Alton Meeks "Al" Stricklin was born in Johnson County in 1908 and learned piano at an early age while accompanying his father on fiddle. At age 15, he began playing for silent movies and dances. After finishing high school in Grandview, he attended Baylor University until the 1929 stock market crash. In the early 1930s, he played jazz piano for dances in Johnson County and nearby areas, taught school at Island Grove, worked as staff pianist for Fort Worth radio station KFJZ, and performed with the Hi Flyers. In 1935, he joined Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and his jazz-influenced piano style added a new dimension to the music that became known as Western Swing. Known as "Brother Al," he played with the band during its heyday, entertaining audiences at dances and through radio and recordings. When World War II broke up the band in 1942, he became foreman of a defense plant. After the war, he, his wife Betty Zeigler Stricklin, and their children made Cleburne their home. His gregarious nature also made him a successful salesman in furniture and newspaper advertising. In the early 1970s, prewar members of the Texas Playboys reunited as Bob Wills original Texas Playboys, winning a Cowboy Hall of Fame Award in 1975 and a Country Music Association Award in 1977, playing at the Smithsonian Museum in 1981, and traveling to Switzerland on a U.S. State Department tour. Throughout his travels, Al Stricklin remained a proud ambassador for his hometown of Cleburne, Texas.