San Antonio is a crossroads city, the place where blues legend Robert Johnson recorded half his seminal tunes; where conjunto was incubated during house parties; where Western swing bands heard the strains of territory jazz bands; where rock n roll was heartily embraced about five minutes after it gained a name.

San Antonio also is a city where not much has ever been thought of a color barrier, particularly when it comes to music and musicians. Players from the traditionally brown West Side jumped headlong into blues, R&B, jazz and rock n roll. Players from the traditionally black East Side dug Western swing, appreciated polkas and played rock n roll in the same sets as blues and jazz.

People from all parts of San Antonio supported integrated bands because they played the music that filled dance floors. Out of that incubator, out of that mindset, out of the desire to play the music that moved them came the members of the West Side Horns, an aggregation of characters who, like the Memphis Horns and reggae¹s storied rhythm section of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, developed, through years of working together on stages around the world, a sound that has become an integral part of the fabric of Texas blues.

The original West Side Horns, Rocky Morales (tenor sax), Louie Bustos (tenor, baritone sax) and Charlie McBirney (trumpet), started working together, off and on, in the '60s, before the crew had a name. While they consistently worked various gigs, together and apart, the horns gained their moniker, and an international identity among those who read the small print on album covers, via their work with Doug Sahm. When McBirney left the road, trumpeter Al Gomez stepped in.

Read more about the West Side Horns and listen to audio clips.

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