The Singles Collection 1934-51

Bill Boyd, born in 1910 and raised on a farm in Texas, survived the hard times of the Depression by getting work performing on radio as well as working on the farm. He was a singer and guitarist, a fan of early hillbilly star Jimmie Rogers, and became one of the pioneers of the style which became known as Western Swing when he formed his band The Country Ramblers in the early 1930s. With his own radio show in those days, called “The Bill Boyd Ranch House”, he recorded well over 200 sides for the Bluebird and RCA labels from his 1934 debut through into the 1950s, when the careers of Bill and his brother Jim started to wind down.  This 54-track 2-CD collection comprises selected A and B sides from his releases on the Bluebird and RCA-Victor labels from across his career. It features his US country hits “Shame On You” and “New Steel Guitar Rag”, along with western swing classics like “Under The Double Eagle”, “Wah-Hoo”, “Fan It”, “Beaumont Rag” and “I’ve Got Those Oklahoma Blues”, offering a selection of both vocal and virtuoso instrumental performances. It is naturally a highly selective compilation from his large body of work, and only crosses over to a small extent with Acrobat’s existing single-CD Bill Boyd Collections “Saturday Night Rag 19934-36” (ACRCD132) and “Lone Star Rag 1937-39” (ACRCD145).  He was a ground-breaking artist and this is an enjoyable overview of his recording career.