Bob Wills; did he ever record a song with him singing lead?

Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

An interesting story heard today will follow, should anyone have the facts...

OK Brad, head 'em up and move 'em out!

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

"Shoot Low Sheriff, She's ridin' a Shetland"!

Was that it?

George Redmon · From: Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.

huh?? not sure why this post is in "Steel Without Pedals", but if you're asking if Bob Wills recorded any songs with him doing the main vocal...then yes certainly, several. My favorites are "Rosetta" Vocalion 03659 Recorded in Dallas TX June 7, 1937. I also enjoy Bob singing "There's No Disappointment In Heaven" Columbia P-15813, Chicago IL September 30, 1936. And there are several others he did the main vocals on???? i know i'm missin' some'em here Razz

Brad Bechtel · From: San Francisco, CA

Moved to Music from Steel Without Pedals.
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Dayna Wills · From: Sacramento, CA (deceased)

George,
I had never heard "No Disappointment in Heaven" until I was asked to sing it on Rod Moag's "Ah-ha Goes Grass", a bluegrass tribute to Bob Wills. One of my faves is "Sittin' on Top of the World". Rosetta, Uncle Bob's 2nd daughter, asked me to do sing "Rosetta" when I told her I was doing a WS CD. I did it, but I preferred Joe Holley's uptempo version to Uncle Bob's ballad. He considered himself a "blues" snger and it's evident in the choice of songs that he did sing lead on.
FYI: "Rosetta", written by jazz artist Earl "Fatha" Hines was Rosetta's mother's favorite song. She was named after the song, not the other way around.

Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

Are you talking about studio recordings? Among the "Tiffany Transcriptions" recordings from radio shows there are a number of songs with Bob singing lead. "Corrine, Corrina" and "Bring It On Down To My House" come to mind immediately. (Actually, he only sang half the verses on "Bring it...")

George Redmon · From: Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.

Thanks Dayna, i am a Bob Wills junkie for sure. I often spend an entire sunday afternoon listening to Bob and the boys. I also have several books, and other memorabilia of Bob Wills. I was asked if i had a favorite Bob Wills song, and i said "sure, all of them". I have watched his westerns so many times i can't count. I enjoy western swing, and the old steel guitar music, much more then todays modern stuff. Thanks again for the info you passed along.
George

Randy Mason · From: Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Dayna, I tried to reply to your e-mail recently and it wouldn't send. Anyway, I recorded and sang "Rosetta" with John England and the Western Swingers and learned it from Bob's record of it. I later heard a great version of it by the Johnny Lee Wills Reunion album with Gene Cranover on steel. That is a swingin' record.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

My favorite Bob Wills recordings is where Tommy Duncan is doing the singing.
I have an LP that's entitled: "Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan, Together Again".

Edward Meisse · From: Santa Rosa, California, USA

Bob also sang, "Four or Five Times."

Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

Erv, and everybody, if you don't have any of the Tiffany Transcriptions you should definitely check them out. They're from radio shows that were broadcast on a regular basis in 1946-47, and they're in my opinion the Texas Playboys at their best. Tommy Duncan is the lead singer on all of it, the only exceptions being the small handful of songs Bob sings, and the band is, as liner notes by band members say, loose and lively because they're essentially playing a live show, but without an audience. The steeler is most often Roy Honeycutt, but Noel Boggs and Herb Remington are on some of it as well. Joe Holley and Tiny Moore are always there, and the guitar is most often Junior Barnard (one of my favorite guitarists), or else it's Eldon Shamblin ('nuff said). Plenty of "section" work, with guitar, mandolin, and steel playing harmony like a horn section. It's great stuff!

Rockne Riddlebarger · From: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Bob sings 2 parts on ST. LOUIE BLUES.

Al Johnson · From: Sturgeon Bay, WI USA

Talking about the singing of Bob Wills...I enjoyed just about every thing he sang...He recorded Goodnight Little Sweetheart Goodnight. That is my favorite by Bob. He recorded it a number of times. The band always did a great job along with him.
Al;

Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

Cool. I was pretty sure Bob sang on record at times, but couldn't come up with immediate proof while talking about it briefly yesterday when I again ran into an older fiddler whom as a 15 yr. old played on a cut with BW near the end of his recording carreer. He said it was the only record/ing of Bob singing, and while I doubted it, I wasn't about to push it, as it's his shining moment and he had plenty more to recall that I wanted to hear. The 45 is now in pieces and only one taped copy is left to preserve the song.

He wants to get it to someone to insure it has life after his and mentioned sending it "to Nashville" (!?!), and I suggested the Library of Congress.

Any thot's as to where an appropriate place to have it preserved would be.
Don't know what, if any, kind of $ figure he has in mind.

I'm always on the lookout for him while running around town, to get the stories going again.
You don't come across too many people these day's who've had time around Bob, especially on Oahu.

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Ron:

You say that the 45 is in pieces.

What makes the guy think the 45 was not issued and already preserved? Is this ostensibly an unissued demo recording or one-off? Does the 45 have no label? What is the title of the song?

As far as I know, all of the material that was issued under Bob Wills' name near the tail end of his career has been reissued--primarily on the second Bear Family box of 13 CDs (about 360 songs).

More info needed, but "a 45 in pieces" implies a released 45 which has already been issued, preserved, and reissued.

c c johnson · From: killeen,tx usa * R.I.P.

Ron I have 8 recordings of Bob singing and as Leon told me many yrs ago he boys in the band wished he hadn't, And so do I. CC

Ron Whitfield · From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA

Mitch, I wish I had all the 'need to know's', and I'll try and get your's and other similar questions answered, as it would be a shame to have a truly rare piece go unheard.

I don't doubt for a second that Bob could have recorded 'on the side' from his label at the time, and have very few copies pressed, thus allowing something like this fall thru the cracks.

That he would enlist a kid to record with make's it odd to start with.

I'll just have to continue picking the guy's brain to get more facts.
I sense quite strongly that he ain't BS'n me, and he know's whom the other player's were at the session.

But let's imagine that it isn't preserved/re-issued.
What legitimate avenue's does he have to get it so?

Aside: he just finished refurbishing a Guinarius, and gave it to his grandson.

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