The Story Of Country and Western Bill
 

A singing cowboy driven in off the range by the winds of change teams up with a Carolina farm boy displaced by urban sprawl.

Together, they set forth to warn America about The Passing of The Country and The West, keeping alive the endangered songs and musical forms forgotten by most modern musicians.

Armed with a timeless repertoire of obscure Country and Western classics bestowed unto them by their musical mentor and part-time DJ - Jesse “The Rebel” Smith - they’re riding hard, and headed straight for a honky tonk near you!

So you’re not aware of any honky tonks near you? Just wait. When the Country and Western Bill Show pulls into your neighborhood tap room or music venue, they’ll turn it into a honky tonk before the night is over!

 

Who Are Country and Western Bill?

When not traveling the Southeast on their sworn musical mission, Country Bill Walpole and Western Bill Noonan might be recognized as two experienced veterans of the Charlotte, NC music scene.

Bill Walpole is well-known to Charlotte music fans as slide guitarist for the legendary Federal Bureau of Rock and Roll, and as a frequent side-man to brothers Lenny and Michael Federal in their various later incarnations.

Bill Noonan was the founding member and lead guitarist for Carolina roots-rock pioneers the Rank Outsiders, one of Charlotte’s most successful acts of the past decade.

Noonan penned most of the Rank’s catalog of original songs, led the band through two full-length CD projects, and lent his know-how and vision to a collaborative effort of Charlotte musicians that became known as the Charlotte Americana Showcase, widely credited with putting Americana music on the map in Charlotte. More recently, Noonan put his energy behind Rank Outsiders vocalist Gigi Dover’s solo career, resulting in Dover’s highly-regarded 2002 solo CD, “Unpicked Flowers”.

Working together, Noonan and Walpole evolved the Country and Western Bill Show out of a series of duo gigs at Charlotte’s Bayou Kitchen and Comet Grill. Adding bass and drums to the lineup, and with Country Bill graduating from lap steel to pedal steel, they’ve crafted a solid, authentic Country and Western sound.

The CWB repertoire consists of a selection of obscure and nearly-forgotten Country classics, cowboy songs both of the traditional variety and by modern-day cowboy writers such as Ian Tyson and Tom Russell, plus a batch of Western Bill originals, like “Trying To Hold Up My End of The Bottle” and “Burning In Hell Over You”.

One thing that can be said of this outfit: they crack themselves up. While serious in their musical intent, they are not afraid to use humor to get their message across. Western Bill’s extemporaneous commentary on music, popular culture, and “the passing of the Country and the West” in general elevates the Country and Western Bill Show to the realm of “musical entertainment”, and makes them something more than just another alt-country band.