Homefires XI

This third-generation musician pioneered the blending of these two musical genres. He also has the distinction of hiring and firing Hank Williams within one 24-hour period after a band member gave him the ultimatum "I can handle you drunk, but I can't handle both you and that skinny bastard. It's him or me."

**
Gears grinding? 'Bout damn time. I might finally stump y'all.

Need a hint? Folks back home knew him by his Southern name "Jim Rob," an appellation he shunned as lacking sophistication.
Patsy Cline covered one of his songs.
Chuck Berry covered one his songs under a different title, and had a hit with it.

**
Congrats to Trambo for correctly guessing the pioneers of Western Swing, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.
Who would have thought that mixing Big Band and Country would sound so good?

You can see the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee,
It's the home of country music, on that we all agree.
But when you cross that ole Red River, hoss,
that just don't mean a thing,
'Cause once you're down in Texas,
Bob Wills is still the King.

('Bob Wills Is Still The King' by Waylon Jennings)

The pride of Turkey, Texas, Jim Rob Wills came from a long line of fiddlers. He was a maverick who built a band that had some of the finest musicians in the country, and popularized a sound that blended country and big band. And it was all meant to dance to.
The popularity of his band lasted for three decades, but the influence of Bob Wills continues to this day. Among other fans, Merle Haggard dedicated an album to him, you hear his influence in Dickey Betts-penned tunes in the Allman Brothers, and Asleep at the Wheel help keep the Western Swing flame burning with their popular recordings.
The music to his hit song "Faded Love" was written by Bob Wills father, and the lyrics penned by his brother Billy Jack Wills. It's been recorded by over 300 different artists, including Patsy Cline. Chuck Berry's first record, "Maybelline," was a Bob Will's reworking of the traditional folk song "Ida Red" that he recorded in 1939. This caused some confusion with bookings, as Berry kept showing up at booked locales that turned out to be honky tonks. He said as long as he got paid, he didn't care.

Hank Williams tenure with the band was indeed brief. As recounted by Merle Haggard:

"Bob and Hank were playing at the Opry when they got drunk together, and Bob hired him. The next morning when [Wills' guitarist Eldon] Shamblin woke up, he went to Bob and told him, 'Look -- I might be able to handle your ass when you're drunk, but I ain't even going to attempt to handle you and that skinny son of a bitch. It's either him or me.' Well, that's as long as Hank Williams lasted."

***
Previous postings:
Homefires X
Homefires IX
Homefires VIII
Homefires VII
Homefires VI
Homefires V
Homefires IV
Homefires III
Homefires II
Homefires