Biography
Buck Roberts & The Rhythmairs
Texas Western Swing Band
Members:
Fiddle: Joe Castle, Gerald "Jerry" Chinnis
Steel Guitar: Eldon "Curly" Roberts
Piano: Pee Wee Poe
Rhythm Guitar: Carlton Roberts
Bass: Buck Roberts
Drums: Shorty Oakley
Buck Roberts' Rhythmairs may be best known as the band with which Johnny Gimble made his recording debut (on Lasso in 1948), but they are an interesting band for far more reasons than that. Build around the Roberts Brothers, Buck, Carlton and Eldon (Curly), the Rhythmairs were originally based in Austin, where they broadcast not only as the Rhythmairs but also as the Jacques Saw Boys and were friendly rivals to Jesse James & All The Boys, Dolores & Her Bluebonnet Boys and other top local acts.
The band apparently cut a session for Gold Star in Houston in 1946, although no releases have surfaced, if anything was ever released. They relocated to Corpus Christi and began broadcasting on KWBU, but returned to Austin to record at Peterson's Studio for the local Allegro label in about 1947; at least two releases resulted. For the session, the Roberts brothers and Houston fiddler Jerry Chinnis were augmented by Austin players Pee Wee Poe and Joe Castle. Castle was a classical violinist who taught at Southwestern University in nearby Georgetown and played in the Austin Symphony, but had been moonlighting with country bands since the 1940's. He was at this time a member of Jesse James' band, with whom he recorded on Blue Bonnet this same year. Castle commonly wrote out his "take-off" choruses for recording sessions. Both Castle and straightforward swing fiddler Jerry Chinnis solo on "Big Beaver", one of the earliest and best covers of the Bob Wills big band classic. The tight, sophisticated arrangement shows the influence of West Coast groups like Spade Cooley's but also reflects a tradition in Texas swing groups that went back almost a decade to the tight, highly arranged Lightcrust Doughboy ensembles of the late 1930's and the forward-looking 1941 recordings of Amarillo's Sons Of The West. The ensemble work, both here and on Jesse James' Rag Mop" notable boasts a more relaxed swing and a jazzier texture than the slick, but comparably effete fiddle sections of Spade Cooley and, to a lesser extent, Tex Williams on the West Coast. In addition to Castle and Chinnis, "Big BEaver" features nice solos from Pee Wee Poe and Curly Roberts and a brief drum break from Shorty Oakley.
The Rhythmairs left Corpus Christi several times in the late 1940's for stints in San Angelo and even a tour in Montana. They recorded a single release for Lasso in 1948, featuring Johnny Gimble, and later backed child singer Daylon Hicks on at least one Marathon release. Later members included Link Davis and the underrated fiddler-mandolinist Cal Berry. The Roberts drifted out of full-time music in the 1950's. Curly Roberts died in the early 1960's, but Buck and Carlton Roberts continued to jam occasionally with old cohorts like Johnny Gimble and Pete Moore. Buck Roberts' grandson, Jason Roberts, a fiddler, has worked with Asleep At The Wheel and other groups.
Members:
Fiddle: Joe Castle, Gerald "Jerry" Chinnis
Steel Guitar: Eldon "Curly" Roberts
Piano: Pee Wee Poe
Rhythm Guitar: Carlton Roberts
Bass: Buck Roberts
Drums: Shorty Oakley
Buck Roberts' Rhythmairs may be best known as the band with which Johnny Gimble made his recording debut (on Lasso in 1948), but they are an interesting band for far more reasons than that. Build around the Roberts Brothers, Buck, Carlton and Eldon (Curly), the Rhythmairs were originally based in Austin, where they broadcast not only as the Rhythmairs but also as the Jacques Saw Boys and were friendly rivals to Jesse James & All The Boys, Dolores & Her Bluebonnet Boys and other top local acts.
The band apparently cut a session for Gold Star in Houston in 1946, although no releases have surfaced, if anything was ever released. They relocated to Corpus Christi and began broadcasting on KWBU, but returned to Austin to record at Peterson's Studio for the local Allegro label in about 1947; at least two releases resulted. For the session, the Roberts brothers and Houston fiddler Jerry Chinnis were augmented by Austin players Pee Wee Poe and Joe Castle. Castle was a classical violinist who taught at Southwestern University in nearby Georgetown and played in the Austin Symphony, but had been moonlighting with country bands since the 1940's. He was at this time a member of Jesse James' band, with whom he recorded on Blue Bonnet this same year. Castle commonly wrote out his "take-off" choruses for recording sessions. Both Castle and straightforward swing fiddler Jerry Chinnis solo on "Big Beaver", one of the earliest and best covers of the Bob Wills big band classic. The tight, sophisticated arrangement shows the influence of West Coast groups like Spade Cooley's but also reflects a tradition in Texas swing groups that went back almost a decade to the tight, highly arranged Lightcrust Doughboy ensembles of the late 1930's and the forward-looking 1941 recordings of Amarillo's Sons Of The West. The ensemble work, both here and on Jesse James' Rag Mop" notable boasts a more relaxed swing and a jazzier texture than the slick, but comparably effete fiddle sections of Spade Cooley and, to a lesser extent, Tex Williams on the West Coast. In addition to Castle and Chinnis, "Big BEaver" features nice solos from Pee Wee Poe and Curly Roberts and a brief drum break from Shorty Oakley.
The Rhythmairs left Corpus Christi several times in the late 1940's for stints in San Angelo and even a tour in Montana. They recorded a single release for Lasso in 1948, featuring Johnny Gimble, and later backed child singer Daylon Hicks on at least one Marathon release. Later members included Link Davis and the underrated fiddler-mandolinist Cal Berry. The Roberts drifted out of full-time music in the 1950's. Curly Roberts died in the early 1960's, but Buck and Carlton Roberts continued to jam occasionally with old cohorts like Johnny Gimble and Pete Moore. Buck Roberts' grandson, Jason Roberts, a fiddler, has worked with Asleep At The Wheel and other groups.