Western Swing: July 2023 Archives
Oral Memoirs of Cindy Walker, transcript
In honor of this weekend's Cindy Walker Days in Mexia, Texas, here is the interview she did in 1989 with Baylor Profs. Jean Boyd and David Stricklin. (David is the son of original Texas Playboys pianist Al Stricklin.) The interview is part of the vast collection of the Baylor University Institute for Oral History.
Cindy Walker: First Lady of Texas Song - by michaelcorcoran
"This weekend [July 21-23, 2023] is all about Mexia embracing Cindy Walker, who tailor-made Western swing classics for Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and got her material onto the charts via Roy Orbison ("Dream Baby"), Jim Reeves ("Distant Drums"), Webb Pierce ("I Don't Care"), Ray Charles ("You Don't Know Me") and George Jones ("The Warm Red Wine.") Walker's uncredited co-writer was her mother Oree (the daughter of iconic sacred song composer F.L. Eiland), whose masterful piano playing fleshed-out Cindy's humming.
"Commencing Friday, which would've been Walker's 106th birthday (she lived to 87), the Cindy Walker Days festival boasts two full days of top-flight musical talent, with proceeds going towards the renovation of the Walkers' longtime home into a museum. Read more about the event and lineup here."
