

The song has been recorded by many artists in several genres.


1985 Sweet Dreams – sung by Patsy Cline."New San Antonio Rose" ruffled the feathers of Southern country music moguls when Wills and the Playboys performed it with horns and a drum at the Grand Ole Opry on December 30, 1944. Wills developed the melody of the original "San Antonio Rose" itself from a traditional tune, " Spanish Two Step", by playing the bridge in reverse. The song, both the music and lyrics, reflects the Mexican influence Bob Wills found growing up in the Southwest. The Texas Playboys finished with thirteen Number one chart hits. " Spanish Two Step" was second to only Mexicali Rose in 1936, " Steel Guitar Rag topped the 1937 chart, and "San Antonio Rose" finished in the top ten in 19. "San Antonio Rose" was the third dominating hit by Wills in the Western Swing field over the last five years. Over a million copies were sold for which Bing was awarded a gold disc. While it was also a successful hit for other Hillbilly artists, it also broke through to the pop charts, where Bing Crosby's version reached #7 on December 16, 1940. In 2010, the Western Writers of America ranked it at number 49 on its list of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. The song is written in the first person with the "Rose of San Antone" being the singer's lost love. It went on to become the band's theme song for the next forty years, reverting to its original title. Despite having completed a lengthy Hillbilly/Folk chart run in 1939, which culminated at #1, it quickly rose to the top again, in early 1941. Quickly becoming the band's most popular number, Wills and band members devised lyrics, which were recorded on April 16, 1940, and released on Okeh 5694 in August as "New San Antonio Rose". " San Antonio Rose" is a swing instrumental introduced in late 1938 by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. īob Wills and His Texas Playboys singles chronology Single by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Not to be confused with San Antonio Rose (film) or San Antonio Rose (album).
