A native Texan, James Robert Wills learned the musical styles of blues and jazz while working the cotton fields of East and West Texas. He blended the different styles to come up with western swing. In 1929, he moved to Fort Worth where he organized the Light Crust Doughboys. Five years later he and the Texas Playboys moved to Tulsa and in 1940, after recording New San Antonio Rose, he became a national figure. Wills later moved to Hollywood and starred in 19 films . He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1968.