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.
Stay A Little Longer
Bob Wills Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why hurry? Let's all stay a little longer
You ought to see my blue eyed Sally
She lives a way down on Shinbone Alley
The number on the gate, the number on the door
And the next house over is the grocery store
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat throw it in the corner
Don't see why you don't stay a little longer
You can't go home if you're going by the mill
'Cause the bridge washed out at the bottom of the hill
Big creek's up, and the big creek's level
Plow my corn with a double shovel
Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat throw it in the corner
Don't see why you don't stay a little longer
Sitting in the window, singing to my love
When a slop bucket fell from the window up above
Mule and the grasshopper eating ice cream
Mule got sick and they laid him on the bean
Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat throw it in the corner
Don't see why you don't stay a little longer
Grab your gal and pat her on the head
If she don't like biscuits, feed her cornbread
The girls own a big creek, about half grown
They jump on a man like a dog on a bone
Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat throw it in the corner
Don't see why you don't stay a little longer
Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat throw it in the corner
Don't see why you don't stay a little longer
The song "Stay a Little Longer" by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys is a classic country swing tune with a catchy, upbeat rhythm. It tells the story of a group of friends who are having a good time and don't want the party to end. The lyrics suggest that there's no need to hurry, and everyone should stay a little longer.
The verses describe various situations that keep the party going, such as a girl named Sally who lives down on Shinbone Alley, the bridge being washed out, and a mule getting sick after eating ice cream. The chorus repeats the invitation to stay and dance a little longer, and encourages everyone to let loose and have a good time.
The song is a celebration of the joy and freedom of being with friends and having a good time. It captures the spirit of country swing music, which was popular in the 1930s and 1940s, and remains beloved by fans of traditional country music today.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, gather 'round friends
Let's all come together and enjoy each other's company
Why hurry? Let's all stay a little longer
Let's prolong our time together and make the most of it
You ought to see my blue eyed Sally
I want you all to meet my beautiful girlfriend, Sally
She lives a way down on Shinbone Alley
Sally's house is located a bit far away on a street called Shinbone Alley
The number on the gate, the number on the door
These are the house numbers of Sally's place
And the next house over is the grocery store
The convenience store is located right next to Sally's house
Stay all night, stay a little longer
Let's spend the entire night here and not leave any earlier
Dance all night, dance a little longer
We should dance and enjoy the time we have left
Pull off your coat throw it in the corner
Take off your coat and relax
Don't see why you don't stay a little longer
I don't understand why you would want to leave so soon
You can't go home if you're going by the mill
The mill is blocking the way home
'Cause the bridge washed out at the bottom of the hill
The bridge at the bottom of the hill has been washed away by water
Big creek's up, and the big creek's level
The water level in the big creek has increased significantly
Plow my corn with a double shovel
I have to use two shovels to plow my corn field
Sitting in the window, singing to my love
I was sitting at the window and singing to Sally
When a slop bucket fell from the window up above
Suddenly a bucket of slop fell from the window above
Mule and the grasshopper eating ice cream
A mule and a grasshopper were enjoying some ice cream
Mule got sick and they laid him on the bean
The mule got sick and had to be laid down on the bean bag
Grab your gal and pat her on the head
Take your girlfriend's hand and give her a gentle pat on the head
If she don't like biscuits, feed her cornbread
If your girlfriend doesn't like biscuits, feed her some cornbread instead
The girls own a big creek, about half grown
The girls around here are like the big creek, half-grown and playful
They jump on a man like a dog on a bone
The girls are very active and go after men like dogs go after bones
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, JOHNNY BOND PUBLICATIONS, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Bob Wills, Tommy Duncan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ATSF1927
Me and my wife went to Sedan, Kansas in 1948 to see Bob Wills, we danced our hearts out. We went every year. Sure miss his style of music :-)
@NJ-os3rn
I hope you and your wife are doing well! I'm 28 and finding this music. It really is the core of what modern music turned into.
@D45VR
Always loved these guys.
@tobyflenderson6972
Wow, that’s amazing!
@robwest9592
Western Swing
@michaelroberts9302
Check out Asleep At The Wheel
@bertoaben8224
40 years old, and I finally discovered Bob Wills. I heard it from Waylon's song, "Bob Wills is still the King." Great music.
@AdamMoss14
Don't matter who's in Austin bob wills is still the king
@kennydenton730
Once you cross that old red river hoss
@GeoffCK
To hear the Texas Playboys and Tommy Duncan sing…