Volume 36, Number 12 December 2018 BILLY WILSON TINY MOORE Inducted Oct. 1, 2017 Inducted March 7, 1982 Western Swing Society Hall of Fame Profile ~ Page 4 W H A T’ S I N S I D E Officials & Staff ............. 2 Cuttin’ the Rug! ..................... 9 GUEST BAND Dec. 2, 2018 Editor’s Letter ................ 2 RIP Terry Lee Krause ........ 10 Jam Room Jammers ......... 2 Board Meeting Minutes ..... 10 RIP Larry McDonald ...... 3 Album Review .................... 11 Grace Clark & Board Elections .............. 3 Pictures Online ............. 11 Swingitude Jammin’ .......................... 3 Free Dance Lessons ............ 11 HOF Profiles .................. 4 RIP Tom Zayas ................... 11 1:00 to 3:00pm RIP Dayna Wills Kelley . 5 Other WSS Orgs .......... 14 November Bands ............... 5 Contributions Please ........... 14 Followed by Board Mtg Invitation .......... 5 Monthly Music Sessions .. 14 The Dry Creek Band Upcoming Bands ............ 6 3:00 to 5:30pm Winner, Winner .............. 6 Membership Report .............. 6 Membership Application. ... 6 WESTERN SWING SOCIETY MUSIC NEWS December 2018 - Page 2 The Western Swing Society Letter from The Editor JAM ROOM JAMMERS PO Box 2474 Carmichael, CA 95609 Well folks, we had a great dance in As always the jam westernswingsociety.net November, with Eddie Burr & The room was packed and Facebook: SacramentoWesternSwingSociety Western Swingers as the guest band. swingin’! Participat- Founded in 1981 by Loyd and Perry Jones For those of you in attendance, ing were: newcomer, to enable performance, preservation and please know that we have since spo- John Gwinner on pe- perpetuation of the unique American art ken to singer, Paula Dula, who as- dal steel; Ira Watson, Dan Whit- form known as Western Swing Music. sures us she is just fine! ney, Grace Clark and Don Spike Officers: on rhythm guitar and vocals; Terry President, Chuck Webb (916) 689-9546 Wrapping up the afternoon was our Vice President, Rex Barnes (916) 704-1566 house band, Bill Enyeart and Dry Crouson, Cliff Brizendine and Treasurer, Edward Burhans (916) 225-3645 Creek, and man, can they lay down Bobby Giasson on lead guitar; Secretary, Olen Dillingham (916) 645-8878 Cristina Brizendine on drums; Bill the dance tracks! Other Directors: Enyeart and Chuck Webb on bass; Tony Arana (775) 971-3070 We are very excited to announce and it was great to see Joe Cham- Rex Barnes (916) 704-1566 that we will now be offering FREE, pion on keyboard; Nancy Long on Ronnie Elkan (916) 765-4345 half-hour dance lessons each month Linda Michael (916) 870-7463 vocals. Dave Rietz (916) 806-0520 from 12:30 to 1:00. You don’t have to bring a dance partner to learn the Jump in and join us! Just let Tony Staff and Committee Chairpersons: steps, but bring one if you have one! know you’re there and sign the Bartender, Cyndi Lee guest sheet to perform. It’s always Decorating Chair, Rex Barnes Plan to arrive at the hall by 12:15 for Equipment and Staging, (open) a prompt start. a highlight for the folks that par- Historian, (open) ticipate. Jam Room, Tony Arana As you can see from this newsletter, Membership Director, Chuck Webb November had many people suffer- We’d like to have you write to us Music Director, Ronnie Elkan ing losses, both with the passing of about your experience if you play Newsletter Team: Editor, (open) Layout and Publication: Ronnie loved ones, and through the devasta- in the jam room or go in to listen. and Shelley Elkan, tion of the wildfires. We know of We’ll share your comments here Photographer, Donald deMars many who can use our thoughts and in this column. Just send your Public Relations, Rex Barnes Raffle, Bob and Virginia Kuykendall prayers. Please hold a special thoughts to this email: Slide Show, (open) thought for Western Swing music [email protected] or send Sound Engineer, Gary Blodgett historian and fan, 93-yr-old John us a letter via snail mail. In the Website, Dave Rietz Youth Program, Edward Burhans, Dave Towner, who lost all but the clothes meantime we’ll list the players Rietz, Dave Chan on his back, who joined us last month. and his long- Thanks gang. It was great!!!!!! time family Western Swing Society Music News Tony Arana, Jam Room Host is published monthly by the friend and Western Swing Society helper, Dena Views and opinions expressed by contrib- Mathis, who uting authors are not necessarily those of the lost three homes in the Paradise fire. editorial staff or the Society. John’s historic collection of photos Submitted articles, publicity notices and letters not relating directly to the Society or and thousands of vinyl records, its members may be published at the discre- along with his vintage juke box, tion of the Editor, as space permits. The staff were just some of the irreplaceable reserves the right to edit any and all items losses he suffered. submitted for publication. And so it is with a grateful heart for all my blessings and hopes for a Deadline for Submittals: All items, photographs, articles, and brighter tomorrow for our WSS fam- ad’s are due to the Editor no later than ily members who’ve lost much. the 10th of the month. Ronnie Elkan, Editor WESTERN SWING SOCIETY MUSIC NEWS December 2018 - Page 3 RIP Larry McDonald BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION It is with a very heavy heart Email Ballots for the Society's annual election of that we share the news that officers were distributed November 23, 2018. A Larry McDonald has passed small amount of paper ballots will be available at the away. He went home to Heav- December monthly music session for those who do en on Friday, November 23, not have a computer or email. The results will be 2018 after suffering a massive announced in the January newsletter and at the heart attack the previous monthly music session in January. Tuesday, November 20, 2018. His wife, and the love of his life for the past 33 years, Teresa Walker McDonald said, “I would like to thank my husband that I was married to for Jammin’ 33 years, for loving me for he went to heaven to- day. He went peacefully after the doctors and I decided to take him off life support. I thank all my family and friends for the love and prayers and support during this time. May God bless Larry as he is in Heaven and bless all my family and friends for the support and love they are giving me. God bless you all.” Larry was an ac- complished singer and drummer and has appeared as the guest band at West- ern Swing Society dances. Friends state that in his younger years, Lar- ry would compete and win many singing competitions in the Bay area. One memory that friend, Linda Golden re- lates is as follows, “Perry took Larry to annual shootouts to sight in their guns and then to deer camp. Larry's job was to play his guitar and sing. Though Larry was legally blind, the guys set up targets for him to shoot and Tom (Perry’s older brother) even let Larry drive his truck in a field. They all had a blast. We can only surmise what other shenanigans they got into. Their motto, ‘what happens at deer camp stays in deer camp’”. Larry, although we grieve your early departure, you lived a life well-loved and full of friends and adventure. As friend, Rebecca Henry, quoted, “Your time as a caterpillar has expired. Your wings are ready.” So fly. Soar to that great drum set in the sky! WESTERN SWING SOCIETY MUSIC NEWS December 2018 - Page 4 BILLY MAC ‘TINY’ MOORE BILLY WILSON Inducted March 3, 1982 Inducted October 1, 2017 5/12/1920-12/15/1987 Tiny Moore has been described as Western Swing's Hi, I'm William James Wilson. prized mandolinist and was mostly known for popu- I play the steel guitar. I am the proud descendent of larizing the electric mandolin while playing with Dust Bowl refugees. I was born in Fresno California Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys in the 40s. He and raised in Bakersfield. There, in my childhood I became one of Country music's most respected and remember seeing and hearing the pedal steel guitar beloved pickers, influencing a whole generation of being played at functions. Fascinating!! string musicians. Born Billie Moore in Hamilton County, Texas, in 1920, Tiny first took violin les- My mother, Vesta, first gave me piano lessons at 8 sons. He played with his uncle, a fiddler and guitar- years old, but when I wanted an electric guitar and ist, his mother and a couple of cousins at country rock and roll lessons, she got me a nylon string gui- dances earning 75 cents. Tiny was in the school or- tar and classical lessons! I was crushed! I took the chestra and played fiddle and guitar with a group of lesson and fell in love with it! I also fell in love with fellow students known as the Clod Hoppers. He the Saturday morning country music programs. stayed with them until he graduated in 1937. The Cousin Herb's Trading Post, The Wilburn Bros, and family joined Tiny's father in Port Arthur, Texas, Porter Wagoner. I was literally the kid who hid his where Tiny worked in a grocery store. He soon met country albums “kuz country wasn't kool” then. banjo player, Woody Edmunston and through him, Folks looked down on it! guitarist, Jimmy Wyble. They began playing popu- After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in lar music together, and as Tiny was not a fan of the 1967 I finally got my electric guitar and got in a Grand Ole Opry in those days, he found himself rock band called Sweet Tide as lead guitar.