James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade Cooley self-promoted the moniker "King of Western Swing" from 1942 to 1969). He was also noted for punctuating his music with his trademark "ah-haa" calls. More about Bob Wills
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Wills formed several bands and played radio stations around the South and West until he formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 with Wills on fiddle, Tommy Duncan on piano and vocals, rhythm guitarist June Whalin, tenor banjoist Johnnie Lee Wills, and Kermit Whalin who played steel guitar and bass. Oklahoma guitar player Eldon Shamblin joined the band in 1937 bringing jazzy influence and arrangements. The band played regularly on Tulsa, Oklahoma, radio station KVOO and added Leon McAuliffe on steel guitar, pianist Al Stricklin, drummer Smokey Dacus, and a horn section that expanded the band's sound. Wills favored jazz-like arrangements and the band found national popularity into the 1940s with such hits as "Steel Guitar Rag", "San Antonio Rose", "Smoke on the Water", "Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima", and "New Spanish Two Step".The most expensive item with a signature of Bob Wills (Original Texas Playboys Bob Wills Autographed Poster Broken Spoke Austin Tx 1975) was sold in August 2022 for $500.00 while the cheapest item (BOBBY LORD SIGNED AUTO CUT FROM 1950'S CONCERT PROGRAM...PATSY CLINE...BOB WILLS) found a new owner for $0.99 in November 2015. The month with the most items sold (3) was January 2023 with an average selling price of $29.95 for an autographed item of Bob Wills. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in March 2014 with $293.70 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $0.99 was November 2015. In average, an autographed item from Bob Wills is worth $27.45.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Bob Wills were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
Item Title | Price | Store | |
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1st Edition 1976 My Years With Bob Wills Brother Stricklin Signed by Author | $19.95 | ||
Bob Wills San Antonio Rose The Life and Music of - Signed Townsend 1986 Photos | $39.95 | ||
San Antonio Rose : The Life and Music of Bob Wills by Charles Townsend Signed | $21.60 | ||
San Antonio Rose The Life and Music of Bob Wills by Charles R. Townsend Signed | $70.39 | ||
Signed - The King of Western Swing Bob Wills Remembered Rosetta Wills Paperback | $17.81 | ||
SIGNED Al Strickland My Years with Bob Wills 1980 COUNTRY Texas Playboys | $22.00 | ||
SIGNED My Years with Bob Wills 1976 COUNTRY Texas Playboys Al Stricklin | $80.95 | ||
SIGNED My Years with Bob Wills 1980 COUNTRY Texas Playboys Al Stricklin 2nd Ed | $24.95 | ||
Signed! San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills by Charles Townsend... | $35.99 | ||
The King of Western Swing: Bob Wills by Wills, Rosetta “SIGNED” 1st pb edition | $22.99 |