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An expert fiddler and a magnetic showman, Bob Wills (1905–1975) popularized a style of Southwestern dance music known as western swing, a rhythmic hybrid of fiddle music, blues, and big band swing. In 1938, when Wills was thirty-three and nearing the height of his fame, journalist Ruth Sheldon chronicled Wills’s rags-to riches rise. She produced a biography that captures the ebullient personality of Wills and reflects the bandleader’s vision of himself.
Hubbin’ It provides a window into the daily life of a working musician during the Depression and a rich source of historical detail on one of America’s great musical innovators.
List of contents
Introduction by Charles R. Townsend
Author’s Note
Prelude
Chapter One A Fiddler is Born
Chapter Two Escape from Cotton
Chapter Three Kicking the Traces
Chapter Four A Barber and His Fiddle
Chapter Five Iron Bars Free a Prisoner
Chapter Six Black Face and Black Times
Chapter Seven A Taste of Fame Turns Sour
Chapter Eight Before the Dawn
Chapter Nine “Paths of Glory”
Songs
Index
About the author
Ruth Sheldon was a reporter for the Tulsa Tribune. As Ruth Sheldon Knowles, she has written several other books.
Charles R. Townsend is the author of
San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills.
