“Dunn’s Law: Careful planning is no substitute for dumb luck.”
― Arthur Bloch, author of “Murphy’s Law and Other Reasons Why Things Go Wrong”
– – – – – – –
In short order, I was back on the road. Listening to the ball game. Smiling at the good fortune of meeting one of the last living members of the original Bob Wills Texas Playboys band that played with music legend . And scoring a couple of records to remember the day.
Records.
I have lots of them. The vinyl kind now making a comeback after being kicked to the side of the audio road a few years ago.
Many audiophiles’ claim that vinyl records produce a richer, broader sound. Others laud the large, often artistic covers of long-playing albums. To me, it’s the story. Which song made us buy the record? What’s the memory that’s caused us to cling to the album for decades. Was it the time in our life? Maybe someone we remember?
Friend Leroy Newman exemplified it well after hearing “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night at a recent concert. “That was the number one song when I graduated from High School in May of 1971.”
Digging into my record collection last week, I stopped at a Bob Wills Texas Playboys album when the cover reminded of a fall drive through northwest Arkansas one Saturday afternoon during the early 1980s.
American musician, songwriter, and bandleader James Robert “Bob” Wills (1905 –1975), is considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing. He formed the Texas Playboys in 1934 hiring many memorable musicians. Not the least of whom was steel guitar player Leon McAuliffe.
Bob Wills buffs will recall the musician’s “Ah-haaa” vocals and “Take it away, Leon,” leading McAuliffe into a steel guitar solo.
After years of success, Wills’ health forced him to disband the Playboys in the mid 1960s. He continued to perform solo, dreaming they would someday play together again. And they did in 1973 before Wills died in 1975.
The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Wills in 1968, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000. Turkey, Texas lays claim to the title of “The Home of Bob Wills” with a museum and a Bob Wills Day the last weekend in April.
On that afternoon drive through Arkansas some 40 years ago, I was listening to a football game on the radio. The old Southwest Conference was still a thing, and Arkansas was defeating SMU. An ad caught my attention, “Only at KOMA studios can you get this recording of the Original Texas Playboys with the history of Faded Love by Leon McAuliffe.”
“Sure wish I knew where that radio station was located,” I thought. Who would have guessed. Minutes later, I rounded a curve between Bentonville and Rogers, and lo and behold, there it sat. KOMA studios.
Small radio stations have never been known for large staffs. The only person visible entering the front door was the D.J., and he was awaiting the next network commercial break during the game.
Before he could leave the control board to see why I had wandered in, someone else from another part of the building saw me. After telling this guy I was interested in the advertised Bob Wills albums, he raised a finger to point and responded, “Follow me.”
In a back office, boxes of the records sat beside a desk where another man appeared busy navigating through a stack of paperwork.
“This is the Faded Love album,” the first man said, handing me a copy for inspection. “And we still have a few of the San Antonio Rose albums left.”
I unhesitatingly obligated myself to one of each.
As I was fumbling for my wallet, the first man asked, “And your name?”
“Leon Aldridge,” I replied.
“Leon Aldridge,” he repeated, turning toward the man at the desk, “Meet Leon McAuliffe of the Original Texas Playboys.”
Completely forgetting the albums, my wallet, and the balancing act as they all fell to the desk, I extended my right arm. We shook hands, exchanged hellos, conversed about country music, and even talked about who we wanted to win the football game on the radio.
The country music legend autographed the records as we talked. I thanked everyone, including a nod to the busy DJ on the way out. Delighted with the completely unplanned and unexpected happening that had just occurred.
And recalling an old saying. Something about, “No amount of planning can ever replace dumb luck.”
—Leon Aldridge
– – – – – – –
Aldridge columns are featured in these publications: The Center Light and Champion, The Mount Pleasant Tribune, the Rosenberg Fort Bend Herald, the Taylor Press, the Alpine Avalanche, the Fort Stockton Pioneer, the Elgin Courier, The Monitor in Naples, and Motor Sports Magazine.
© Leon Aldridge and A Story Worth Telling 2025. Excerpts and links may be used, provided full and clear credit is given to Leon Aldridge and ‘A Story Worth Telling’ with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.
A Story Worth Telling 