Jimmie Revard & His Oklahoma Playboys

Born on 26 November 1909 in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, USA, and passing away on 12 April 1991 in Texas, USA, Revard took up the fiddle in childhood. He later relocated to nearby Texas and, during the early 1930s, directed a semi-professional ensemble based in San Antonio. There he encountered and recruited the teenage Hofner siblings—Emil on steel guitar and Adolph handling vocals and guitar. Although the steel guitar initially drew his interest, Emil’s age prompted him to engage Adolph as well, an unplanned decision that launched the vocalist’s extended and notable trajectory. Revard titled the ensemble the Oklahoma Playboys, partly to set it apart from Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys while also drawing on the growing recognition of the latter group.

Alongside the Oklahoma Playboys, Revard cut numerous sides for Bluebird Records throughout the mid-1930s, even as the Hofner brothers soon pursued separate paths. His recorded material encompassed “Dirty Dog,” “Bound To Look Like A Monkey,” “Daddy's Got The Deep Elm Blues,” “We Played A Game,” “Blues In The Bottle,” “Big Daddy Blues,” “Oh! Swing It,” “It’s A Long Way To Tipperary,” “Someone Else You Care For,” “At The End Of The Line,” “Old Waterfall,” “Lose Your Blues And Laugh At Life,” and “Riding Down The Canyon.”