Descriptive Summary

This collection contains materials relating to Johnny Cuviello’s performances with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. “The Texas Drummer Boy,” as Cuviello came to be known, performed primarily in California with Wills during the latter part of the 1940s. Cuviello also joined many of the original Playboys for a series of reunion tours in the 1980s and 1990s. The collection contains 78 RPM records dating back to the 1930s, VHS tapes from the reunion performances, a large collection of personal photographs, radio show transcripts, concert programs, souvenir books, sheet music and songbooks, and a variety of related ephemera. Digitally available items include posters and other marketing materials.

The collection is in good condition and is part of the Crossroads of Music archive.