| San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills Contributor(s): Townsend, Charles R. (Author), Pinson, Bob (Contribution by) |
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ISBN: 025201362X ISBN-13: 9780252013621 Publisher: University of Illinois Press OUR PRICE: $39.11 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 1986 Annotation: 'In what was clearly a labor of love, Townsend has produced a thoroughly entertaining book, which is important both as a biography and as a study of popular culture. Townsend interviewed over 200 people, including Wills himself, listened to every known recording and transcription of Wills's music, and seems to have examined just about every piece of written material that is available on the subject. It is doubtful that anyone will ever write a more complete or more accurate account of Wills and his music.' -- Bill C. Malone, Journal of American History |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Music | Genres & Styles - Country & Bluegrass - General - Biography & Autobiography | Music |
| Dewey: 781.642 |
| LCCN: 75045431 |
| Series: Music in American Life |
| Physical Information: 1.15" H x 6.9" W x 10" (1.91 lbs) 498 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Southwest U.S. - Geographic Orientation - Texas |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: "Until Hank Williams came along, it was just Bob Willis," says Willie Nelson. "He was it." And indeed he was, especially for the thousands in the Southwest who knew and loved the King of Western Swing. The colorful band leader-composer-fiddler from Turkey, Texas, lassoed the emotions of country-and-western fans nationwide. In the early 1940s, his records outsold those of any other recording artist. He was voted not only into the Country Music Hall of Fame but also into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the only performer other than Gene Autry to be so honored. Affectionately written by a Texan who responded to the legendary fiddler's style, San Antonio Rose captures Wills's magnetism and the musical excitement he created. Charles R. Townsend traces Wills's dynamic life from his birth into a family of frontier fiddlers through his career and stardom and on to the poignant last recording session in 1973 and his death two years later. Townsend shows how Wills brought black and white music together and examines the tremendous impact he had on both popular and country music through the more than 550 selections he recorded and the forty years he and his Texas Playboys performed in dance halls and on radio. |