“AH-ha” – Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys are Coming to Huntsville

Iconic Western Swing group marks their 90th Anniversary tour with a local stop.

Credited for creating and popularizing Western Swing in the 1930s, Bob Wills was a Texas fiddler with a big personality and incomparable stage presence – a man who led a group of lively musicians known as the

Texas Playboys to the national spotlight. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys first wowed audiences across Texas and Oklahoma, and by the big-band era of the 1940s, reigned as the top live attraction in the nation. Wills, known as the “King of Western Swing,” captivated audiences with his fast fiddling and trademark “AH-ha” calls in fan-favorite tunes like “Take Me Back to Tulsa” and “Stay a Little Longer.”

Wills’ legacy is still alive and well, now nearly 50 years after his passing, thanks to Brett Bingham, a producer and booking agent, and Jason Roberts, a fiddler and band frontman, formerly with Grammy-winning Texas band Asleep at The Wheel.

Postcards visited with Bingham and Roberts about the history of this legendary band, the reasons they are carrying the torch for Western Swing – and what fans can expect when Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys perform at Old Town Theatre in Huntsville on Friday, September 22.

Let’s start with the incredible history of this band. After Bob Wills’ death in 1975, the music did not stop. What kept the music alive?

Bingham: A group of ex-Playboys came together to keep the Bob Wills sound alive. Former steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe led the band, and he and Betty (Bob’s widow) hand-picked the other members. Those men made a promise to one another that when the first of the new band died, they would disband – and, true to their word, the group dissolved in 1986, following the death of piano player “Brother” Al Stricklin.

Post 1986, the torch was passed again – this time to two men who previously worked with Wills on stage or in the studio. What can you tell us about the 1986-2017 era of Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys?

Bingham: Eventually, with the blessing of the Bob Wills estate, guitarist-producer Tommy Allsup (a longtime Wills collaborator) and Leon Rausch (the Playboys’ last great vocalist) took over Bob Wills’

Texas Playboys. Allsup knew Bob Wills and produced his final album, For The Last Time. The two led the guys and carried on the Wills style and traditions – on stage and in the studio – for 30 years, until 2018, following the death of Allsup.

After Allsup passed away, it was time to pass the torch again. This time, you and vocalist Jason Roberts grabbed the torch. Why did you want to be a part of this?

Bingham: I had a deep connection to Bob Wills and Western Swing music from birth, essentially, but an even deeper connection to the first incarnation of the band that formed right after Mr. Wills passed away. My dad and uncle both had a relationship with Leon McAuliffe and many of the other Western Swing legends that were still alive at the time. My dad and Tommy Allsup were classmates in Claremore, Oklahoma, and hitchhiked to Tulsa quite often to see Bob’s brother Johnnie Lee Wills at Cain’s Ballroom. I ended up starting a fan club for the “Original

Texas Playboys” and even sold merch for them when I could get to the gig. They were already heroes to me, and they became friends. Growing up, I was able to be around the musicians who created this music, so I feel connected to it in a way that is hard to explain. I feel the same passion for keeping this music alive and introducing it to a newer audience as do the ones who do it with an instrument in their hands.

Jason and I started as acquaintances, seeing him at Asleep at the Wheel shows or other Western Swing related events –and that developed into a strong friendship as we realized we had the same vision for preserving this music we loved so much. That of course has grown into a great business

•

• partnership, and we’re both grateful to the Wills family for their confidence in us.

You are the tour manager and content creator, and Jason leads the band. Why is Jason the right person for that job?

Bingham: Jason was the perfect choice from a bandleader standpoint. Much is made of the fact he resembles Bob Wills, plays fiddle, and played the part of Bob Wills in the stage performance A Ride With Bob. But it’s important to note that we’re not trying to imitate Bob Wills. Our band salutes not only Bob Wills, but all the Texas Playboys who shared the stage with him. We don’t imitate as much as we present our version and interpretation of the music they created. To expand, Jason was related through marriage to Johnny Gimble, who played with Bob Wills from 1949-1951 then went on to a Country Music Hall of Fame career as a studio musician in Nashville and is a true Texas and music legend. He had the unique opportunity to “study at the feet of the master,” if you will. Additionally, he began playing in bands at a very young age and had parents that supported his “habit” by getting him to gigs all over Texas until he could get himself there. He got the Asleep at the Wheel job as soon as he was old enough to play in all the venues they traveled to all over the country.

Roberts: Even before we started that play, I’d been studying Bob Wills, his persona, and who he was – and how he interacted with his players. I’d been soaking it in since I was a kid. A Ride with Bob definitely gave me the chance to present it to audiences like I saw it in my head. But even before that play came along, I was deep into the weeds when it came to learning about Bob Wills and his music.

Bingham: I also want to mention that the other members of the band have similar experiences and are among the best players available at their respective instruments. Many of them worked with the group led by Rausch and Allsup, and all have similar backgrounds as Jason.