Don Julio

There is a good photo of Utah Carl and a few of his songs featured on the reissue "Complete D Singles Volume 1": http://www.bear-family.de/cd-dvd-series/co...ook.html?lang=1

I have some Magnolia Gardens photos; I'll scan them and post them here in the next day or so.

Houston Informer, June 28, 1947

The 1945 city directory lists the Dowling Theater's address as 2110 Dowling.

Yes, I was just quoting the city directory with its "Udemi Ln," but noticed that this street is not listed on current Houston maps. Your explanation makes more sense.

From the 1964 City Directory The Jester Lounge 2509 Udemi Lane The Bird 2305 S. Shepherd Owners of the Bird are listed as Miguel R. Ogando and Mrs. Wanda Parker. So there you have it. Lightnin' Hopkins did actually appear west of Main in the early '60s. (2305 S. Shepherd is now that 10-story white building. 2509 Udemi is no longer a street.)

There's an album from 1964 entitled "Lightnin' Hopkins Live at the Bird Lounge, Houston, Texas." This must have been a short lived club. I've never heard any oldtimers ever mention "The Bird Lounge." The Jester was better known and around for a few years, say 1961-1965. As far as I know, nothing's ever been written about this place. Lou's Ricksha Lounge was supposedly connected to the Bird, or maybe a later incarnation. All three places were supposed to have been on Shepherd Drive, around Westheimer up to West Gray. Somebody, please fill in some details. Anything...

Typical tour schedule for struggling musicians in those days. Still is for some! Cook's Hoedown Club was actually in the heart of downtown on Capitol (and Milam?). Across the street from the City Auditorium (now Jones Hall). Floyd Tillman made a record called "Magnolia Gardens Waltz." It had been a recreational place since the '20s but I don't think they started having bands there until 1950. It was strictly country music. I guess it went downhill in the late '60s, like everything else...

Elvis played a lot in Houston during 1954-55. There are probably a lot of snapshots sitting in Grandma's attics all over town.

Ha ha...you are THERE! A must for your home phonograph

Club Matinee (3224 Lyons) took over once the Bronze Peacock folded. Note that it was open 24 hours. This was the spot for R&B in Houston in the '50s. Everybody played there, or hung out there. Milton Willis had a jump blues combo and a few local records, but is forgotten today. "Joe Turner vs. Clarence Green in Big Battle of Blues December 20" would have been worth waiting for. Informer, Nov. 25,1950. Here is typical R&B / rock 'n roll show that went on at the City Auditorium a few times a month, every month, for the duration of the '50s. It's weird that these shows are not mentioned more in later histories, and virtually no photos exist. Muddy Waters' first Houston appearance? Informer, July 16, 1955.

Goree Carter should have been a star, or at least a regional star like Gatemouth Brown, but his career never recovered after he was drafted into the Korean War. His "Rock Awhile" (1949) is considered an early rock 'n roll record. The Whispering Pines was at 8002 Hirsch, on the North Side. Beer was 10 cents. Informer, May 20, 1950. Ella Fitzgerald, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Oscar Peterson a.o. appeared at the City Auditorium on Nov. 25, 1950, as part of one of the "Jazz at the Philharmonic" tours. There were more in the years to come. Informer, Nov. 25, 1950.

The Bronze Peacock Dinner and Dance Club (5200 Liberty Road @ Erastus in the Fifth Ward) is one of the better remembered Houston night clubs since owner Don Robey named his record company after it. But it was only open from 1946-1950. Here is an ad for its opening night, Monday, Feb. 18, 1946. As you can see, music played only a part in the entertainment...the headliners were Mack & Ace ("Champion Jitterbug Couple"), Winn & Winn ("Comedy Dance Team"), etc. The band was the venerable I.H. Smalley Orch.

Sid's Ranche (sic) and Night Club was owned by Sid and Mattye Hilliard at 8400 Yale. This would be where I-45 North and West Gulf Bank are today...in the vicinity of Acres Homes. This place is not mentioned much today but much have been a jumping nite spot for most of the '40s and early '50s. This ad is significant because it is the first time Amos Milburn was advertised...perhaps his earliest 'pro' gigs were here? Amos would soon become a huge star with records like "Bewildered," "Chicken Shack Boogie," etc. Informer, November 24, 1945.

Here's a typical "Entertainment" ad column from the mid-1940s Informer. This example is dated September 8, 1945. WWII had just ended. El Dorado (sic) Ballroom - The Eldorado Express Orchestra Sam Houston Coliseum - "Blip" Thompkins and his 19-piece Orch. Blue Room Night Club (4606 Market Street in the southern part of the Fifth Ward) - I.H. Smalley's Ork Featuring Inez Newell

The Eldorado Ballroom (Dowling @ Elgin) advertised itself as "Houston's Finest Dance Palace," and later "The Home of Happy Feet." The "house bands" at the Eldorado in the '40s were the Eldorado Express Orchestra, the I.H. Smalley Orchestra, and the Sammy Harris Orchestra. None of these are well-remembered today, however. This ad appeared in the Informer on February 10, 1945. Something was happening there basically every night.

The Houston Informer is an excellent repository for the city's buried musical past. There are lots of ads and articles on national bands touring through Houston, local bands, etc. I'll post a few ads I've scanned over the years. Announcing The Cotton Club -- "Houston's Newest and Gayest Night Club." Located on Lyons Ave at Hill in the Fifth Ward. This ad was printed in the Informer on October 24, 1936. Boots and his Buddies were a jazz group from San Antonio.

Harry James also played at the Paladium Club on South Main @ OST in about 1954. It was owned by local musician, Johnny Martinez. Everybody played there, even Elvis what's-his-name. It could seat 2,000 people.

Yes, all of them. Ellington, Goodman, et al. all played in Houston in their heyday. By no means was it considered "too small a market." Documentation is scant, though. Typically the national bands played at the old City Auditorium.

I'd love to find any period photos of the OUTSIDE/entrances of some of Houston's musical night spots of decades past: The Paladium Club (aka Jerry Irby's Texas Corral) on South Main Dokey's Hall Club Ebony on Dowling Cook's Hoedown Club on Capitol The End o' Main Dance Hall on South Main Western Jamboree Club - 105 1/2 Main Sixth and Studewood Dine & Dance Roseland Ballroom on Franklin Aragon Ballroom on Main The Brass Rail - downtown Any place on West Dallas or the 4th Ward Wonder Tavern in Pearland Harbor Lights on McCarty (vintage, not recent) to name a few. About the only clubs that exteriors do exist for are: The Jimmy Menutis Club, the Eldorado Ballroom, and the Club Matinee.

The power came back on at 8 am here in Riverside Terrace. 77004. We must be on the Med Center grid. I'm feeling very lucky. Just got back from driving around West U and Museum of Fine Arts. Tons of trees and branches everywhere.

Yes, that was a 45 put out by KNUZ around 1962. "Houston, My Home Town." I have a copy. It was one of many "my home town" discs released by radio stations in the early '60s.

It opened in 1953. I live next door so I go there fairly regularly. No doubt, there are dozens of better Mexican places in town. It's menu is extremely limited. The ceiling is too low. The polaroid snapshots all over the walls are exceedingly tacky. But I still love the place. Provenance counts for a lot in Houston, and how many other eateries do we have that date back to the Korean War?

Cool, count me in.

Does anyone here have a copy that I scan, or know where I can find a copy? Please PM me if you do.