This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll remember a band that waltzed into Austin music lore.
Dolores Fariss was born Dolores Hanson on April 18, 1912, in Hutto, Texas. She began her musical career playing piano in her father’s polka band. In 1931, Dolores married Lee Fariss, and in the 1940s the two formed a group called Dolores and the Bluebonnet Boys. They became one of the best-known country dance bands in the Austin area and performed regularly at the legendary Skyline Club. Dolores Fariss led the band and composed many of their most popular songs, including “Austin Waltz” and “The Fiesta Waltz.” The group also recorded with such local music icons as Kenneth Threadgill.
Dolores and Lee Fariss stopped playing professionally in 1955. Dolores worked as a dietician in the Del Valle school system near Austin until the 1970s. She died in 1993.
Next time on This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll meet “the other Z.Z.” of Texas blues.
