Americana, Country, Country Swing, Deeper Roots on KOWS, Oldies, Playlists

Swingin’ Out West

March 28, 2026 Dave Leave a comment

We’re going to take another journey through those dusty, neon-lit archives of Western swing, a genre that famously thumbed its nose at musical boundaries. While the “King” Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys rightly claim the throne, the true soul of the movement lives in the smaller, rowdier units that blurred the lines between Appalachian fiddling, big band jazz, and low-down blues. For our listeners, we’re looking past the “San Antonio Rose” to the grit of the lower Great Plains. We’ll be digging into the deep-cut recordings that highlight the genre’s technical audacity, exploring a sound that kept the dance halls jumping through the Depression proving that Western swing was always much more than just “hillbilly jazz”—it was a revolution you could dance to.

No.
1	Artist	Title	Album
2	Pee Wee King	Birmingham Bounce	Rompin' Stompin' Singin' Swingin'
3	Moon Mullican	Grandpa Stole My Baby	Hillbilly Bop 'n' Boogie: King/Federal Roots of Rockabilly 1944 – 56
4	Hank Penny	Wildcat Mama	The Western Swing: Doughboys Playboys and Cowboys – Oakie Boogie
5	Bill Haley	Rovin' Eyes	From Western Swing to R-O-C-K (1): Rocket 88
6	The Hi-Flyers	Hi-Flyer Stomp	Western Swing: Hot Hillbilly Jazz & Blues – 1935-1947
7	Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies	Right or Wrong	Western Swing Chronicles Vol. 1: Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies
8	Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys	New San Antonio Rose	The King Of Western Swing-25 Hits 1935-1945
9	Hank Penny	You Can't Pull The Wool Over My Eyes	Stompin' Singers & Western Swingers ([Disc 4] Saturday Night Rag)
10	Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys	Snatchin' and Grabbin'	Boot Heel Drag: The MGM Years [Disc 2]
11	Johnny Lee Wills And His Boys	Let Me Be	More Ballroom Kings
12	Tommy Duncan	Who Drank The Beer (While I Was In The Rear)	Swinging Hollywood Hillbilly Cowboys: The West Coast Indies
13	Skeets McDonald	Scoot Git And Begone	Swinging Hollywood Hillbilly Cowboys
14	Sons Of The West	Sally's Got A Wooden Leg	Steelin' It: The Steel Guitar Story
15	Dickie McBride And The Villiage Boys	Tulsa Twist	Hillbilly Fever! Vol. 1: Legends Of Western Swing
16	Roy Hogsed	Cocaine Blues	Swinging Hollywood Hillbilly Cowboys
17	Johnny Lee Wills	Rag Mop	The History Of Country & Western Music – Vol. 16
18	Bill Haley with the Saddlemen	Dance with a Dolly (With a Hole in Her Stocking)	From Western Swing to R-O-C-K (2): Rock the Joint
19	Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers	Mama Don't Like No Music	Saturday Night Rag 1934-1936 Vol. 1
20	Wade Ray with Noel Boggs	It's All Your Fault	Heroes Of Country Music Vol 1: Legends Of Western Swing
21	Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant	Two Of A Kind	Swingin' On The Strings: The Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant Collection Volume 2
22	Hal Lone Pine & His Mountaineers	Honey Honey Mine	More Ballroom Kings
23	Spade Cooley & His Orchestra feat. Tex Williams	Detour	That's What I Like About The West
24	Spade Cooley & the Western Swing Dance Gang Feat. Tex Williams	One Sweet Letter From You	Shame On You
25	Hank Penny & Jaye P. Morgan	You Played On My Piano	Crossroads In Cowtown
26	Texas Jim Robertson & His Panhandle Punchers	Jaw Jaw Yap Yap Yap	More Ballroom Kings
27	Tex Atchinson	You Don't Do Right By Me Anymore	Kings Of Western Swing Vol. 2
28	Moon Mullican	Bottom Of The Glass	The Very Best Of
29	Billy Jack Wills & His Western Swing Band	Troubles (Those Lonesome Kind)	Hillbilly Fever! Vol. 1: Legends Of Western Swing
30	Les Paul	San Antonio Rose	Swing West – vol 2 – Guitar Slingers
31	Asleep at the Wheel	Ida Red	A Tribute To The Music Of Bob Wills (Dance Versions)
32	Asleep at the Wheel	My Baby Thinks She's a Train	Back to the Future Now Live at Arizona Charlie's Las Vegas
33	Buddy Emmons; Ray Pennington; Swing Shift Band	I Built a Wall	Swingin' by Request
34	Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys	Music To Her Ears	Swingin' West
35	Kevin Russell	Milk Cow Blues	Country Swing
36	Freddy Fender	Please Mr. Sandman	Voices of America

Americana, Country, Deeper Roots on KOWS, Folk and Tradition, Free Form, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Soul

Heavenly Day

March 21, 2026 Dave Leave a comment

It’s a free form morning as Dave once again digs out some favorites and some deep tracks from the last century of America’s music. He’ll be paying his respects to Doug Sahm’s keyboard master, Augie Meyers, while at the same time picking on some thematic tones, including that of heaven, an early century legend by the name of Lulu, early rhythm and western from 1950 as well as a collection of soul tracks that glistened in the winds from 1967. Tune in for The Ink Spots, Jimmy Newman, John Prine, The Castaleers and Fats Waller…a sampler from the past one hundred years. Free form mornings here on KOWS occur only once in a blue moon so you’ll want to be tuning in for more music discovery from all genre corners. You’re invited to come on up to the house where we’re ready, willing and waiting to entertain, putting the madness of a wannabe king behind you for a two-hour joyful jaunt where you’ll find three chords and the truth.

Women’s History Month

March 14, 2026 Dave Leave a comment

This week we celebrate Women’s History Month the way we know best — by following the music. For more than a century, women have shaped the sound of America’s story. They didn’t just sing the songs — they wrote them, bent them, electrified them, sanctified them, and sometimes had to fight just to be heard over them. From the tent shows and juke joints of the 1920s to arena stages and global spotlights, women have carried rhythm, blues, gospel, country, rock, pop — and the truth — on their shoulders. Tune in this coming Friday morning for a journey that begins at the foundation. Before rock and roll. Before crossover radio. When the blues was still carving its name into shellac and history. We’ll then make our way into the genres of jazz, country, rock, and gospel where women’ influenced the deeper roots of American music and you find their fingerprints everywhere — in the blues phrasing, in the gospel shout, in the country confession, in the pop hook, in the rock-and-roll roar.

No.
1	Artist	Title	Album	Buy
2	Ma Rainey	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	Ma Rainey
3	Keb' Mo' Featuring Rosanne Cash	Put A Woman In Charge	Put A Woman In Charge
4	Bessie Smith & Louis Armstrong	St. Louis Blues	I Heard It On NPR: Shake These Blues
5	Memphis Minnie	Me And My Chauffeur Blues	Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey [Disc 2]
6	Ethel Waters	Heat Wave	Ethel Waters 1929 -1939 (feat. Duke Ellington & Benny Goodman)
7	Billie Holiday	God Bless The Child	Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday On Columbia 1933-1944 [Disc 10]
8	Ella Fitzgerald	Goody, Goody	75th Birthday Celebration [Disc 2]
9	Dinah Washington	What a Diff'rence a Day Makes	The Essential Dinah Washington: The Great Songs
10	Jimmie Grier	The Object Of My Affection	50 #1 Hits Of The '20s & '30s
11	Ivie Anderson	It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)	An Introduction To Ivie Anderson
12	Tommy Dorsey, The Pied Pipers, Jo Stafford	Embraceable You	I Got Rhythm: The Music of George Gershwin
13	Sister Rosetta Tharpe	Rock Me	Oxford American 10th Anniversary Southern Music CD [Disc 2] "Past Masters" [2008]
14	Mahalia Jackson	Move On Up A Little Higher, Pt. 1	Good News (Vol 3) Get Away Jordan
15	Nina Simone	See Line Women	The Ultimate Nina Simone
16	Betty Carter	Open the Door	American Beauty
17	Judy Garland	Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart	Your Hit Parade – 1943
18	Sarah Vaughan	I Feel So Smoochie	September Song
19	Kay Starr	Rock and Roll Waltz	Your Hit Parade – 1956
20	Peggy Lee	Sugar (That Sugar Baby O' Mine)	The Capitol Collector's Series
21	Katie Shore	You're From Texas	It's All Her Fault: A Tribute To Cindy Walker
22	Mother Maybelle Carter	Keep on the Sunny Side	Ash Grove (Live April 20, 1963)
23	Patsy Cline	Why Can't He Be You	The Patsy Cline Collection
24	Kitty Wells	It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels	American Roots Music (Disc One-Country)
25	Dolly Parton	Jolene	Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns – The Soundtrack [Disc 2]
26	Loretta Lynn	She's Got You	Classic Country 1975-1979 [Disc 2]
27	Wanda Jackson	Funnel Of Love	Queen Of Rockabilly
28	Etta James	Come What May	The Complete Modern & Kent Recordings 1
29	Aretha Franklin	Think	30 Greatest Hits [Disc 1]
30	Ruth Brown	Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean	Ruth Brown: The Definitive Soul Collection [[Disc 1]]
31	The Crystals	Da Doo Ron Ron	The Best Of The Crystals
32	LaVern Baker	Jim Dandy (Japan 2012 Remaster)	Atlantic Rock & Roll
33	Carole King	I Feel the Earth Move	A Natural Woman: The Ode Collection (1968-1976) (1 of 2)
34	Joni Mitchell	Chelsea Morning	Hits
35	Joan Baez	Farewell, Angelina	Baez Sings Dylan
36	Emmylou Harris	If I Could Only Win Your Love	Fifty Years Of Hits – Vol 5

Deeper Roots on KOWS, Early Rock, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Rock, Theme Time

The Hijacked Jukebox

March 7, 2026 Dave Leave a comment

Join Dave Stroud for a look at a fascinating, if somewhat cringey, slice of music history, where white cover versions of black R&B nuggets were whitewashed across the pop charts in the 1950s. While the ‘cover version’ was a standard industry practice, so were the ‘sanitized’ versions of R&B hits by black artists that made them more ‘palatable’ for white radio audiences, spotlighting white artists while the original creators stayed in the shadows. It’s certainly something that could be the topic of numerous Deeper Roots episodes but we’ll limit our scope to a two hour exploration, measuring the original against the cover. On one side of the house we’ll hear from Fats Domino (a popular source for the practic), Big Joe Turner, The Moonglows and a handful of others. The other side of the house has the names of Pat Boone, Art Mooney, The Fontane Sisters and others among the dubious roster ‘favorites’. Radio and media helped to democratize the landscape but today’s parallels with the frothing ‘look over thereness’ of right wing hate is unmistakable and hard to ignore. It was George Santayana who observed that “those who do not learn from history, are bound to repeat it.“

No.
1	Artist	Title	Album	Buy
2	The Fontane Sisters	Hearts Of Stone	Vintage Music " Vols 3 & 4
3	The Jewels	Hearts of Stone	Doo Wop Box Disc 1
4	The Fontane Sisters	Rock Love	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.4
5	Lula Reed	Rock Love	Rhythm & Western Volume 4 – I Hang My Head and Cry
6	Eileen Barton	Fujiyama Mama	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.4
7	Annisteen Allen	Fujiyama Mama	From the Ghetto
8	The Crew Cuts	Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)	Magic Moments: Best Of 50's Pop (Disc 2)
9	The Chords	Sh-Boom	Glory Days Of Rock 'N' Roll: Doo-Wop [Disc 1]
10	The McGuire Sisters	Sincerely	Magic Moments: Best Of 50's Pop (Disc 2)
11	The Moonglows	Sincerely	Pure R&B: Vol. 1- Got My Mojo Workin [Disc 2]
12	The Crew Cuts	Don't Be Angry	High School Favorites
13	Nappy Brown	Don't Be Angry [1955 Version]	Down In The Alley – The Complete Savoy Singles A's & B's
14	The Fontane Sisters	Please Don't Leave Me	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.3
15	Fats Domino	Please Don't Leave Me	Rock And Rollin
16	Pat Boone	The Fat Man	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.4
17	Fats Domino	The Fat Man	Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Piano Blues – A Film By Clint Eastwood
18	Pat Boone	Long Tall Sally	The London American Story Disc 1
19	Little Richard	Long Tall Sally	Specialty Profiles: Larry Williams
20	Art Mooney	Tutti Frutti	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.4
21	Little Richard	Tutti Frutti	Loud, Fast & Out of Control: The Wild Sounds of the '50s [Box] Disc 3
22	Johnnie Ray	Flip Flop And Fly	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.4
23	Big Joe Turner	Flip Flop And Fly	Big Joe Turner: The Definitive Blues Collection [[Disc 2]]
24	Bill Haley & His Comets	Shake, Rattle and Roll	From The Original Master Tapes
25	Big Joe Turner	Shake, Rattle & Roll	Loud, Fast & Out of Control: The Wild Sounds of the '50s [Box] Disc 1
26	Teresa Brewer	Tweedle Dee	The Best Of Teresa Brewer
27	LaVern Baker	Tweedlee Dee	Pure R&B: Vol. 5- Pioneers [Disc 2]
28	Gale Storm	Why Do Fools Fall in Love	The London American Story Disc 1
29	Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers	Why Do Fools Fall in Love	Gems from the Columbia Vaults, Pt. 1
30	Georgia Gibbs	Dance With Me Henry	Georgia Gibbs Greatest Hits
31	Etta James	The Wallflower	The Best of Etta James [EMI-Capitol Special Markets]
32	Jean Dinning	Bo Diddley	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.4
33	Bo Diddley	Bo Diddley	Pure R&B: Vol. 2- Somethings Got a Hold on Me [Disc 2]
34	The Hilltoppers	Teardrops From My Eyes	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.4
35	Ruth Brown	Teardrops From My Eyes	Ruth Brown: The Definitive Soul Collection [[Disc 1]]
36	Jaye P Morgan	Baby Don't Do It	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.3
37	The 5 Royales	Baby Don't Do It	The Complete Singles 1952-1962
38	Perry Como	Ko Ko Mo	They Tried To Rock – The Popsters Vol.4
39	The Flamingos	Ko Ko Mo	The Best Of The Flamingos
40	Ricky Nelson	I'm Walkin'	Legacy [Disc 1]

Deeper Roots

Monthly Archives: March 2026

Swingin’ Out West

Heavenly Day

Women’s History Month

The Hijacked Jukebox

A Century of America's Music