Western Swing: February 2025 Archives

Southwest Shuffle: Pioneers of Honky-Tonk, Western Swing, and Country Jazz : Kienzle, Richard : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

"Move those things out: Bob Wills Invades the Grand Ole Opry, 1944": The oft-embellished story of the Texas Playboys first appearance on the Opry, December 30, 1944, with Monte Mountjoy on a drum set that the Opry crew insisted would be behind a curtain, which Bob Wills ordered to be moved into full view. The band that night consisted of Bob Wills and Joe Holley on fiddle; Ted Adams and Rip Ramsey on bass; Jimmy Wyble and Cameron Hill on electric guitar; Noel Boggs on steel guitar; Alex Brashear on trumpet; Monty Mountjoy on drums.

(Southwest Shuffle also includes chapters about Tommy Duncan, Jimmy Wyble, and Luke Wills. You can borrow the book for online reading for up to two weeks with a free Internet Archive account.)