Although Texan
Bill Boyd
and the various incarnations of his
Cowboy Ramblers
undeniably played
western swing
, they were only a deliberate step or two removed from being an old-time
string band
, albeit an incredibly jazzy one. This fun set collects 16 of the band's early sides for
Bluebird Records
, all recorded between 1934 and 1936, and includes a mix of delightful instrumentals along with updated and streamlined
classics like
"Mama Don't Like No Music."
Bill Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers
would go on to record for
RCA Records
, cutting well over 200 singles and appearing in a half-dozen Hollywood Westerns in the '40s, but the template for all of that was set in these early sessions for
. ~ Steve Leggett