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.
Roly Poly
Bob Wills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Roly Poly, yeah
(Come in, Tommy)
Roly Poly, eatin' corn and taters (yeah)
Hungry every minute of the day (ah)
Roly poly, gnawin' on a biscuit
Long as he can chew it, it's okay
And never even bat an eye
He likes everything from soup to hay
Roly Poly, daddy's little fatty
Bet he's gonna be a man someday
(Ah)
Roly Poly, scrambled eggs for breakfast
Bread and jelly 20 times a day (ah)
Roly Poly, eats a hearty dinner
It takes lots of strength to run and play (yes, yes)
Pulls up weeds and does the chores
And he runs both ways top all the stores
He works up an appetite that way
Oh, Roly Poly, daddy's little fatty
Bet he's gonna be a man someday
The lyrics to Bob Wills's song Roly Poly depict the life of a jolly and gluttonous boy who is always looking for food. He seems to be in a constant state of hunger, and is always snacking on corn and taters, biscuits, apple pies, soup, hay, scrambled eggs, bread and jelly, and a hearty dinner. Despite his insatiable appetite, he never seems to feel full - he can eat and eat and never bat an eye. The song emphasizes the boy's love of food, but also his hardworking nature, as he pulls up weeds, does chores, and runs to the store, always working up an appetite.
Line by Line Meaning
Roly Poly, eatin' corn and taters
This person named Roly Poly is eating corn and potatoes.
Hungry every minute of the day
He is always hungry, no matter what time it is.
Roly poly, gnawin' on a biscuit
Roly Poly is currently eating and chewing on a biscuit.
Long as he can chew it it's okay
It's perfectly fine with Roly Poly as long as he's able to chew it.
He can eat an apple pie
Roly Poly loves apple pies and can eat them with ease.
And never bat an eye
He doesn't even show any discomfort when eating an apple pie.
He likes everything from soup to hay
Roly Poly enjoys eating all kinds of foods, from soups to hay.
Roly Poly, daddy's little fatty
Roly Poly is the child of someone and is chubby.
Bet he's gonna be a man someday
Despite being young and chubby, Roly Poly is going to grow up to be a man someday.
Roly Poly, scrambled eggs for breakfast
For breakfast, Roly Poly typically eats scrambled eggs.
Bread and jelly 20 times a day
Throughout the day, Roly Poly eats a lot of bread and jelly.
Roly Poly, eats a hearty dinner
For dinner, Roly Poly enjoys a filling and substantial meal.
It takes lots of strength to run and play
Roly Poly needs a lot of energy to be able to run and play.
Pulls up weeds and does the chores
Roly Poly helps with the household chores, including pulling up weeds.
Runs both ways to all the stores
When running errands, Roly Poly runs to the stores in both directions.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Fred Rose
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jimfiedler2704
I used to sing this old classic to my son while feeding him...He is now 60, great old memories...
@magnificentfailure2390
My dad told me this song made him think of me when I was 12.
It still kind of makes me sad, 47 years later.
Give your son a hug.
@gorelord3734
My pops used to sing this to me too when I was a boy!
@pashantzhowell5049
I sing this to my baby when I nurse him. It’s sweet to know it’s been happening this long
@dans49dodge
My father sang it to me when I was growing up.
I'm now 59 years old.
@sherriberri9550
Me and my Pa used to torment our local AM station by calling in and asking for this song so much. This and the Hank Williams version! I miss that man, but this makes me smile and remember. 💚
@chuckbump5386
It don't matter who's in Austin, Bob Wills is still the King"
@ronniebishop2496
It don’t matter who’s anywhere.
@sunofpeter2
Heck yah fellas!!!
@gaggle57
a friend's father had a bunch of 78s he let me dig through, this was in there. A real gem.