SpaceAceTX (October 8, 2008 at 2:22 pm)

Johnny Depp is playing him in the Spade Cooley movie.

VA24541 (July 16, 2008 at 9:37 pm)

You know Johnny Gimble is still alive & kickin'He was himself one of Bob's Texas Playboys for a while.....How cool does that look on his resume?

TakeTwoVideos (June 12, 2008 at 4:13 am)

Gave you a 5-star! This is really neat. Thanks for sharing. :0

wheezemusic7 (June 6, 2008 at 9:06 pm)

That's just fantastic, I'm in a great Western Swing band in Orkney, and I'm familiar with Spade Cooley but had never seen him play although I have old records. Buddy Rich is another really hot Western Swing fiddler, we do a number of his tunes, and Cliff Bruner, Clyde Brewer and Johnny Gimble... I could go on all night...

punchsboy (June 5, 2008 at 2:41 am)

30 years as a jazz musician in New Orleans and I hardly had a clue about Western Swing! Now I'm in NM, out west trying to find it and where is it? I didn't know anything about Spade's band or his great musicians, especially that steel player and also Carolina! I've never heard anything like her and the steel guitar has a slippery swing that I've never heard anywhere. I've been listening to all the WS that youtube has and I dig it all! Where are all the current WS bands? I'm anxious and available

imawagonmaster (May 31, 2008 at 5:38 pm)

I believe you're thinking of Tex Williams who was Spade's vocalist before leaving in 1946. Most of Spade's band left with him and joined forces to form the Western Caravan.

imawagonmaster (May 27, 2008 at 4:20 am)

Without a doubt Joaquin Murphey was the best steel player and Spade was creative with his arrangements and choice of instruments. Each of the western swing bands had their strengths. Wills band had a heavy beat and never played a song twice the same way. The 1945 recordings Wills made with Wyble, Hill and Boggs are dynamic. I have all the Cooley and Williams recordings and many others that Joaquin Murphey was part of. Interestingly, Joaquin admired Noel Boggs.

SCLOGSE (May 27, 2008 at 12:48 am)

I've heard Bob's Tiffany Trans. I'm not here to compare the two bands, but Spade had the best pedal steel around, and that was Joaquin Murphy. Spade's mix of boogie, accordian, eastern european instruments (the harp!)and vocalizations etc. was a real wild thing to do, and Spades variety of approaches to arrangements kept him fresh and you never knew what approach the next tune would have. Joaquin Murphy made a CD with friends just a few years ago...I have it and it's lovely.

SCLOGSE (May 27, 2008 at 12:45 am)

TexRitter sang on a bunch of Spade's tunes.

imawagonmaster (May 24, 2008 at 4:59 am)

Evidently you haven't listened to Bob's Tiffany Transcriptions of 1946/47 which reflected what the band sounded like live. Hard to beat those recordings with the musicians he had and especially the feeling that the Wills band could put into the blues. Spade's bands couldn't begin to touch Wills there.