Adolph Hofner

Bandleader and vocalist Adolph Hofner was a durable music icon of south Tx who helped form Western golf swing, and whose dual profession as a golf swing bandleader and Czech dance musician showed the ways that Western golf swing had root base in Central Euro dance customs. Hofner grew up on a plantation in Lavaca State, TX, and like a great many other rural Texans his cultural history was German and Czech. While developing up, Hofner noticed polkas, schottisches, and other styles of regional dance music. He and his family members transferred to San Antonio in 1928, where, four years afterwards, Adolph and his metal guitar-playing sibling, Emil, started performing in regional clubs. Their audio reflected many strands from the Tx musical mosaic. Adolph was a crooner in the Bing Crosby mildew, and Emil, like various other early Tx golf swing musicians, initially emulated Hawaiian noises — the brothers’ initial device was a ukulele they purchased from a catalog. Following the brothers noticed the pioneering music of Milton Dark brown and Bob Wills, they started playing the jazz-inflected nation dance music that in retrospect was tagged Western golf swing. Hofner worked throughout the day being a mechanic, and during the night he performed with several San Antonio rings. He and Emil became a member of with Oklahoma-born fiddler Jimmie Revard to create Jimmie Revard’s Oklahoma Playboys, a significant musical appeal in 1930s San Antonio. Hofner also trim some sides being a single vocalist and performed on vocals with Tom Dickey’s Present Children; his lead vocals on that band’s cover of his friend Floyd Tillman’s melancholy honky tonk achievement “IT CREATES No Difference Right now” became popular in its right and influenced Hofner to create his have band in 1939. Initially the music group was referred to as Adolph Hofner & His Texans, however when they started documenting for OKeh and Columbia in the first ’40s by adding sizzling hot fiddler J.R. Chatwell, these were known as the San Antonians. Amongst their best-known music had been “Maria Elena” and “Alamo Rag.” The music group spent the first ’40s employed in southern California; during Globe Battle II, Hofner passed the nicknames “Dub” and “Dolph” in order to avoid the extremely unfavorable organizations of his provided first name. Following the battle he started using his very own name once again, and came back to Tx where he also started documenting Czech and German polka music furthermore to Western golf swing. The Czech-language piece referred to as “The Shiner Melody” and “The Prune Waltz” became hallmarks of Tx music. Though Hofner’s polka parts had a unique traveling backbeat that was obviously swing-influenced, he generally held the golf swing and Czech paths of his musical existence independent. In 1949, honoring fresh sponsor Pearl Ale, Hofner’s music group became the Pearl Wranglers for radio, but continued to be the San Antonians on record. They documented for the Sarg label for quite some time and were fittings of San Antonio music through the 1980s, but Hofner was finally sidelined by sick health and passed away in the entire year 2000. He left out a musical legacy that was richly American in its variety and a path of impact that extended from Willie Nelson right down to contemporary alt-country stalwarts Charlie and Bruce Robison.