The Steel Guitar Forum

Coming from a rock background, I'm not really up on western swing....

I'm looking for suggestions of the four most famous danceable songs of this genre for full band gig situation.

Thanks!

Well, you're not goin' anywhere without "San Antonio Rose", I'll tell ya that much...

San Antonio Rose
Deep Water
Home in San Antone
Those are the obvious top 3, next would come a whole lot of 2nd tier standards. I'd choose Green Light, but 'cause I love it. But Take Me Back to Tulsa and Stay All Night would certainly qualify.

I'd find an album with a title like "20 greatest Bob Wills Hits," and learn them.
Or look at a handful of albums like Ray Price's Bob Wills tribute, Buddy Emmons' Bob Wills tribute, Willie Nelson's Bob Wills tribute (and so on), and grab the ones they have in common.

Well, my favorite is Roly Poly, but that might not be in the top 4. I'd agree with Jimbeaux and add "my window faces the south" to that list of top 4. But you should consider Roly Poly, at least.

In this Order: (Per request we get anyway)

San Antonio Rose
Deep Water
Time Changes Everything
Pan Handle Rag

(Right or Wrong needs in there somewhere)

I'm not qualified to answer "the top 4", but I will throw in a few of my favorites.

San Antonio Rose
Take Me Back to Tulsa
Miles and Miles of Texas
and I'll 2nd Chris with Roly Poly

Bonaparte's Retreat................

Texas Playboy Rag

Steelin' Home

Here's a few more that my band used to do:

Stay A Little Longer
Trouble In Mind (my own favorite!)
Cotton-Eyed Joe
Out Behind The Barn
Bubbles In My Beer
Oklahoma Hills

Tom,

That's a really hard question to answer, as there are/were many very popular western swing songs. All great suggestions so far, you may just have to pick some and perform them for audiences to see which ones are liked best by the crowds you play for.

Artists like Bob Wills and Hank Thompson are quintessential examples of the "classic" era and were very prominent at the height of this style, but there were great hits by many different artists over the years. Check out some of the "newer" artists such as Asleep At The Wheel, as well.

I might add that a lot of what makes Western Swing so utterly cool is the feel. A great band can make an audience fill up the dance floor to even an unknown Western Swing song if the musicians can put the right swing and groove into it. How you play it just as important as what you play.

Thanks for all the suggestions....I had no idea that these 1930's and 40's tunes remain so popular...!

I was reading about a circuit of clubs that were set up in the heyday of that genre (pre-1945), and the attendance to these nightclubs measure like the size of towns! Wow - the genre really dug into the times.

A follow up question - what are some of the songs that have become popular more recently...eg...80's onward that borrow from the style? I found "All my flames have new names" as one example, and I remember that song....any others?

Probably the biggest two were both from George Strait: "Right or Wrong" and "All My Ex's Live in Texas". After that, it's kinda hard to think of one...

Agreed with Jim C, there haven't been many really "big" Western Swing hits in recent decades. Here's a few more that were released in relatively modern times that received some airplay:

Straight From the Factory - Clint Black

I Can't See Texas From Here - George Strait

House of Blue Lights - Asleep At the Wheel (granted, a remake, but did get played on the radio)

Cherokee Maiden - Merle Haggard (ditto)

Nobody mentioned Choo-Choo-Ch-Boogie, by Asleep at the Wheel. I believe I once saw that it, too, was a remake, but if so I don't know the originator.

Also, don't overlook Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers, a band that "travelled in the back of the bus" with bluegrass masters, Hot Rize. They issued several albums of Western Swing with Pete Wernick aka Waldo Otto on non-pedal steel, usually recorded at a live performance. It was a very comedic act, but when they played, they got down to biz.

One of MY personal favorites was "The Curly Shuffle", with Forumite TC Furlong on steel!

Gary Patterson wrote:Nobody mentioned Choo-Choo-Ch-Boogie, by Asleep at the Wheel. I believe I once saw that it, too, was a remake, but if so I don't know the originator.

I believe this was originally recorded by Louis Jordan back in the 40's.

To the OP: Asleep at the Wheel has been the modern face of Western Swing around the world since the 70's. Ray Benson (singer/guitarist) is a true student of the genre, and has travelled the world year after year - usually with a very good lineup of musicians. You probably can't go wrong if you pick up a "greatest hits" or "tribute" CD of theirs with some of the songs mentioned in this post (they've done them all).

Jim Cohen wrote:One of MY personal favorites was "The Curly Shuffle", with Forumite TC Furlong on steel!

Oh, wow, I'd forgotten about that song! Thanks for the reminder, that song always made me laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKAfXdb5LsA

Hey you guys left out the best Western swing band ever, spad cooley with Murphy playing the Oklahoma stomp.

Willie Sims

I'm surprised that Faded Love by Bob Wills was not mentioned. It is both a Western Swing and Country classis tune, recorded by many. I play it every time I sit down to the steel, along with several of the other tunes mentioned in this thread.

I guess this one would be for the slow dances!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWXbVsMkz1U
Don't forget Tex William from the Spade Cooley Band

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk6zYm_XTGw

Spade Cooley with Tex Williams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6YY1fYTQIs
King of Western Swing.

At 9.10 looks like a Bigsby?