Welcome to the Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys
Tiffany Transcriptions Website

      Listen To A Bob Wills Welcome Message
Original Tiffany Transcriptions Poster (slightly altered for this web site!)

Remodel and Restore

This web site has been off line for some time but in order to keep the information available, we’ve partially re-opened. During this time some

Read More »

contact us:  tiffanytranscriptions@gmail.com

Please do not reprint anything on this website without permission from tiffanytranscriptions@gmail.com .

The purpose of this site is to give information about the Bob Wills Tiffany Transcriptions and related activities of Bob Wills during his years in California. It is not owned or associated with the current owners of the Tiffany Music Company. If you believe that any material on this site infringes on a copyright held by you, please contact us .

Welcome to the Bob Wills
and his Texas Playboys 

Tiffany Transcriptions Website

      A Bob Wills Welcome Message
 

Blog:

Remodel and Restore

This web site has been off line for some time but in order to keep the information available, we’ve partially re-opened. During this time some

Read More »
Original Tiffany Transcriptions Poster (slightly altered for this web site!)

contact us:  tiffanytranscriptions@gmail.com

Please do not reprint anything on this website without permission from tiffanytranscriptions@gmail.com .

The purpose of this site is to give information about the Bob Wills Tiffany Transcriptions and related activities of Bob Wills during his years in California. It is not owned or associated with the current owners of the Tiffany Music Company. If you believe that any material on this site infringes on a copyright held by you, please contact us.

25 Responses

  1. I must know why is the sound quality so much better on the Tiffany CD box sets from Real Gone Music? The 10 CD box set from Collector’s Choice didn’t have the same amazing sound quality in my opinion.

  2. Greetings, thanks for all the information available on this site. I am lucky enough to own a full set of the original 16″ Bob Wills Tiffany transcription records minus the B F Goodrich piece which stupid me didn’t buy along with the others when I had the chance. Mine are all on red vinyl though it’s very dark and must be held up to the light to notice this. I was wondering if you or anyone knows if they are all like this on red vinyl and any idea how many of these sets were actually pressed? Thanks and thank you for all the work it took t put all this information together.

    1. They were not all red. The ones I have are black. I do not think it is known how many were pressed. There were a lot of invoices from the disc manufacturers in Cliff Sundin’s papers but I don’t think anyone as gone through and seen if the pressing could all be added up.

  3. I love your website and hope someday the remaining Tiffany Transcriptions will be made available. In addition to these transcriptions, I am trying to locate copies of Bob Wills/Texas Playboys performances. I am trying to get a copy of the three performances by the Texas Playboys on Austin City Limits (1976, 1978, 1985), the 50th Anniversary Texas Playboy Reunion in 1984, and their 1986 final show at Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth. Also, I am trying to find a copy of Bob’s 1945 movie ‘Rhythm Round-up’….supposedly, it is a ‘lost film’. The movie was made by Columbia Pictures and their film archives was obtained by Sony Pictures. Does any one know where I might find any/all of these….or have a connection with Sony Pictures to check their archives? Any help is appreciated.

  4. Thank you for this very extensive website! Among family and friends I am known as a lover of music and such, but in recent months have become a Bob Wills fanatic! I’m soon to be 52 years young, grew up with Porter Waggoner show, Hee Haw, etc. Hank Williams, Ray Price, Merle Haggard, etc. Like some of us, it took me awhile to get used to, and to enjoy the constant vocal interaction by Mr. Wills on most cuts. What’s amazing to me is how excellent, and “tight” the musicians were. Just priceless, and timeless recordings! Thanks again! (a new Bob Wills and Texas Playboys fan from Missouri).

  5. I am a Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys fan and a drummer. The Tiffany Transcriptions changed my musical life. I have the nine volumes on Kaleidoscope locked in my fire safe and all nine volumes plus The McKinney Sisters on Rhino in my cd collection. I’m absolutely thrilled to find this website, and have spent the better part of my evening going over all of it. What a treasure trove! Great work! I’m relatively young (57 years old) and when I encounter a young musician working the western swing genre I always ask if they’ve ever heard the Tiffany’s. The answer is almost always “no” so I usually proceed to rave on and on about these very special recordings. In my opinion, if you are a western swing musician and don’t hold the Tiffany’s as your benchmark, you’re missing the boat. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for this labor of love.

    By the way, I have two Kaleidoscope Tiffany t-shirts that are too small for me. I believe I will float one on eBay and see what happens.

    Best regards,

    Mark Hays
    Austin, TX

  6. Love your web site! I’ve been doing a weekly radio show since 1980 featuring western swing and honky tonk with a emphasis on recordings from the 30’s to the 50’s. I start the show with todays artists then take the listeners back to the roots of where it began.

    My show is called the Heyride, broadcast live on Fridays 7:30 to 9pm central and can be heard at http://www.kzum.org. Give it a listen sometime and please consider adding it to your page of links. Barbara Martin @ Western Swing Monthly has it on her page of links.

    The Tiffany’s are the greatest. I own all the released recordings minus the Collectors Choice collection. Just yesterday finally got the Tishomingo release which came out back in the 70’s. I am a happy camper!

    Thanks and keep up the good work!

  7. I commend Real Gone Music for releasing the 2-CD set of hard-to-find or unreleased Tiffanys. But it’s a bit cheesy that four tracks were only available on Record Store Day on a 1500 limited edition LP. For one thing, people with no interest in these recordings snap up these LPs and then re-sell them on eBay for outrageous prices. Am I going to pay $80 for four obscure tracks? No. It’s a shame longtime collectors and completists are treated in this manner. People who bought the two-CD set (like me) should have the means to receive digital copies of these four tracks.

    1. Although I understand your frustration with this, I also understand that it is really hard to make any money in the record business these days. Sure, the LP with four songs not on the CD is a marketing gimmick, but I applaud Real Gone for putting out more Tiffany Transcriptions. No one else was doing it and they had to deal with Warner Brothers/Rhino which I’m sure wasn’t cheap. If it takes some sort gimmick to get a few more sales, well, fine then.

      The LP is a beautiful tribute to the look and feel of the original transcription discs. Personally, I don’t like LPs at all. Why take all the time and expertise to clean all the surface noise off the original transcriptions only to add it back with LP noise. But I understand there’s an LP craze going on now and what the hell, if it helps publicize the release, then that’s OK with me. To be honest I did not have to buy one (they sent me a courtesy copy), but I would have. You can still find them at not too insane $ on Ebay (around $30 as of June 6th 2014). It will be a collector’s item, not necessarily one to invest in, but just one to enjoy.

  8. Randy-

    You’ll find the answer to your question in the Kaleidoscope Records section, under The Tiffany Transcriptions Story link at the top of the page. I had no idea how complicated a story it is, until I found this site. The short answer is that Jeff Axelson’s widow owned the rights as of 2012, with Warner Music licensing those rights, exact terms unknown. The historian behind this site traces the ownership of the transcriptions from Bob Wills and Cliff Sundin, to Cliff Sundin alone, to his granddaughter Nancy Welles, then to her husband John Welles, then Jeff Axelson, and finally to his widow.

    admin-

    Thank you for all the research, writing, and memorabilia which make this website such a fascinating and unique resource. I am excited to hear the songs on the new Real Gone Music release, but must admit to being disappointed that El Rancho Grande is the only song from the aborted volume 10 to be included in the new release. Regardless, I am grateful for the opportunity to hear more of this incredible music. I’m also looking forward to your review of the new releases. Thanks again,

    -Doug

  9. My comment is more of a question. Does anyone know who owns the rights to Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys Band’s music and his memorabili? I know that some songs’ rights were given or sold to other individuals throughout the years, but is there a family member or someone else that owns his music and his name’s rights? It would be great if that person would put together an official tribute band with talented Texas members to include family, if possible, or to continue a new Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys band touring with new songs and of course, the originals. Any help with this question would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

    1. Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, authorized by the Bob Wills estate, is headed by vocalist Leon Rausch and guitarist Tommy Allsup. They perform every year at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa for the Bob Wills Birthday Bash, at Bob Wills Day in Turkey, Texas, at the Legends of Western Swing Festival in Wichita Falls, and various other dates, mainly in Texas and Oklahoma. The band’s lineup varies, based on availability, but often includes original sidemen like steel guitarist Bobby Koefer and younger musicians like Tulsa trumpeter Mike Bennett. Of course, the number of folks who played with Bob Wills dwindles every year. Of the group that recorded “For the Last Time” in 1973, only Rausch, Allsup, Jody Nix, and Merle Haggard survive — we lost Johnny Gimble earlier this year.

    2. An update for 2019: Leon Rausch has retired, and Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys are now under the leadership of Jason Roberts, formerly of Asleep at the Wheel. The band has the official blessing of the Bob Wills estate. Roberts played young Bob Wills in the 2005 musical “A Ride with Bob.” They performed at this year’s Bob Wills birthday bash at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa.

      Of the performers on “For the Last Time,” only Leon Rausch and Jody Nix now survive. In 2018, we lost Herb Remington, the last, as far as I am aware, of the Tiffany Transcriptions performers.

  10. Hi, I administer the Western Swing Fan page on facebook and would like to link the (yout) Tiffany site to that page so folks are aware of it and also, be able to read the fine posts that this site contains.

  11. Several years ago a friend sent me an origional copy of that Transcription Flyer Red and Black. It is in mint condition.
    I have made copies for friends and would be glad to send one to anyone wanting one. Thanks for all the information and work you have put into this information and making available.

    1. I do not have any T-shirts. However, Down Home Music in El Cerrito, California (510-525-2129) found a stash of them in an old cabinet of their’s. They have some for sale, but warning! some of them, although they look fine, have rotted and as soon as you try to put them on they rip. If you do buy one try to get some kind of guarantee. Try EBay for the albums you’re missing.

  12. This is totally off subject but I asked once before on another Bob Wills site and got no response. I was wondering if you knew if the performance Of Bob and The Playboys on The Grand Ole Opry exists? Is so have you heard it?

    Randy

    1. Good question! I don’t know the answer. This is a question the Country Music Foundation in Nashville hopefully can help you with. It seems if they don’t know the answer, they should know who the expert on Opry recordings is. I’ll put the word out with the people I know. If you find out the answer, let us know.

    2. I have recently acquired a recording of the 1948 Grand Ole Opry show in which Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
      did three songs. I will transfer to CD and will make available to those interested. To my knowledge Bob and the boys played three shows there: the first in 1941 and the 1948 show and one later on. Since then the Texas Playboys have played there other times but this not with Bob.

      1. Billy, Just for clarity Bob Wills 1st appearance at the Grand Old Opry was not in 1941 but on December 30, 1944. His 3rd appearance was about 1959 with ALL 4 Wills brothers in the band – Johnnie Lee on tenor banjo, Luke on bass and Billy Jack on drums.

      2. Billy Byrd – Do you still have the BW&HTP at the Grand Ole Opry available? What are the set details? Thx

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *