Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys struck gold with “San Antonio Rose,” a song that Matt describes as the “western-swing anthem.” It was first released as a fiddle-driven instrumental in 1938. When that became a favorite with his fans, Wills added lyrics, rebranded it a vocal number featuring crooner Tommy Duncan, and dubbed the fresh take “New San Antonio Rose.” Sometimes called “Rose of San Antone,” both instrumental and vocal versions have been covered by hundreds of country, western-swing, and pop artists, including Bing Crosby, who earned a gold record for his chart-topping iteration. The original instrumental had an AABA format in the key of D, with a modulation to the key of A for the bridge (B) section. To accommodate Duncan’s vocal, “New San Antonio Rose” modulates once again to the key of to A♭, with a clever series of chord changes (D F B♭ E♭). In the new key, the bridge is in E♭. Matt shows you an arrangement in the key of A♭ that combines moving chords with Eldon Shamblin-style walking bass lines, chord-melody segments, and a variety of fills. In this video, Matt gives you a number of approaches to playing the first two A sections and the bridge.
