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From: Joe Horn
Date: July 30, 2007
Considering Bob Wills made many changes with the TPs - from simple string band of the thirties, to his western version of swing in the forties, to the giant orchestras of the later forties, to the scaled-down versions of the fifties & sixties, I have a question for the learned folks here: Why did Bob not make the turn lots of other band leaders did in the late forties / early fifties when music halls shifted from large ballrooms to more intimate dancehalls and bars. Like Hank Thompson's blend of Honky Tonk and Swing. Or even Ray Price's early track deep inside hard country blues, while continuing to swing. And many of the fortie's WS standards - Bubbles In My Beer, Roly Poly etc., became honky tonk standards, so it would seem a natural move for Bob, and again, he seemed very willing to bend and shape to something new through the years. I don't quite get it. I'm missing something. Did Bob have something against Honky Tonk? Could it have been that Honk Tonk as a music type, and smaller venues simply didn't offer enough money? All opinions are welcome. JHH