James Robert (Bob) Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by many music authorities one of the fathers of Western swing[1][2] and called by his fans the “King of Western Swing.”
The full wikipedia article on Bob Wills.
The very comprehensive site TexasPlayboys.net has not only a fine biography of Bob Wills but bios of many of the Texas Playboys through the years and much more.
Below: The trailer for the documentary DVD Faded Love: The Life and Times of Bob Wills (2006)
1. Sitting on Top of the World – First recorded by the band on 24 September 1935, their second recording session
Sitting on Top of the World (also rendered as “Sittin’ on Top of the World“) is a folk-blues song written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon, core members of the Mississippi Sheiks, a popular country blues band of the 1930s. Walter Vinson claimed to have composed “Sitting on Top of the World” one morning after playing a white dance in Greenwood, Mississippi.[1] However, the melody was almost certainly taken from Tommy Johnson. Victor Records, the copyright holders of Johnson’s ‘Big Road Blues’, sued OKeh Records and settled out of court. [2]The song was first recorded by the Mississippi Sheiks in 1930 (on the Okeh label, No. 8784), became a popular cross-over hit for the band, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.[3]
The copyright in the opening credits says 1951. I presumed it was an earlier film.
2. Wake Up Susan / Liberty – These are the titles of the two short songs, the second of which Wills calls a “breakdown”, given by the youtube provider. I haven’t found the titles listed anywhere else so I don’t know who wrote them or when they were first done by the band.
3. New San Antonio Rose – (Wills) – 1944
a. Patsy Cline (23 Feb 1963)
b. Ray Price and his Cherokee Cowboys – 1962
4. New Spanish Two Step (Wills, Duncan) – 1946 A second tune follows: Ten Years Is More Than I Can Stand. I don’t have any info on this one.
5. Stay All Night (Stay a Little Longer) – (Wills, Duncan) – 1946
6. Sugar Moon (Wills, Walker) – 1947
7. Bubbles in My Beer - 1948. I don’t have information on the writing credits yet.
a. This version is by Hank Thompson (date unknown)
b. Two Wills songs performed by The Prescott Playboys: Boot Heel Drag and Bubbles in My Beer.
8. Faded Love - 1950 (Bob Wills, John Wills,[1] Billy Jack Wills)
a. A recording by Ray Price and Willie Nelson
b. Triple fiddles of Max Tillman, David Langston and Samantha Bergman backed up by Liberty CIty Bluegrass
9. Lone Star Rag – I haven’t found a date or other information on this one yet. It’s from a B Western. Tex Ritter introduces the band.
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