Saturday, we took "A Ride With Bob".

"Bob" as in Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, and the "Ride" was a musical story of the legendary Western swing musician, performed by Grammy-winning Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel in the Eisemann Center in Richardson.

The musical premiered in March 2005 in Austin, with 69 touring performances since then through San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Arkansas, Tulsa, Galveston, Kerrville and Forth Worth.

A few years ago, at our son's wedding in West Texas, we heard Western swing, our new relatives patiently taught us the Texas two-step along with the Texas waltz, young and old danced the Cotton-Eyed Joe and I discovered something new and wonderful.

I read somewhere that Western swing is defined as a "musically intricate merger of big band, jazz and country." A music critic I'm not. I'm tone deaf, can't carry a tune but I know music that touches my heart and soul.

When I think of Texas music, a line from a Waylon Jennings song (which, incidentally, he wrote on the inside of a matchbook cover while on a flight from Austin) comes to mind: "When you cross the Red River hoss, Bob Wills is still the king."

After the wedding, on the way to San Antonio, we drove through the Hill Country, spending part of the day in Fredericksburg. There, my wife Marge bought me my first Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys album. Over time, I bought more albums, played them over and over, and to this day "Faded Love" is still my all-time favorite song.

On a clear night, with Anna's lights dimmed, I glance at the sky and somewhere in the distance Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys sing "I saw miles and miles of Texas, all the stars up in the sky..."

Ken Gaidziunas is a staff writer for The Anna-Melissa Tribune and the Van Alstyne Leader. He can be reached at kgaidziunas@yahoo.com.