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.
Dusty Skies
Bob Wills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Good ole Dan, you'll have to guide me right
If we lose our way, the cattle will stray
And we′ll lose them all tonight
(Sing it out, brother, sing it out)
'Cause all of the grass and water's gone
Sand blowing, I just can′t breathe in this air
Thought it would soon be clear and fair
But dust storms played hell (ah)
With land and folks as well (yea)
Got to be moving somewhere
Hate to leave the old ranch, so fair
But I got to be moving somewhere (oh-oh-oh)
So get along dogies, we're moving off of this range
Never thought it′s how I'd make a change
But the blue skies have failed
So we′re on our last trail
Underneath these dusty skies
This ain't tears in my eyes (no, no)
Just sand from these dusty skies
In Bob Wills's song Dusty Skies, two cowboys are struggling to make their way through a barren, desert-like landscape, where the dust storms have blocked their vision, making it impossible for them to see anything around them. They're relying on Good Ole Dan to guide them through the landscape to keep the cattle together. The cattle have to keep moving because all the grass and water have gone, and if the cowboys lose their way, they will lose all their cattle. They're moving on from the old ranch because the blue skies have failed, and they're hoping to find someplace better.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of longing and sadness in the cowboys' voices as they leave their home behind. It's evident they've grown attached to their ranch, and they hate to see it go. However, the dust storms and lack of water and grass have made it impossible to stay, and so they must move on. The song is a poignant reminder of the struggles faced by those who chose to live out in the Western frontier and the challenges they had to overcome merely to survive.
Line by Line Meaning
Dusty skies, I can't see nothing in sight (ah, Tommy)
The sky is filled with dust, making it difficult to see anything, and Tommy will have to lead the way.
Good ole Dan, you'll have to guide me right
The singer will need the help of his friend Dan to make sure they don't lose their way on their journey.
If we lose our way, the cattle will stray
And we'll lose them all tonight
If they get lost, their cattle will wander off and they will lose them all by the end of the night.
All of the grass and water's gone
We'll have to keep moving on (yes)
Their resources have run out, so they must continue their journey to find more.
Sand blowing, I just can't breathe in this air
Thought it would soon be clear and fair
The air is thick with sand and the artist is having trouble breathing, despite thinking that the weather would soon clear up.
But dust storms played hell (ah)
With land and folks as well (yea)
Got to be moving somewhere
Dust storms have caused havoc for both the land and people, so they have no choice but to move along in search of better conditions.
Hate to leave the old ranch, so fair
But I got to be moving somewhere (oh-oh-oh)
The singer is sad to leave the beautiful ranch behind, but knows that he has to move on in order to survive.
So get along dogies, we're moving off of this range
Never thought it's how I'd make a change
The group is leaving the range with their cattle and continuing on their journey, never expecting to be forced to change their course in this way.
But the blue skies have failed
So we're on our last trail
Underneath these dusty skies
The once clear blue skies have disappeared, leading the group down their final path under the dusty skies.
This ain't tears in my eyes (no, no)
Just sand from these dusty skies
The artist is not crying, but rather just has sand in his eyes from the dusty skies.
Writer(s): Cindy Walker
Contributed by Nathan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@t4texastomjohnnycat978
The legendary Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, with the legendary Tommy Duncan on vocals. Also written by ANOTHER Texas legend.... Cindy Walker, who was only 14 when she wrote this.🎻🐂🐎
THANKS FOR POSTING THIS SONG.
@rodford500
I believe that Cindy was 12 when she wrote this.
@BrickPa
Cindy Walker was one helluva fine songwriter!
@DouglasJShuck
"This ain't tears in my eyes, just sand from these dusty skies" 😢
G*d damn beautiful Tommy💔
So I've been on a dern sturdy diet of bob wills for the past 4-5 months. S0 much so that my YT feed doesn't even play anything else anymore. So anyhoo I've recently experienced some pretty terrible struggles due to plain ego and me ignoring the God that rebuilt my life. I started circling the drain again and didnt even know it. Well sir i found The metaphors Bob worked into these songs. I heard subtle warnings while I worked, slept, & zoned out. I became well again. I found simple shit like tunes to be my actual proof of a loving and very forgiving God who has remained committed to communicating w/ me by any means necessary. These old western swingin jazz cowboy songs my Grandpa turned me onto 3 decades ago saved my life. Rad.
I apologize for this randomass journal entry 😅
@jdswo4811
Such great feeling and connection with Texas Playboys music.
@jjones644
Dear Ranch Radio,
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful old song. Used to sing it with my family when I was a young boy. We were forced to move from our ranch in Eastern Colorado because of the Dust Bowl. Thank you again for a sentimental memory.
@RanchRadio
+Joshua Jones Glad you enjoyed it, it's one of my favorites.
@apachecreekfiddlers1049
And Cindy Walker wrote that one when she was 12.
https://youtu.be/oB4JLyKyQzg
A lovely person. And a great performance!
@notajetplane
Thanks man. One of my favorite
@RanchRadio
Mine too, glad you enjoyed it.