C. T. Suddeth

Last Man Standing

Bob Wills is the King of Western Swing, but it wasn’t always so.

Charlie Poole and the North Carolina were very popular, their music often called Carolina Swing, but he died in 1931 under controversial circumstances. He’d been invited to Hollywood to record for movies.

Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies were at their height when he died in a 1936 car wreck. He is often called the Father of Western Swing.

Clayton McMichen and the Georgia Wildcats were from Louisville. My dad listened to them on the radio. Clayton had been a star with the Skillet Lickers, a country band. Preferring jazz, he settled in Louisville and refused to tour. Though he hired great musicians, he recorded few records and the world forgot him.

Spade Cooley, part Cherokee, had a string of hits. He called himself the King of Western Swing. In 1961, he was sent to prison for murdering his wife.

That left Bob Wills King of Western Swing.