Editing Bob Wills (section)

==Legacy==
Wills' style influenced performers [[Buck Owens]], [[Merle Haggard]], and [[The Strangers (American band)|The Strangers]] and helped to spawn a style of music now known as the [[Bakersfield Sound]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2013}} (Bakersfield, California, was one of Wills' regular stops in his heyday). A 1970 tribute album by Haggard, ''[[A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills)]]'' directed a wider audience to Wills's music, as did the appearance of younger "revival" bands like [[Asleep at the Wheel]] and [[Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen]] plus the growing popularity of longtime Wills disciple and fan [[Willie Nelson]]. By 1971, Wills recovered sufficiently to travel occasionally and appear at tribute concerts. In 1973, he participated in a final reunion session with members of some of the Texas Playboys from the 1930s to the 1960s. Merle Haggard was invited to play at this reunion. The session, scheduled for two days, took place in December 1973, with the album to be titled ''For the Last Time''. Wills, speaking or attempting to holler, appeared on a couple tracks from the first day's session but suffered a stroke overnight. He had a more severe one a few days later. The musicians completed the album without him. Wills by then was comatose. He lingered until his death on May 13, 1975.

Reviewing ''For the Last Time'' in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981), [[Robert Christgau]] wrote: "This double-LP doesn't represent the band at its peak. But though earlier recordings of most of these classic tunes are at least marginally sharper, it certainly captures the relaxed, playful, eclectic [[Western swing]] groove that Wills invited in the '30s."<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: W|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=W&bk=70|access-date=March 22, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>

In addition to being inducted into the [[Country Music Hall of Fame]] in 1968,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://amarillo.com/stories/1999/05/11/ent_swings.shtml#.VX3mK09VjME |title=Wills swings into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame &#124; Amarillo.com &#124; Amarillo Globe-News |publisher=Amarillo.com |date=1999-05-11 |access-date=2015-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123161921/http://amarillo.com/stories/1999/05/11/ent_swings.shtml#.VX3mK09VjME |archive-date=November 23, 2015 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Wills was inducted into the [[Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame]] in 1970, the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in the Early Influence category along with the Texas Playboys in 1999,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees?name=Bob+Wills&field_inductee_induction_year=&field_induction_category=All|title=Inductee Explorer {{!}} Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|work=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|access-date=2018-03-28|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329053918/https://www.rockhall.com/inductees?name=Bob+Wills&field_inductee_induction_year=&field_induction_category=All|archive-date=March 29, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and received the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]] in 2007.

From 1974 until his 2002 death, [[Waylon Jennings]] performed a song he had written called "[[Bob Wills Is Still the King]]". Released as the B-side of a single that was a double-sided hit, it went to number one on the country charts. The song has become a staple of [[classic country]] radio station formats. In addition, [[The Rolling Stones]] performed this song live in Austin, Texas, at [[Zilker Park]] on their [[A Bigger Bang Tour]], a shout-out to Wills. This performance was included on their subsequent DVD ''[[The Biggest Bang]]''. In a 1968 issue of ''Guitar Player'', rock guitarist [[Jimi Hendrix]] said of Wills and the Playboys: "I dig them. The Grand Ole Opry used to come on, and I used to watch that. They used to have some pretty heavy cats, some heavy guitar players." In fact, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys only performed on the Opry twice: in 1944 and 1948. Hendrix almost surely referred to Nashville guitarists.

Wills ranked number 27 in ''[[Country Music Television|CMT's]] 40 Greatest Men in Country Music'' in 2003.

Wills' upbeat 1938 song "[[Ida Red (song)|Ida Red]]" was Chuck Berry's primary inspiration for creating his first rock-and-roll hit "[[Maybellene]]".

[[Fats Domino]] once remarked that he patterned his 1960 rhythm section after that of Bob Wills.<ref>''San Antonio Rose: The Life and Music of Bob Wills''. Charles R. Townsend. 1976. University of Illinois. p. 293. {{ISBN|0-252-00470-1}}.</ref>

During the [[49th Grammy Awards]] in 2007, [[Carrie Underwood]] performed his song "[[San Antonio Rose]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1552144/dixie-chicks-enjoy-sweet-victory-at-grammys.jhtml |title=Dixie Chicks Enjoy Sweet Victory at Grammys |publisher=[[Country Music Television]] |date=February 12, 2007 |access-date=March 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218021358/http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1552144/dixie-chicks-enjoy-sweet-victory-at-grammys.jhtml |archive-date=February 18, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Today, [[George Strait]] performs Wills' music on concert tours and records songs influenced by Wills and his Texas-style swing.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.avclub.com/week-23-george-strait-the-exception-1798218436 |title=Week 23: George Strait, The Exception |newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=November 17, 2009 |access-date=March 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219235720/http://www.avclub.com/articles/week-23-george-strait-the-exception%2C35474/ |archive-date=February 19, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Austin-based Western swing band [[Asleep at the Wheel]] has honored Wills' music since the band's inception, mostly notably with their continuing performances of the musical drama ''[[Ride with Bob: A Tribute to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys|A Ride with Bob]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aridewithbob.com/ |title=A Ride With Bob |publisher=A Ride With Bob |access-date=2010-05-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509091515/http://www.aridewithbob.com/ |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> which debuted in Austin in March 2005 to coincide with celebrations of Wills' 100th birthday.

The Bob Wills Birthday Celebration is held every year in March at the [[Cain's Ballroom]] in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a Western swing concert and dance.

In 2004, a documentary film about his life and music, titled ''Fiddlin' Man: The Life and Music of Bob Wills'', was released by VIEW Inc.

In 2011, [[Proper Records]] released an album by [[Hot Club of Cowtown]] titled ''What Makes Bob Holler: A Tribute to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys'' and the Texas Legislature adopted a resolution designating Western swing as the official State Music of Texas.<ref name="state1">{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/html/SC00035F.htm|title=82(R) SCR 35 – Enrolled version – Bill Text|publisher=Legis.state.tx.us|access-date=2015-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207151246/http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/82R/billtext/html/SC00035F.htm|archive-date=February 7, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>John P. Meyer, [http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011/may/24/texas-legislates-state-music-western-swing/ "Texas legislates an official state music: Western swing"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527202744/http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011/may/24/texas-legislates-state-music-western-swing/ |date=May 27, 2011 }}, ''[[Pegasus News]]'', May 24, 2011.</ref>

The Greenville Chamber of Commerce hosts an annual Bob Wills Fiddle Festival and Contest in downtown [[Greenville, Texas]], in November.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldbanner.com/news/local_news/fiddle-festival-contest-honoring-wills-to-start-playing-today/article_6ad3baf8-fc44-11e9-900d-5f8599a51ea4.html |title=Fiddle festival, contest honoring Wills to start playing today|website=Heraldbanner.com|date=November 2019 |access-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bobwillsfiddlefest.com/about/|title=About|website=Bobwillsfiddlefest.com|access-date=January 16, 2020}}</ref>

Bob Wills was honored in episode two of Ken Burns' 2019 series on PBS called ''Country Music''.

In 2021, Wills was inducted into the [[Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Inductees |url=https://www.tchof.com/inductees |website=Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame |access-date=September 8, 2021}}</ref>