Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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zap said:

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Can Willie even sing anymore? Last time I saw him, he just "talked" the lyrics. Terrible performance.

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Hell, its impressive he remembers the lyrics 55 years and a wheelbarrow dump truck or two of weed later.

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Quote:

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In 1959, Willie Nelson rolled into Houston flat broke. With his wife and kids in the car, he headed to the Esquire Ballroom, a Hempstead Highway honky-tonk with a big dance floor and a hot band. And he waited at the bar while Larry Butler, the bandleader, finished afternoon rehearsal. Nelson told Butler that he wanted to sell him some songs. In his autobiography, "Willie," Nelson mentions "Mr. Record Man" and "some other good songs." But as Butler remembers it, those other songs were more than good. They were the stuff of legend. There was the nostalgic "Family Bible," which would soon become the first Nelson-written song to hit the country charts. There was "Mr. Record Man," a weepy two-step. There was "Crazy," the heartbreaker that became Patsy Cline's signature. And there was "Night Life," the bluesy number that Nelson thought was his best to date.

You can have those songs for $10 apiece, Nelson told Butler. Put your name on it, claim that you wrote it. Butler said no. "I told him I wasn't going to buy them; they were too good to just give away like that," Butler told Houston Press writer William Michael Smith earlier this year. "And Willie, always the smooth-talking salesman, just smiled and said, 'Well, I need the money right now. And I can always write more songs.' "

Instead of buying Willie Nelson's songs, Butler loaned him $50 for apartment rent and offered him a gig playing in his band six nights a week at the Esquire. Nelson started that night.

In Houston, writes biographer Joe Nick Patoski, Nelson's songwriting and guitar playing grew far stronger - in part, maybe, because of his commute. Nelson moved his wife and three kids into an apartment in Pasadena.

Nelson was inspired to write the song "Night Life" during one of his trips from his home in Pasadena to his work, singing at the Esquire. Due to financial issues, Nelson sold the song to guitar instructor Paul Buskirk for $150. The song was rejected by Pappy Daily, who made Nelson's studio recordings at the time. Daily believed that the song was not country. Due to the amount of money that Nelson received for the song, he decided to record the song in another studio. To avoid legal actions, it was recorded as "Nite Life" under the artist name of "Hugh Nelson and Paul Buskirk and the Little Men".

When Willie Nelson left Houston in '61, says his autobiography, he drove a 1950 Buick that he was five payments late on. To fuel it, he used an "Oklahoma credit card" - a siphon for stealing gas. And he arrived in Nashville the way that he'd arrived in Houston: dead broke but full of songs.

The Esquire Ballroom got along fine without him. Over the years, an astounding number of country stars performed in that nondescript building, among them: Cline, George Jones, Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn. At the Christmas party every year, people would bring their kids to see Santa. But eventually, old-school Texas dance halls fell out of fashion, and in 1995, owner Raymond Proske finally closed the Esquire.

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gigemJTH12 said:

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no comment about zero female country singers?

pretty crazy.

I enjoy going to Miranda Lambert with my wife every year. Not having her or Carrie Underwood is strange. Especially because no other female country artists are on there.

solid lineup though.

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hodgesco said:

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Aaron Watson has been around for a long time. Glad to see him getting time on the big stage this year.

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Chewy said:

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Thanks for posting that story on Willie. I didn't know Neon Boots was a gay dance hall. I've updated my spreadsheet.

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gigemJTH12 said:

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no comment about zero female country singers?

pretty crazy.

I enjoy going to Miranda Lambert with my wife every year. Not having her or Carrie Underwood is strange. Especially because no other female country artists are on there.

solid lineup though.

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Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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zap said:

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Can Willie even sing anymore? Last time I saw him, he just "talked" the lyrics. Terrible performance.

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Hell, its impressive he remembers the lyrics 55 years and a wheelbarrow of weed later.

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10andBOUNCE said:

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Never understood the appeal of rodeo concerts. That place is terrible for music.

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gigemJTH12 said:

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no comment about zero female country singers?

pretty crazy.

I enjoy going to Miranda Lambert with my wife every year. Not having her or Carrie Underwood is strange. Especially because no other female country artists are on there.

solid lineup though.

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Ferris Wheel Allstar said:

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Nrg has gotten 100 times better for concerts, unless it's some dick bag who can't sing.

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PetrolAg said:

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I would love to get some Kacey Musgraves at rodeo.

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jswags said:

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Houston has a pretty impressive musical history especially in regards to country music.

Pappy Daily's grandson, Mike Daily, has been George Strait's steel guitar player since the 70's.

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RK said:

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PetrolAg said:

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I would love to get some Kacey Musgraves at rodeo.

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saw her open for George in vegas. she is muy bueno on all fronts.

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RK said:

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PetrolAg said:

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I would love to get some Kacey Musgraves at rodeo.

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saw her open for George in vegas. she is muy bueno on all fronts.

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