Bob Wills was one of the two country music personalities, along with Spade Cooley, who pioneered the style of Western Swing music during the 1930s and 40s, combining the standard approach of hillbilly country with jazz, blues and pop styles, and using expanded instrumental line-ups, to create a highly distinctive, sophisticated, infectious and entertaining strand of country music. Between 1935 and 1950, with a variety of different incarnations of his band The Texas Playboys, he recorded for Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia and MGM while establishing himself as a top radio star and successful live attraction. This great-value 53-track 2-CD collection cherry-picks the highlights from the 300 or so recordings he made during the period, including, of course, the twenty or more Top 10 country hits he had after the establishing of the airplay chart for Folk records during the 40s, with biggies like New San Antonio Rose, Smoke On The Water, Stars And Stripes On Iwo Jima, Sugar Moon and New Spanish Two Step. While he remained a popular figure over the next two decades, his career was blighted by ill-health, and this collection provides a marvellously entertaining look at the real golden era of western swing. Includes comprehensive booklet notes, with complete recording session and personnel details.

REVIEWS

"The Western in Country & Western. A hugely complex fusion of styles, blending jazz, blues and hillbilly with a dance beat." & "Bob was a true innovator, yet remained faithful to the traditional Western swing style" - Bryan Chalker (Country Music)

"Any respecting blues fan should have at least one representative album of Wills in their collection, this is as good an example of such as I know" - Byron Foulger (Blues & Rhythm)