One of the very first solo blues performers on record, Blind Lemon Jefferson is often referred to as the “Father of the Texas Blues.” Known for his original style and powerful voice, Jefferson released the first two sides he recorded under his own name in 1926. But before he left Nashville he cut this titular track from his ode to the Lone Star state, Texas In My Soul, featuring members of the Nashville A-team, the best session musicians in country music history, including Grady Martin and Chet Atkins.īlind Lemon Jefferson - “Dry Southern Blues” (1926) You have to go away to come back, and that’s just what Willie Nelson did when he ignited the outlaw revolution in Austin, Texas, in the early 1970s. Willie Nelson - “Texas In My Soul” (1968)
While Chapman is certainly no slouch, Tubb’s single-string leads were made a trademark by the band’s first guitarist, original Texas Troubadour Jimmy Short. One of the most requested songs at Texas dancehalls since its release in 1965, Ernest Tubb’s “Waltz Across Texas” is a bona fide classic, especially with Steve “Blondie” Chapman and Buddy “Big E” Emmons, one of steel guitar’s most important figures, trading solos. “Once you’re down in Texas, Bob Wills is still the king,” sang Texas’ own Waylon Jennings, but it’s Houston native and steel guitar pioneer Leon McAuliffe who penned and performed this instrumental, which established the steel guitar as a core instrument in country and western music.Įrnest Tubb & His Texas Troubadours - “Waltz Across Texas” (1965) It lingers, and at its center is the hot guitar of these 12 performers who help keep it burning the whole night through.īob Wills & His Texas Playboys - “Steel Guitar Rag” (1936)
Texas music is like smoke from a fire: thick and unmistakable. Only Texas could siphon the bounce from the Louisiana bayou, dirt from the Mississippi Delta, dust from the deserts of Mexico, and pride from the plains and combine it all into something so singular, so elemental that people relate to it across time, language, and experience. Texas is big in every sense, and its music is even bigger.