Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills, and Kermit Whalin, who played steel guitar and bass. The band played regularly on a Tulsa, Oklahoma radio station, and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band's sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as "Steel Guitar Rag", "New San Antonio Rose", "Smoke on the Water", "Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima", and "New Spanish Two Step".
Wills and the Texas Playboys recorded with several publishers and companies, including Vocalion, Okeh, Columbia, and MGM, frequently moving. In 1950, he had two top ten hits, "Ida Red Likes the Boogie" and "Faded Love", which were his last hits for a decade. Throughout the 1950s, he struggled with poor health and tenuous finances, but continued to perform frequently despite the decline in popularity of his earlier music as rock and roll took over. Wills had a heart attack in 1962 and a second one the next year, which forced him to disband the Playboys although Wills continued to perform solo.
The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968 and the Texas State Legislature honored him for his contribution to American music.[4] In 1972, Wills accepted a citation from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in Nashville. He was recording an album with fan Merle Haggard in 1973 when a stroke left him comatose until his death in 1975. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Wills and the Texas Playboys in 1999.
He was born near Kosse, Texas; his father was a fiddle player who along with his grandfather, taught the young Wills to play the fiddle and the mandolin. After several years of drifting, "Jim Rob," then in his 20s, attended barber school, got married, and moved first to Roy, New Mexico then to Turkey, Texas (now considered his home town) to be a barber. He alternated barbering and fiddling even when he moved to Fort Worth to pursue a career in music. It was there that while performing in a medicine show, where he learned comic timing and some of the famous "patter" he later delivered on his records, the show's owner gave him the nickname "Bob."
In Fort Worth, Wills met Herman Arnspinger and formed The Wills Fiddle Band. In 1930 Milton Brown joined the group as lead vocalist and brought a sense of innovation and experimentation to the band, now called the Light Crust Doughboys due to radio sponsorship by the makers of Light Crust Flour. Brown left the band in 1932 to form the Musical Brownies, the first true Western swing band. Brown added twin fiddles, tenor banjo and slap bass, pointing the music in the direction of swing, which they played on local radio and at dancehalls.
Wills remained with the Doughboys and replaced Brown with new singer Tommy Duncan in 1932. He found himself unnable to get along with future Texas Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, the authoritarian host of the Light Crust Doughboy radio show. O'Daniel had parlayed the show's popularity into growing power within Light Crust Flour's parent company, Burrus Mill and Elevator Company and wound up as General Manager, though he despised what he considered "hillbilly music." Wills and Duncan left the Doughboys in 1933 after Wills had missed one show too many due to his sporadic drinking.
After forming a new band, "The Playboys" and relocating to Waco, Wills found enough popularity there to decide on a bigger market. They left Waco in January of 1934 for Oklahoma City. Wills soon settled the renamed "Texas Playboys" in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and began broadcasting noontime shows over the 50,000 watt KVOO radio station. Their 12:30-1:15 Monday-Friday broadcasts became a veritable institution in the region. Nearly all of the daily (except Sunday) shows originated from the stage of Cain's Ballroom. In addition, they played dances in the evenings, including regular ones at the ballroom on Thursdays and Saturdays. By 1935 Wills had added horn, reed players and drums to the Playboys. The addition of steel guitar whiz Leon McAuliffe in March, 1935 added not only a formidable instrumentalist but a second engaging vocalist. Wills himself largely sang blues and sentimental ballads.
Cherokee Maiden
Bob Wills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That is where I found my little Cherokee maiden
The memory of that night of love is lingering here
And I know I never will forget
My little Cherokee maiden, I love her so
Even though we're far apart
I know I'll never be trading my love for her
Someday I'll make a trip back to that Cherokee strip
And I'll carry her away with me
And straight as an arrow flies, we'll ride to Paradise
My sweet little chickadee, my little Cherokee maiden and me
My little Cherokee maiden, I love her so
Even though we're far apart
I know I'll never be trading my love for her
For anybody else's heart
Someday I'll make a trip back to that Cherokee strip
And I'll carry her away with me
And straight as an arrow flies, we'll ride to Paradise
My sweet little chickadee, my little Cherokee maiden and me
The lyrics to Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys' "Cherokee Maiden" tell the story of a cowboy who falls in love with a Cherokee woman one night on a moonlit glade. Despite their distance apart, he remains devoted to her and would never trade his love for anyone else's heart. The cowboy dreams of the day he can return to the Cherokee strip to be with his love and take her away with him. He envisions their journey to Paradise, riding straight and true like an arrow. The chorus repeats the sentiment of his unyielding love for his Cherokee Maiden.
The song reflects the cultural melting pot that was Texas in the early 20th century, blending elements of western swing and country with the musical traditions of the Cherokee people. It also highlights the romanticism and wanderlust of the American cowboy, with its longing for adventure and love.
Line by Line Meaning
One night when the moon was bright on the moonlit glade
It was a moonlit night when I stumbled upon my Cherokee lover.
That is where I found my little Cherokee maiden
It was on that glade I found my little Cherokee maiden.
The memory of that night of love is lingering here
I can still feel the love that I experienced with my Cherokee maiden on that night.
And I know I never will forget
I will never forget the love and passion that we shared on that fateful night.
My little Cherokee maiden, I love her so
I have an enormous love for my little Cherokee maiden.
Even though we're far apart
Despite our separation, my love for her remains strong.
I know I'll never be trading my love for her
I would never give up my love for her for anyone else's love.
For anybody else's heart
Even if someone else loves me, my heart will always belong to my Cherokee maiden.
Someday I'll make a trip back to that Cherokee strip
I plan to visit the Cherokee strip where I found my love again someday.
And I'll carry her away with me
When I go back, I will take my Cherokee maiden with me.
And straight as an arrow flies, we'll ride to Paradise
We will have a smooth and a romantic journey to Paradise.
My sweet little chickadee, my little Cherokee maiden and me
Me and my little Cherokee maiden will make this journey together and enjoy the bliss of love in Paradise.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CINDY WALKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind