Big Blog no. 1: American Roots

 Big Blog no. 1: American Roots 

        For my first big blog, I chose to write about western swing music. I chose to write about western swing because it has always been a secret liking of mine. Western swing music resonates well with me because from when I was about the age of two until I was the age fifteen and too busy with school I watched A LOT of John Wayne films with my great-grandfather. He always said that I was his favorite because I was the only kid in my family who would watch it with him and actually enjoy it. Western swing was often played in the background or whenever in these types of films. Whenever I hear this kind of western music I always think about my grandfather and all the fun times we had together. It is kind of bitter-sweet, but that just demonstrates the power and effect music can have on people. 

Let us dive into the history of western swing!

    Now I probably know what you all are thinking: what is western swing?

        Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the west and south among the region's western string bands. This music is normally dance music with a distinctive up-tempo beat. This attracted very large crowds of people to dance halls, bars, and other places that are similar. This genre of music brought and attracted all kinds of people around in Texas, Oklahoma, and California during the 1930s and 1940s. This movement was due to the outgrowth of jazz music. Without jazz, western swing would have never even existed along with many other music genres. Western swing is a huge mixture of polka, Dixieland jazz, cowboy, rural, old-time, and blues blended with swing. It was normally played by a chordophone heavy band that was accompanied by drums, saxophones, pianos, and the steel guitar. The steel guitar and amplified strings are what give western swing its own unique,  distinctive sound. 

Steel Guitar

        I am assuming that everybody reading this already knows what a steel guitar is and how it works but just in case I would like to discuss and explain it as thoroughly as I can.  A steel guitar is basically a guitar that is played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is why the instrument is appropriately named the "steel guitar".  This guitar is very much different from others because it is played without using the frets. Crazy right? This is so that the steel can glide smoothly over every pitch between notes and create really cool meandering cry or whining sounds. It can also create a deep vibrato that imitates a human's singing voice. The strings are normally plucked by the dominant hand while the steel bar is moved by the opposite hand. 

        The idea of creating music with a slide of some type has been traced back to early African instruments, but it was made popular in Hawaii. The Hawaiians were the ones who began playing a normal guitar in a horizontal position across the knees instead of flat against the body, using the bar instead of their fingers. Joseph Kekuku created and developed this manner of playing the guitar, known as the "Hawaiian style," in the 1890s and this technique spread internationally. 

    This is a very well-known song called "Sleep Walk" played on the steel guitar. This song was originally written, recorded, and released by an American instrumental rock and roll duo Santo & Johnny in 1959. Fun fact, their uncle Mike Dee was playing the drums for them in the recording. Prominently featuring the steel guitar, this song was recorded at Trinity Music in Manhattan, New York City. This song was used in a couple of movies as well. For example, it was used in the death procession scene in the movie "La Bamba" and also appears in "Twelve Monkeys and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle". This song creates a feeling of nostalgia and melancholy. Both of the videos below are the same song, but the first one is a man playing it only on the steel guitar and the second one is the original recording. I just wanted you all to see what the steel guitar looked like while it was being played just in case.

           

Important Western Swing Artists

Who officially started western swing?

           By combing old-time music with the new age jazz, Bob Wills single handedly created Western Swing.  Known as the "King of Western Swing," Bob Wills formed several bands and played for radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with him on the fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, June Whalin as the guitarist, Johnnie Lee Wills as tenor Banjoist, and Kermit Whalin who played the steel guitar and bass. This specific band regularly played in Tulsa, Oklahoma where they met their newest band member and guitarist, Eldon Shamblin who joined in 1937. Eldon brought a lot of jazz elements to this specific group.  The band became nationally popular in the 1940s with hits such as "Steel Guitar Rag", "Smoke on the Water", "New Spanish Two Step", and "San Antonio Rose".  Personally I really enjoyed listening to the Steel Guitar Rag, it sounds like a lot of fun to play and sometimes you just need a good, happy song to bee-bop down the road to. I can see how somebody could tap their toe to it or maybe even do a little jig to it. It is very much a cute little parlor song. 

        I had a lot of fun learning more about western swing and I am so glad that I chose to write about this musical genre. I hope that me geeking out wasn't too painful for you. This genre of music is still being made today, and I hope that its traditions and rich customs stay alive for a very long time. 

Songfacts. (n.d.). Sleep walk by Santo & Johnny - Songfacts. Song Meanings at Songfacts. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://www.songfacts.com/facts/santo-johnny/sleep-walk

Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). Western swing. PBS. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/country-music/western-swing-branches-of-country-music

Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, December 20). Steel guitar. Wikipedia. Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_guitar