Bob Wills

The First Alt-Country Record? Flatlanders Rediscover The Odessa Tapes

A lot of stellar music came out of that flat land known as West Texas. Bob Wills, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Terry Allen, Guy Clark, and the Sparkles are just a few artists who found something in the wind, the dust, the heat, the cactus, the mesquite, the sandstorms, the blizzards, t ... More >>

Guess the Country Star by Only His Cowboy Hat

You'll ride a black tornado cross't the western skies Rope an ole blue norther, milk it till it's dry Bull dawg the Mississippi, pin it's ears down flat Long before you take this cowboy's hat. -- Chris Ledoux, "This Cowboy's Hat" A popular saying in Texas goes that a man who talks a good game but ... More >>

A Feisty Texas Radio Road Trip with the Mike Stinson Band

Lonesome Onry and Mean hasn't been out on the road with his son, Mike Stinson Band guitarist Lance Smith, in quite a while. But due to a propitious routing that took us to my father's place in Gatesville for a couple of days, LOM hit the highway with the band last weekend. It is worth noting that L ... More >>

Rest Of The Best: Houston's Top 8 Jukeboxes

Along with pickled pig's feet and a steady supply of Slim Jims, a good jukebox is a prime element for any great bar. But, like dinosaurs, jukeboxes are a vanishing breed. Unlike digital jukes, iPods or DJs, jukeboxes require love, care and maintenance, as well as -- among the truly great ones -- som ... More >>

Houston Scores Big-Time In Latest Edition Of Encyclopedia Of Country Music: Part 4

Our fourth installment of Houston-area country-music pioneers honored with inclusion in the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Country Music details the last of an amazing group of local musicians from the '30s, '40s, and '50s who left their brand on the people's music. While the Appalachian and ... More >>

5 Artists Whose Second Acts Surpassed Their First

Rocks Off has always had a soft spot for Rick Nelson. Although our oldest memory of him is probably hearing about the plane crash outside Texarkana that killed him, his band and his fiancee on New Year's Eve 1985, we're also old enough to remember actually his songs like "Hello, Mary Lou," "Lonesome ... More >>

Houston Scores Big-Time In Latest Editon Of Encyclopedia Of Country Music: Part 3

The further one digs into the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Country Music, the deeper one's appreciation of the contributions of Houston's country-music pioneers becomes. Yeah, just check out the black circles under the eyes and drunk-ass grins on Leon Payne's band above. That photo alone sp ... More >>

Ray Benson: "Before Keith Richards, There Was Bob Wills"

​Although he grew up outside Philadelphia, Ray Benson is the quintessential Texas musician. Somewhere in his rambling South Austin studio/office compound is a proclamation declaring him the 2004 official state musician, not to mention the umpteen Grammys he's won as front man and bandleader of ... More >>

Zoo Station: A Noah's Ark Of 75 Animal Songs

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee ... More >>

Top Five Clint Eastwood Soundtracks

pasoroblesfilmfestival.comDr. John, Clint Eastwood and producer/director Bruce Ricker in a publicity photo for "Piano Blues," Eastwood's installment of PBS' 2003 series The Blues.​Today the one and only Clint Eastwood turns 81 years old, and he can still kick your ass. According to the Interne ... More >>

The Five Most Texan Types Of Music

​Happy San Jacinto Day, fellow Texans and people who wish they were; i.e. everyone else. If you don't know why today is special, shame on you. But since us Texans are a friendly sort, allow Rocks Off to fill you in. On April 21, 1836, Texian forces under Gen. Sam Houston (aka "Big Drunk") lau ... More >>

Day Of The Dead: Music In Memoriam 2009-10

itscactus.com​Rocks Off doesn't mean to be morbid, but today is the Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday and festival honoring those who have gone before. So instead of waiting until the end of the year, the more traditional time for such things, we wanted to compile a list of the notable name ... More >>

Aftermath: The Swingfield Playboys' Goofy "Martini And Western" And A Lap-Steel Legend At The Mucky Duck

Photos by Brittanie Shey​ Ron Crick, rhythm guitarist for the Swingfield Playboys, calls the band martini country -- "Martini and Western music for the refined redneck." The septet, who performed Sunday night as part of their semi-regular gig at Mucky Duck, incorporates influences from Bob Wills t ... More >>

They Were Kinky Before Kinky Was Kinky: Musicians Who Have Held Public Office

From Ted Nugent to Bruce Springsteen to those adorable Dixie Chicks, "Masters of War" to "George Bush doesn't care about black people," musicians have never been shy about voicing their political opinions. But when it comes to putting their money where their mouths are and filing the necessary pape ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: R.I.P. Western Swing Guitar God Jimmy Wyble

It went without much notice, but jazz/western swing guitar great Jimmy Wyble passed away Jan. 16. Wyble, born Jan. 25, 1922 in Port Arthur, was a popular guitarist on Houston radio during the 1940s. He had a show with Cameron Hill, another noted local guitarist. Wyble and Hill moved to Los Angeles, ... More >>

Mark Morris Dance Group

This dancer led performing arts group has made a real impact on Houston

Wednesdays are Honky-Tonk Heaven In Houston, and Thursdays are Hillbilly Hell

Photos by Chris GrayRobert Ellis & the Boys, under the blue neon​ It's no secret Rocks Off is a big fan of the country music, which is why we're starting to get a little excited about the inner-loop honky-tonk scene that's taking root. Over the weekend, we caught Sean Reefer & the Resin Va ... More >>

ACL Fest Preview: School of Seven Bells and Prescott Curlywolf

Amanda MertenSchool of Seven Bells​For the next three weeks, Rocks Off will be bringing you two or three short previews a day of artists playing the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Zilker Park October 2-4. That's right, ACL is 17 days away - where is this year going? (Same place as all the ot ... More >>

Hot Club of Cowtown

George Strait Week, Part 5: Texas George

Like the man himself said, easy come, easy go. Happy as we are that it's Friday, and almost quitting time to boot, Rocks Off a little sad too, because that means George Strait Week is almost over. But not quite. We're putting it to bed the only way we know how - with the King's five best Texas song ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Hoyle Nix and Big Spring's Stampede Club

Photo courtesy of Jody NixHoyle Nix (left) and Bob Wills, mid-1950sThere's an old saying in West Texas about Midland and Odessa, two oil towns only 20 miles apart in the middle of nowhere: raise your kids in Midland, raise hell in Odessa. True enough, Midland has all the soul of a loaf of Rainbow br ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Jody Nix Does Western Swing Right

As we reported some weeks ago in this column, if you're down with hardcore Western Swing twin fiddle dance music of the Bob Wills variety, you should be in heaven Saturday when Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys make a rare Houston appearance on the iFest Texas Stage. Nix is old-school, so old scho ... More >>

Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys: The Tiffany Transcriptions

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Western Swing Royalty at iFest

Looking ahead to the Houston International Festival - never mind the SXSW bollocks - I was pleasantly surprised to see that Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys will be playing on the Texas Stage at 6 p.m. on April 18. Not long ago in these cyberpages, we examined the gloom and doom that surrounds the ... More >>

Album(s) of the Week: Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, The Tiffany Transcriptions

[Yes, that's right, it is Western Swing day on Rocks Off today...] Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys The Tiffany Transcriptions www.collectorschoicemusic.com Western Swing is an enigma for people outside Texas and the Southwest, who - if they spare a thought for it at all - tend to write it of ... More >>

Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel: Willie and the Wheel

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Justin Townes Earle, Dustin Welch and Jubal Lee Young Crawl Out of the Shadows

Best Non-2007 Music of 2007

Pop Numerology: How High Can You Go?

The Houston 100: From Charles Brown to Sippie Wallace

Merle the Pearl

Is the Hag the greatest three-tool talent in country music history?

Goodbye Joe, Me Gotta Go

There are 25,000 Cajuns in Houston. Almost none of them play Cajun music. Why not?

Mercy Eventually

More than 20 years down the road, Mary Gauthier is finally an emerging artist

Close to the Vest

Some HPD officers aren't so hot about safety

Best Place to Hang Out with Local Rock Stars

Grupo Fantasma

Wednesday, April 7

Stone Country

Sean Reefer and the Resin Valley Boys spark up some primo Western swing and trad C&W

Jorma Kaukonen and Blue Country

Wednesday, February 5

Truth Be Told

Lee Roy Parnell finds his roots everywhere but Nashville

Playbill

Willie Nelson's Family Picnic

Achy Breaky Voice

Despite a vocal cord disorder, Johnny Bush still sings the praises of traditional Texas country music

Best Jukebox

Warren's Inn

Hillbilly Wheelies

You're Not from Texas

Deep in the heart of western swing with a Scot on a mission

Right Number

BR5-49 lives to see the day when Hee Haw is hip

Jazz Friendly

Master of the Universe

From presidents to pop stars, Merle Haggard has a song for everyone

Postmarked Texas

Joe Ely sends a sad, beautiful Letter to Laredo

Junior or Joke?

Bob Wills' family disowns the man claiming to be the prince of Western swing

Somber News from Nashville

Townes Van Zandt hospitalized with lung problems