Western swing is music I keep coming back to. The more I listen, the more I hear: jazz, blues, country, gospel, fiddle traditions, dance music, and the personalities of the musicians themselves. This page is a place to share recordings I love, discoveries worth hearing, and a few paths into the music for anyone who wants to listen along.

— RON THOMPSON
October 1, 2026

Working Backward: How Bob Wills found San Antonio Rose inside another song

Listen to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys work through the musical idea that became “San Antonio Rose,” from the structure of “Spanish Two-Step” to the 1938 instrumental and the fuller 1940 vocal arrangement. This is one where I would insist on listening in order.

Tracks:

  1. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — Spanish Two Step

  2. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — San Antonio Rose

  3. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — New San Antonio Rose

  4. Bing Crosby with Bob Crosby and His Orchestra — New San Antonio Rose

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September 1, 2026

Out From Behind the Curtain: Bob Wills, Monte Mountjoy, and the night Western swing brought its rhythm to the Grand Ole Opry

Monte Mountjoy gave the Texas Playboys a hard-swinging rhythmic drive that challenged Nashville’s idea of what a country band should sound like. These recordings put the drums where Bob Wills wanted them: inside the band.

Tracks:

  1. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — New San Antonio Rose

  2. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — Texas Playboy Rag

  3. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — Roly Poly

  4. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — Stay a Little Longer

Mountjoy is documented on the 1945 sessions and later Tiffany material; contemporary drum scholarship specifically points to “Roly Poly” and “Stay a Little Longer” as strong examples of his playing.

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August 1, 2026

From Honolulu to Fort Worth: How the Hawaiian steel guitar found its way into Western swing

Follow the steel guitar from Hawaiian popular music into the Southwestern dance band, where amplification gave it enough volume and presence to become one of Western swing’s defining voices.

Tracks:

  1. Sol Hoʻopiʻi — Hula Blues

  2. Sol Hoʻopiʻi and His Novelty Five — Fascinating Rhythm

  3. Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies — Taking Off

  4. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — Steel Guitar Rag

  5. Leon McAuliffe — Panhandle Rag

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May 1, 2026

T-Bone Shuffle: T-Bone Walker and the Texas roots of an electric blues standard

T-Bone Walker and Charlie Christian came out of the same Southwestern musical world and helped establish the electric guitar as a lead voice. These recordings follow Walker from Texas blues into the sophisticated electric style that changed the instrument.

Tracks:

  1. Oak Cliff T-Bone — Trinity River Blues

  2. Benny Goodman Sextet featuring Charlie Christian — Seven Come Eleven

  3. T-Bone Walker — Mean Old World

  4. T-Bone Walker — Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)

  5. T-Bone Walker — T-Bone Shuffle

  6. Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies — Taking Off

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APRIL 1, 2026

A Musical Taproot: How Western swing worked its way into American popular music

Western swing left traces in honky-tonk, rock and roll, Bakersfield country, and the Texas music that followed. These recordings let some of those connections unfold one after another.

Tracks:

  1. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys — Ida Red

  2. Chuck Berry — Maybellene

  3. Bill Haley and His Comets — Rock Around the Clock

  4. Hank Thompson — The Wild Side of Life

  5. Buck Owens — Act Naturally

  6. Merle Haggard — I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink

  7. Waylon Jennings — Bob Wills Is Still the King

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