"San Antonio Rose" is a swinginstrumental introduced in late 1938 by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. Quickly becoming the band's most popular number, Wills and band members devised lyrics, which were recorded on April 16, 1940,[3] and released on Okeh 5694 in August as "New San Antonio Rose". Despite having completed a lengthy Hillbilly/Folk chart run in 1939, which culminated at #1, it quickly rose to the top again, in early 1941.[5] It went on to become the band's theme song for the next forty years, reverting to its original title.
The song is written in the first person with the "Rose of San Antone" being the singer's lost love. In 2010, the Western Writers of America ranked it at number 49 on its list of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[6]
While it was also a successful hit for other Hillbilly artists, it also broke through to the pop charts, where Bing Crosby's version reached #7 on December 16, 1940.[7][8]
Over a million copies were sold, for which he was awarded a gold disc.
The song was the third dominating hit by Wills in the Western Swing field over the last five years. "Spanish Two Step" was second to only Mexicali Rose in 1936, "Steel Guitar Rag" topped the 1937 chart, and this one finished in the top ten in 1939 and 1940. The Texas Playboys finished with thirteen Number one chart hits.[9]
The song, both the music and lyrics, reflects the Mexican influence Bob Wills found growing up in the Southwest.[10] Wills developed the melody of the original "San Antonio Rose" itself from a traditional tune, "Spanish Two Step", by playing the bridge in reverse.[11]
"New San Antonio Rose" ruffled the feathers of Southern country music moguls when Wills and the Playboys performed it with horns and a drum at the Grand Ole Opry on December 30, 1944.[12][13]
The song has been recorded by many artists in several genres.
The pseudonymous Jericho wrote the Swedish lyrics. A Swedish version was recorded by Ingalill Rossvald and Harry Brandelius with Thorsten Sjögren's orchestra in Stockholm on February 7, 1952. It was released on the 78 rpm recordHis Master's Voice X 7795.
American pianist Floyd Cramer had his version go to No. 8 on both the Billboard Hot 100 pop and country singles charts in 1961.
In 1966, Harry James released a version on his album Harry James & His Western Friends (Dot DLP 3735 and 25735)
^La Chapelle, Proud to Be an Okie, p. 94: "Influenced by his early exposure to Mexican fiddle practices, Bob Wills introduced a mariachi chorus into his signature 'New San Antonio Rose' performing it and a few Spanish-language songs to spillover crowds while in Los Angeles."
^McWhorter, Cowboy Fiddler, p. 60: "The Colonel [Art Sutherland] went back in the control room and the boys asked Bob what they were going to do. Bob [Wills] said, "I don't have any idea. I'm going to play the bridge of 'The Spanish Two-Step' backwards, and Leon [McAuliffe], when I get through, you do anything you want to do and let's get out of here'. The played it through for a time and the Colonel came running out of there with his eyes wide open, said, 'Bob, what do you call that tune?' Bob said, 'You know, we haven't named it. We were going to let you name it. This tune's especially for you and you can name it anything you want to.' He said, 'I'm going to call it 'San Antonio Rose'.'"
^Kienzle, Southwest Shuffle, p. 256: "'He [Uncle Dave Macon] about flipped his dipper,' Mountjoy explained. 'We were breaking' tradition and all that. He went by a couple of time mumblin' about 'God-damn young upstarts'; and 'What they doin' with those drums here?'"
^Kienzle, Southwest Shuffle, p. 257: "When Acuff finished the introduction, the Playboys snapped into 'New San Antonio Rose,' Montjoy's drums and Brashear's trumpet clearly visible to the audience. ... 'They couldn't get the people to quit applauding; they just kept on and on and on. They kept tryin' to quiet the crowd down, and they wouldn't quiet down.' That kind of response usually justifies an encore. But Wills had remorselessly flouted Opry tradition, first by the act of bringing a drummer, then by defying their request that Mountjoy stay concealed. ... There would be no encore. But no one forgot, either."
Boyd, Jean Ann. Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998. ISBN0-292-70859-9
Dorman, Robert. It Happened in Oklahoma. Globe Pequot Press, 2006) . ISBN0-7627-4000-0
Gioia, Ted "Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys: New San Antonio Rose", Jazz.com, July 8, 2008
La Chapelle, Peter. Proud to Be an Okie: Cultural Politics, Country Music, and Migration to Southern California. University of California Press, 2007. ISBN0-520-24888-0
Kienzle, Rich. Southwest Shuffle: Pioneers of Honky Tonk, Western Swing, and Country Jazz. New York: Routledge, 2003. ISBN0-415-94102-4
McWhorter, Frankie. Cowboy Fiddler in Bob Wills' Band. University of North Texas Press, 1997. ISBN1-57441-025-3
Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books, 2006. ISBN0-8230-8291-1
Wolff, Kurt; Orla Duane. Country Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides, 2000. ISBN1-85828-534-8
