The Case for Bob Wills
When Spade Cooley died in 1969 after serving eight years in prison for murder, Bob Wills inherited his title as the King of Western Swing. Wills pioneered genre-defying music, fusing big band with western and throwing in a little rhumba, mariachi, jitterbug, or really whatever he wanted. He called his music “Texas fiddle music,” which at its heart, it was.
Wills and the Texas Playboys got people dancing and set a whole bunch of records along the way. For example, “New Spanish Two Step” spent 16 weeks at No. 1 in 1946. Wills and his Texas Playboys were inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Case for Elvis Presley
First of all, he’s Elvis. If that doesn’t plead his case enough then consider that Elvis has reputedly sold over 600 million records. His certified sales made him the best-selling solo act of all time until Garth Brooks passed him this January–but these figures tend to favor modern artists. Elvis has 114 Top 40 singles and his albums spent 67 weeks at No. 1, more than any other artist in history.
While technically, Elvis is the King of Rock & Roll, his style mixed country and blues and he remains to this day the only pop musician some country fans will listen to. He is simply The King to most, regardless of genre.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. Elvis was also a soldier, movie star, sex symbol, and one of the most influential people of the 20th century. His legacy will forever be inscribed in our culture in Elvis sighting, UFOs, collectible plates, shotgun weddings, and Graceland, among too many other references to name.
Then there was that shimmy. The devil’s music, I say! The devil’s music!
