Bob Wills proto-digital collection

Bob Wills was born just outside of Kosse, TX.  Like his father and grandfather he was a multi-instrumentalist.  Wills was able to play mandolin, guitar, and, of course, the fiddle.  Wills played publicly from his early teens, showmanship was in his blood and it got out early.  In 1931 Wills's band The Light Crust Doughboys (named after a radio program sponsor), the group began a year long tenure performing for the W. Lee O'Daniel radio show,  During this short stint, the band managed to become quite a success around the greater Texas area.  Wills left after a year because of fights with O'Daniel.  

Wills, along with Tommy Duncan, relocated to Waco and formed The Playboys.  for the better part of a year, the band moved around from station to station playing live shows, eventually settling at KVOO in Tulsa. 

It was here, in Tulsa at KVOO, that Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys developed.  The sound they created would come to be called "Western Swing."  For the next decade Wills was very successful.  The band played around the state and the nation, breaking attendance records along the way but always returning to Tulsa to their home base, the Cain's Ballroom.  Towards the end of the 40's, Western Swing had lost public favour and Wills went with it.

Despite never reaching the height of popularity he had seen while living in Tulsa, Wills continued to tour and play for most of the rest of his life.  Wills's music had a huge influence on music.  Groups as diverse as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Beck, the family Marsalis, Ministry, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash naming Wills as an influence.  To this end, Wills was named into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1968) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1999).  Wills was buried in Tulsa, the place he helped give birth to, father and raise Western Swing. 

Bob Wills, The King of Western Swing