One sleepless night I was searching the internet for a little nostalgia and found an old friend, and a moment of joy, that made me think about the importance of sharing one’s creative talent and spreading happiness.
The Old Settler’s Reunion is a country fair that has taken place in a little town called Alvarado, Texas, just a few miles south of Fort Worth, for over 100 years. Among the many attractions are a vibrant midway, a baby contest and a “queen” contest. Most notably, they hold one of the few remaining fiddling contests left in Texas.
Fiddling was once a much bigger part of the Texas music scene, particularly in the North Texas area, the hub of Western Swing music. Western Swing is a subgenre of country music that was wildly popular in the 1930s and 40s. In Texas, Western Swing remained popular well into the 50s and 60s. As a boy, I remember my grandfather singing old Bob Wills tunes while he worked in his wood shop, and I used to borrow my dad’s Bob Wills albums to listen to in my room.
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys band, based mostly in Fort Worth, was perhaps the most famous Western Swing band. A main characteristic of Western Swing is its up-tempo, singalong style. Bob Wills once said that it was no different from the upbeat rhythms of rock-and-roll or African drums. Wills himself was heavily influenced by the African American families he grew up around in Kosse, Texas. Even the Western Swing blues songs are up-tempo. It was always meant to be a happy, uplifting sound.
Our local fiddling hero when I was growing up was a fellow named Jesse Mears. Jesse was well-known in the area and had won a good share of fiddling contests. When I was in high school, he came to our house a few times with his sons (all of whom played) and a couple of other bandmates to spend the evening sharing some of their favorite tunes. He even let me sit in with them on a rendition of Milk Cow Blues, which I taught myself to play on a harmonica. I can’t imagine how bad I must have sounded!
I was trying to find Jesse one sleepless night as I searched online for videos from the Old Settler’s Reunion. I found one, and as I clicked listen, I heard Jesse being introduced by a familiar voice I hadn’t heard in a long time. I recognized the silky, North Texas twang as belonging to Bart Baker, an old high school friend of mine. I’d known for a while that Bart was interested in fiddle music—I just didn’t know he’d taken over the duties of the fiddling contest emcee. As I searched for more information, I found another surprise - a video of Bart playing guitar and singing an old Western Swing standard called Sweet Sue.
Bart could sing?
I played the video a couple more times, and every time I did, the smile on my face got bigger. I don’t know why listening to an old friend doing something I never imagined he could do gave me so much pleasure, but it got me thinking about the importance of spreading happiness through our creative endeavors.
the vast majority of people who entertain do so for no other reason than to share their love of music and their enjoyment in playing it for others.
Bart’s probably not getting rich making others happy through his music. We never paid Jesse Mears to come visit and play his tunes in our living room. And while legends like Bob Wills made a lot of money from their success as musicians, the vast majority of people who entertain do so for no other reason than to share their love of music and their enjoyment in playing it for others.
Being involved in a creative practice of any kind - including music, art, dance, theater, design, writing and more - is often its own reward. But the sense of accomplishment, self-satisfaction and the simple joy of creating is only part of the reward. The other part comes from sharing with your creations with others.
Whether being creative is our job or avocation, one thing to consider is that we should look beyond any monetary reward to find both the pleasure that creating brings us as well as what it gives to others. I have often stressed that one of the primary ways we can build a more creative life for ourselves is to let our light shine through both the work we do and the positive energy we spread. This was a lesson I was happily reminded of on a sleepless night not too long ago.
Dusty Crocker, PhD is Professor of Professional Practice at Texas Christian University