Edgar Leon Rausch (October 2, 1927 – May 14, 2019) was "the voice" of "

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

and his

Texas Playboys James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

". Rausch was born in

Billings, Missouri Billings is a city in Christian County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,035 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri metropolitan area. History Billings was platted in 1872. The community was named after railroad ...

. He was lead vocalist from 1958 until the early 60s when he created his own band "The New Texas Playboys". In 1973, Wills asked Rausch to rejoin

the Texas Playboys James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

to record his final album ''For the Last Time''. After Wills died in 1975, Rausch and the original Texas Playboys continued to record and tour until the band played the final concert in 1986. Rausch performed each year at the Bob Wills day festival the last weekend of April in Turkey, Texas at the Bob Wills community center. The music of The Texas Playboys is "

Western Swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

." In 2011, the Texas Legislature adopted a resolution designating western swing as the official "State Music of Texas". Rausch made a memorable appearance as a band singer in the 1998

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

film

The Hi-Lo Country ''The Hi-Lo Country'' is a 1998 American Western film directed by Stephen Frears, starring Billy Crudup, Penélope Cruz, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Sam Elliott, Patricia Arquette, Enrique Castillo, and Katy Jurado. It is set in post-World War ...

, in a scene featuring one of the film's highlights —

Don Walser Donald Ray Walser (September 14, 1934 – September 20, 2006) was an American country music singer. He was known as a unique, award-winning yodeling "Texas country music legend." Music career Walser was born in Brownfield, Texas and raised i ...

's rendition of " I'll Hold You in My Heart." Rausch died on May 14, 2019, in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. He was 91.

References

External links

Biography at official websiteBiography at AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rausch, Leon 1927 births 2019 deaths Western swing performers People from Billings, Missouri Singers from Missouri