Leon McAuliffe
Encyclopedia
Leon McAuliffe born William Leon McAuliffe, was an American Western swing
musician from Houston, Texas
. He is famous for his steel guitar solos with Bob Wills
and The Texas Playboys, inspiring Wills's phrase, "Take it away, Leon."
, playing both rhythm guitar and steel guitar. In 1935, at age 18, he went on to play with Bob Wills in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. He stayed with Wills until World War II. While with Wills he helped compose "San Antonio Rose". He is more noted, however, for his most famous composition, "Steel Guitar Rag
", and his playing, along with that of [Bob Dunn (musician)|Robert Lee Dunn] (Milton Brown's Musical Brownies), that popularized the steel guitar in the United States. His playing (and Dunn's) is also credited with inspiring the rhythm and blues electric guitar style occurring some twenty years later.
After the war, McAuliffe returned to Tulsa, forming his Western swing band and releasing a number of recordings, including "Panhandle Rag" (Columbia 20546) which reached number six in 1949. McAuliffe soon opened his Cimarron Ballroom in the remodeled Akdar Shrine Mosque in Tulsa. He and his band, Leon McAuliffe and His Cimarron Boys, named for the ballroom, recorded several songs. He also opened a recording studio, Cimarron Records.
In the late 1950s, he appeared on ABC-TV's Jubilee USA
and other broadcasts. McAuliffe funded a music program at Rogers State College
in Claremore, Oklahoma
, paying for a recording studio and office on campus. It was from this studio and office that Junior Brown
taught guitar and met his wife Tanya Rae. McAuliffe was always giving to his students, featuring them in his concerts around northeastern Oklahoma. He died after a long illness on August 20, 1988 in Tulsa. The studio gear was donated by Elanore, his widow, to a church McAuliffe favored.
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
musician from Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. He is famous for his steel guitar solos with Bob Wills
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
and The Texas Playboys, inspiring Wills's phrase, "Take it away, Leon."
Biography
McAuliffe, at age 16, first played with the Light Crust DoughboysLight Crust Doughboys
The Light Crust Doughboys is a quintessential American Western swing band from Texas organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in Saginaw, Texas. The band achieved its peak popularity in the few years leading up to World War II...
, playing both rhythm guitar and steel guitar. In 1935, at age 18, he went on to play with Bob Wills in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. He stayed with Wills until World War II. While with Wills he helped compose "San Antonio Rose". He is more noted, however, for his most famous composition, "Steel Guitar Rag
Steel Guitar Rag
"Steel Guitar Rag" is the seminal Western swing instrumental credited with popularizing the steel guitar as an integral instrument in a Western band....
", and his playing, along with that of [Bob Dunn (musician)|Robert Lee Dunn] (Milton Brown's Musical Brownies), that popularized the steel guitar in the United States. His playing (and Dunn's) is also credited with inspiring the rhythm and blues electric guitar style occurring some twenty years later.
After the war, McAuliffe returned to Tulsa, forming his Western swing band and releasing a number of recordings, including "Panhandle Rag" (Columbia 20546) which reached number six in 1949. McAuliffe soon opened his Cimarron Ballroom in the remodeled Akdar Shrine Mosque in Tulsa. He and his band, Leon McAuliffe and His Cimarron Boys, named for the ballroom, recorded several songs. He also opened a recording studio, Cimarron Records.
In the late 1950s, he appeared on ABC-TV's Jubilee USA
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
and other broadcasts. McAuliffe funded a music program at Rogers State College
Rogers State University
Rogers State University is a public, co-educational university located in Claremore, Oklahoma with branch campuses in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and Pryor Creek, Oklahoma. Since it began offering bachelor's degrees in 2000, it has outpaced the growth of all other public universities in Oklahoma...
in Claremore, Oklahoma
Claremore, Oklahoma
Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,581 at the 2010 census, a 17.1 percent increase from 15,873 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and home to Rogers State University...
, paying for a recording studio and office on campus. It was from this studio and office that Junior Brown
Junior Brown
Jamieson "Junior" Brown is an American country guitarist and singer. He has released nine studio albums in his career, and has charted twice on the Billboard country singles charts. Brown's signature instrument is the "guit-steel" double neck guitar, a hybrid of electric guitar and lap steel...
taught guitar and met his wife Tanya Rae. McAuliffe was always giving to his students, featuring them in his concerts around northeastern Oklahoma. He died after a long illness on August 20, 1988 in Tulsa. The studio gear was donated by Elanore, his widow, to a church McAuliffe favored.
Singles
| Year | Single | US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | "Panhandle Rag" | 6 |
| 1961 | "Cozy Inn" | 16 |
| 1962 | "Faded Love Faded Love "Faded Love" is a Western swing song written by Bob Wills, his father John Wills, and his brother, Billy Jack Wills. The tune is considered to be an exemplar of the Western swing fiddle component of American fiddle.The melody came from an old fiddle tune Bob learned from his father, John Wills.... " |
22 |
| 1964 | "Shape Up or Ship Out" | 35 |
| "I Don't Love Nobody" | 47 | |
| 1971 | "Faded Love" (with Tompall & the Glaser Brothers Tompall & the Glaser Brothers Tompall & The Glaser Brothers was an American country music group composed of three brothers: Chuck, Jim, and Tompall Glaser, all of whom also had success in the 1970s as solo artists. Between 1960 and 1975, the trio recorded ten studio albums, and charted nine singles on the Billboard Hot Country... ) |
22 |
External links
- Leon McAuliffe—Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture
- Leon McAuliffe—Handbook of Texas Online.
- Obituary—The New York Times, August 21, 1988.