the wayside, so I’ve hastily put together this tribute. What better way to pay respects to the King of Western Swing than with one of his most famous records.

James Robert Wills was born near Kosse, Texas, where he picked cotton on the family farm and learned to play the fiddle and mandolin, following in his father’s footsteps, who was the champion fiddler of the state of Texas. The Wills later relocated to a farm near the little town of Turkey, Texas, which now bills itself as Wills’ home. At sixteen, Bob hopped a freight train and left home to become a professional entertainer, but returned home in his twenties to become a barber. In Fort Worth, Wills added the blues to his repertoire, and made his first recordings in Dallas with Herman Arnspiger in 1929, though they were not issued. Wills cut his first issued record in Dallas in 1932 with the Light Crust Doughboys, featuring Milton Brown’s vocals. In the early 1930s Bob Wills formed his famous Texas Playboys and toured the nation, becoming one of the leading music stars of the era, and an originator of the western swing genre. Wills continued to perform until a stroke in 1969, despite the diminishing popularity of western swing. Wills died May 13, 1975 in Fort Worth, Texas. He is honored every year with the annual Bob Wills Fiddle Festival and Contest in Greenville, Texas.

Okeh 05694 was recorded April 16, 1940 at the Burrus Mill in Saginaw, Texas (near Dallas, which is indicated by the matrix numbers with a “DAL” prefix”). The Texas Playboys consist of Bob Wills, Jesse Ashlock, and Lewis Fierney on fiddles, Herman Arnspiger and Eldon Shamblin on guitars, Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, Johnnie Lee Wills on banjo, Son Lansford on bass, Al Stricklin on piano, and Smokey Dacus on drums. We heard a few of those musicians with the Light Crust Doughboys seven years prior to this record.

Tommy Duncan sings the vocal on the famous “New San Antonio Rose”. The old “San Antonio Rose” was just an instrumental of the same tune.

New San Antonio Rose, recorded April 16, 1940 by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.

Bob takes the fiddle on the eponymous “Bob Wills’ Special”, a low-down old fashioned western swing riddled with those hollers that Wills specialized in.

Bob Wills’ Special, recorded April 16, 1940 by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.

In 1931, Victor introduced their first budget label, Timely Tunes in an attempt to cope with the economic downturn. Timely Tunes was not much of a success, as only about forty were issued over a period of three months beginning in April of ’31. In that short time, however, quite a bit of fascinating material was issued, including this intriguing pair of Dallas, Texas recorded folk songs by Newton Gaines under the pseudonym “Jim New”.

A listing for Gaines’ other record in a 1930 Victor supplemental.

The colorful character of Dr. Samuel Newton Gaines (sometimes called Newton C. Gaines), born in 1890, was a professor of physics at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth noted for his work with sound waves, and long time member of the Texas Folklore Society, serving as president in 1929. Besides physics, Gaines had a passion for Western folklore and cowboy songs, and also enjoyed throwing boomerangs and wearing kilts and colorful caps. In the 1920s, Gaines served as the first chairman of the fledgling physics department at TCU, and dedicated himself to ensuring the department’s excellence. In October of 1929, Newton Gaines recorded four cowboy songs in one session for the Victor Talking Machine Company on their Dallas field trip. One pair of sides was issued on Victor’s V-40000 rural series and the other two were pseudonymously released on their short-lived Timely Tunes budget label in 1931. Gaines was an associate of John A. Lomax, recording several cylinders for the Library of Congress under his supervision, and receiving mention in Lomax’s 1934 book American Ballads and Folk Songs. Gaines retired from TCU in 1958 and died in 1963.

Timely Tunes C-1564 was recorded October 12, 1929 in Dallas, Texas, and this issue dates to 1931. While the label credits the fictitious “Jim New” as the artist, Newton Gaines is credited as the arranger on both sides.

On the first side, Gaines sings a railroad disaster ballad, “Wreck of the Six Wheeler”, which bears great lyrical resemblance to Andrew Jenkins’ “Ben Dewberry’s Final Run”, and “Milwaukee Blues” as recorded by Charlie Poole’s North Carolina Ramblers, as well as Richard M. Jones “Trouble In Mind”. This one’s not a very cheerful song, and Gaines’ mournful voice certainly doesn’t add any joy to the mix!

Wreck of the Six Wheeler, recorded October 12, 1929 by Jim New.

On the flip side, Gaines sings a considerably less depressing version of the classic Texas folk song, “For Work I’m Too Lazy”, also known as “Rye Whiskey” or “Jack o’ Diamonds”.

For Work I’m Too Lazy, recorded October 12, 1929 by Jim New.

Tag Archives: Dallas

Okeh 05694 – Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys – 1940

Timely Tunes C-1564 – Jim New – 1929