Season 301 of the Ukulele- Stay all night, Stay a little longer.

An old jazz big band piece. Bob Wills and the 'boys recorded an instrumental version of this; I don't know if they ever did a vocal version as well. I think it's worth pointing out that many jazz big band pieces were adopted/adapted by Bob Wills and other western swing bands; there are strong ties between old jazz and western swing.

I tried to play some little lead lines on the uke on this one, too.

My friend Carrol Sammons recorded this one several years ago. I think it must have been one of the last songs he recorded before he stopped singing because of his hearing loss.

 
Here's one by Jess Willard, who was an Oklahoma dust bowl guy that migrated to California in the 30's. He is somewhat obscure, and is mostly known for hardcore hillbilly honky tonk tunes, but he also loved western swing, and this song from 1951 is an example of it. I played his "Honky tonk hardwood floor" CD incessantly when I was driving overnight, an excellent road CD to keep me going. he died fairly young in the late 50's. I'm curious if you've heard of this guy before TCK, I'm guessing yes, but not sure.

 
This song was written by Bob Wills & Tommy Duncan, and recorded by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys with vocal by Tommy Duncan in 1947. I multitracked a second voice, second uke, and a melodica.


 
Cooking full-stop here, but hoping to finish on time to watch some more music tonight...pretty darn excited that Rootin' Tootin Santa Claus made it! :)
 
All right- Had to play a little SPade Cooley tune into the can before I watched all of today's offering, so here is that.

And here are my thoughts on the great stuff you folks have played for today.
Randy- Detour. LOVE This song, and you did a fantastic job of it didn't ya? Spade Cooley did at one point have a movie being written about his life and times, but it was being done by Kevin Spacey, who is at this point another tragic story. Reckon he won't be making any movies for a while. So glad Spade made the party.

Val-Faded Love. Hahahahahaha- Part of what I love about this stuff is how corny it often is, and how aged it sounds. LOVING the Uzouki...and the great job you did here, and the outfits. Fantastic stuff right here!

Berni- Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed. EXCELLENT rendition Berni! Love this old song, Bob Wills and Tex Ritter both did it as well. Fantastic stuff here, loving the back track, and the back story. Very cool that you can still hear your dad singing it, it is a doozy of an old song, thanks for bringing it.

BigPhil- Over The Waterfall. Jaw on the floor playing right there Phil. Excellent song, and know what...it is certainly a near relative of Western Swing if not just an early incarnation. It was first recorded as "The Fellow That Looks Like Me" by Al Hopkins and the Bucklebusters in the late twenties, and has many of the elements that would eventually be part of Western Swing (including twin fiddles I believe). Add an electric GEE-TAR and you are there. Nicely done sir, great bring.

Alan- Little Coquette. Love this song. I am one of probably a handful of people who have ever bought a record that featured only pedal steel guitar, and because Noel Boggs did such a beautiful job on this and played it often, I think everyone plays it. You did a great job on it, and thanks for introducing me to the words...they were on the original, but I don't believe Bob ever had Tommy sing it. I will have to take a look next week and see.

RB-Oil Them Hinges On Your Door. Fantastic stuff here! Yes, I have the Bear Family release, and love his version of Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor because Johnny Horton left out the important part...the tap dancing! I was looking something up about him just the other day and becoming aggravated that all I could find was boxing pages. Anyway- excellent bring here, and definitely crossover. After the war Western Swing was breathing it's last gasps and all these guys were making a way for themselves in Honky Tonks...perfect, and well executed.

Alan- Rootin' Tootin Santa Claus. I am smiling so hard my face hurts...Thank you for this one! I love the novelty tunes from this era, and this one is no exception. Perfectly played and the melodica break-down is fantastic. Great job on this one here.

Randy- Go Home With The Girls in the Morning. Excellent! Love the multi-track here, and well, Tommy Duncan is my fav. What a great song choice- one that does not see the light of day even when I am down this rabbit hole (which is often), and you did a fantastic job on it.
 
And some fun. Not many folks know that Bill Haley cut his musical teeth in this fashion. It amused the heck out of me when I finally got to by a reissue of this stuff. Just GOLD.
 
301

Love me some Western Swing. Heard this song a lot growing up. Not the first time to play it either. First time on Uke.

I grew up in the North Eastern Oklahoma hills and woods riding horses as far back as I can remember. Other kids had bikes we had horses. Each kid had a horse. I had a short fat pony called Pokey because I was only about four or five I guess. I think she was bipolar. She'd be sweet and then mean a little later. We'd go out to the pasture and jump on the horses no saddle, no reigns and ride off. The farm was almost a square mile. Big back yard.

Long ago the farm was owned by an Indian named Blackfeather and three of his children lay in the cemetery up by our barn. I found a lot of information on the web about this and printed it up for my dad a few years before he passed.

Enough about that, here's a song abut the Oklahoma Hills.
 
This is interesting, Dave ... and weird! Have never thought to wonder what Bill Haley's musical origins were - I was under the impression that he just appeared fully-formed and rocking around the clock.
 
A little Tommy Duncan composition...one of my favs. Just saw that Rex dropped my ABSOLUTE favorite Bob Wills song so I am off to listen ;)
 
Alan- I did not find a vocal Bob Wills version Of "Little Coquette", But this beaut from Jimmie Revard and his Oklahoma Playboys popped up in my collection.
Solid tune.
 
Here's another Fallout song (half tempted to have this as my next theme to be honest) that I think fits. It was originally released in 1951 by Billy Ward and His Dominoes as an R&B track but was also released as an altogether whiter Western Swing track the same year by the York Brothers.

I've gone for the Dominoes version as it's just so much cooler, sorry TCK.

This is absolute filth by 1951 standards as well, love it


 
Starting to realise how very white this western swing thing was.

Yes, pretty much. The performing halls were still segregated and the radio stations catered to race-specific audiences back then. Chuck Berry blew the whole thing up, thankfully.
 
The Maiden's Prayer was written as a piano piece in the late 19th century by a little known Polish composer (at least, I hadn't heard of him :)). Bob Wills arranged it for his band and recorded it in 1935 and it has since become a popular fiddle tune. Here is my take on recorders and ukulele. Photos are of the North York Moors in Autumn with the heather in bloom.
 
And some fun. Not many folks know that Bill Haley cut his musical teeth in this fashion. It amused the heck out of me when I finally got to by a reissue of this stuff. Just GOLD.


I don't want to appear down on our ukulele efforts, but hearing Bill Haley yodel over an accordion has made Season 301 all worthwhile.:cool:
 
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