William Lemuel Boyd (September 29, 1910 – December 7, 1977) was an American Western-style singer and guitarist.

Biography

Boyd was born and raised on a farm near Ladonia in Fannin County, Texas as one of thirteen children. His parents, Lemuel and Molly Jared Boyd, who originally hailed from Tennessee, came to Texas in 1902. During the Great Depression, the family moved to Dallas. Bill and his brother Jim (born 1914) tried to survive the hard times by working different odd jobs. Bill joined the Alexanders Daybreakers trio performing at early-morning radio shows. Together with Jim, he appeared on radio in Greenville, Texas and at WRR in Dallas Meanwhile, Jim formed the "Rhythm Aces." In February 1932, Boyd recorded with the "Blue yodeler" Jimmie Rodgers. The same year, he formed the pioneering western swing band "The Cowboy Ramblers". His band consisted of himself on guitar, Jim Boyd on bass, Walter Kirkes on tenor banjo and Art Davis on fiddle. During the band's history, many of the members also worked simultaneously with the Light Crust Doughboys and Roy Newman's Boys. The Cowboys Ramblers made more than 225 recordings between 1934 and 1951. In 1935, the Cowboy Ramblers had a huge hit with their recording of "Under the Double Eagle," which later became a western swing standard His brother Jim Boyd died in 1993.

  • Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers (RCA Bluebird AXM2-5503, 1975) [2LP]
  • Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers (1934–1947) (Texas Rose TXR-2701, 1982)
  • The Master of Cowboy Swing (Bronco Buster CD-9002, 1995)
  • The Eyes of Texas (Cattle CCD-205, 1998)
  • The Golden Age of Bill Boyd (Cattle CCD-229, 2000)
  • Swing with Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers (Cattle CCD-234, 2000)
  • Saturday Night Rag 1934–1936 (Volume 1) (Acrobat ACRCD-132, 2003)
  • Lone Star Rag 1937–1949 (Volume 2) (Acrobat ACRCD-145, 2004)

Notes

References

  • Boyd, Jean Ann (1998), The Jazz of the Southwest: An Oral History of Western Swing, University of Texas Press
  • Carlin, Richard (2003), Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary, Taylor & Francis
  • Malone, Bill C. (2002), Country Music U.S.A, University of Texas Press
  • Russell, Tony – Pinson, Bob (2004), Country Music Records: A Discography 1921–1942, Oxford University Press US
  • Tribe, Ivan M. (2006), Country: A Regional Exploration, Greenwood Publishing Group
  • Wolff, Kurt – Duane, Orla (2000), Country Music:The Rough Guide, Rough Guides
  • The Frontier Marshalls series of movies in which Bill Boyd was an actor.
  • Biography at the Handbook of Texas Online
  • Bill Boyd recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.