At the time in which traveling bands of the Southern Plains were reaching their peak popularity—the 1920s—Texas and Oklahoma contingents were experimenting beyond their typical formulaic performances. At the same time Western music was on the verge of dying and likely would have were it not for the efforts of folklorists John Lomax (the father of Alan Lomax) and Jack Thorp who published collections of "cowboy music," reviving interest in the genre. It was probably inevitable that Western music, jazz and gypsy jazz, string bands and brass, would result in some hybrid extension given their close proximity in the region. Western Swing was the outgrowth and it attracted large crowds to the dancehalls of the Southwest from the late 1920s and up to World War II when a federal nightclub tax initiated its demise. In its prime, Western Swing brought national attention to some of its stars, including Hank Thompson and Bob Wills.

Western Swing never completely vanished but remained localized from the war years until the 1990s when it was rejuvenated by groups such as the Hot Club of Cowtown and, especially, Asleep at the Wheel.