SCOTT CITY MAN INDUCTED INTO WESTERN SWING HALL OF FAME

SCOTT CITY -- Bob Rosenquist quietly described his disbelief at the honor he recently received.

"You know, these people really have accepted me -- a trumpet player from Scott City," he said.

Rosenquist joined the ranks of musical legends that include Gene Autry, Dale Evans, Merle Haggard and Mel Tillis when he was inducted into the national Western Swing Society Hall of Fame in October.

Rosenquist has played trumpet with lots of bands throughout Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois since his high school days, playing everything from country music to big-band sounds. Rosenquist is now 73.

New Year's Eve of 1973, after playing a dance, he put his horn away and didn't touch it again until 1986. "After 30 years of continuous playing I had just had enough," Rosenquist said.

In 1986 he was enticed by a friend to sit in with a senior citizens group. The group works a regular season of dances when Rosenquist is in town.

He also performs with the Water Street Six Dixieland Band for lots of Cape Girardeau events, including the annual Riverfest celebration.

In 1989, Rosenquist and his wife, Betty, took their first trip to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and found musical soulmates: devotees of Bob Wills and his classic Western Swing music. "I seemed to fit in sort of natural," Rosenquist said.

He was asked to sit in with members of Bob Wills' Playboys, an honor few receive.

"All their programs are spontaneous, unrehearsed, and if you don't know what to do when it's time for your chorus, you're in the wrong place," Rosenquist said. "Fortunately I have been able to do what they wanted and keep getting invited back. I must be doing it right."

Western Swing music is very popular in the Rio Grande Valley. Musicians like Rosenquist develop a loyal following, and the same people show up at concerts, performances and dances across the state.

"Yes, it's kind of like groupies -- 60- and 70-year-old groupies," Rosenquist said.

A year ago Rosenquist got a call from the vice president of the Western Swing Society in Sacramento, Calif. She wanted him to submit a biography and told him he was being nominated for the Hall of Fame.

"I really never thought I would be elected, but on Aug. 2, 1996, I received word that I was in."

The Western Swing Society was established in 1981 to preserve and perpetuate Western Swing music and to honor its superstars.

Western Swing music has its roots in jazz, with added elements from blues, Dixieland, ragtime, big band, swing, country and pop.

Like jazz, Western Swing music is typically defined by its use of improvisation.

Rosenquist credits much of his success to his instrument. "The trumpet is a commanding instrument," he said. "And I just seem to know what people like to hear."