Charley Pride

Steve Said Bringing a Bit of Dosey Doe to D.C. Inaugural Ball

Rocks Off wanted to know why Dosey Doe Music Cafe had cancelled its January 19 Ray Wylie Hubbard show, so we called and got a dosey dose of serendipity. As it turns out, owner Steve Said was asked to be the talent buyer for the Texas State Society of Washington D.C.'s Black Tie & Boots Inaugural Bal ... More >>

Mel Tillis: Coca-Cola Cowboy

At 80, first-time author isn't done yet.

Houston, Circa 1981

Don Williams

Looking Back At The Genuine Texas Handbook, 30 Years Later

This past weekend I found a copy of Rosemary Kent's 1981 book The Genuine Texas Handbook at a thrift store off Highway 290. The 224-page golden treasury of Texicana hails from a time when 1980's Urban Cowboy and the oil boom was coloring the worldview of the Lone Star State, for better or worse. T ... More >>

Charley Pride, Major League Legend

Singer was once a minor-league pitcher

Last Night: Steve Earle & The Dukes At Stafford Centre

Steve Earle & the Dukes, The Mastersons Stafford Centre for the Performing Arts April 25, 2012 After three decades of music, mischief and critical accolades, it might come as a surprise to some to find Steve Earle performing at the relatively out-of-the-way (by Inner Loop standards) Centre for the ... More >>

Still Treating Em Right

After 50 years as one of Texas's top powerhouse entertainers, Roy Head calls son Sundance the real star in the family.

RIP "Drift Away" Singer, Native Houstonian Dobie Gray

Pop/Soul/Country singer/songwriter Dobie Gray passed away today after a long, respected career as a silky crooner and songwriter, who achieved moderate success in the '60s and '70s. He had his biggest hit with "Drift Away," in 1973 and re-emerged in 2003 when Uncle Cracker recorded the song and ha ... More >>

Upcoming: Chromeo, Dawes, Kaiser Chiefs, M83, Etc.

​"The 94.5 The Buzz/Bud Light Weenie Roast" With Papa Roach, Buckcherry, Puddle Of Mudd, Crossfade, P.O.D: Sun., Aug. 28. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The Aggrolites: Sat., Sept. 24. Warehouse Live. Better Than Ezra: Thu., Dec. 29. House of Blues. Big D & The Kids Table: Sun., Oct. 16. ... More >>

Zoo Station: A Noah's Ark Of 75 Animal Songs

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee ... More >>

Last Night: Kid Rock At RodeoHouston

Photos by Marco Torres​Kid Rock Reliant Stadium March 14, 2011 First things first: Yes, Aftermath got to Reliant Stadium with plenty of time to spare Monday. One embarrassing screw-up per Rodeo season is more than enough, thank you very much. Besides, no way were we gonna miss Kid Rock's Rod ... More >>

Rocks Off's Fantasy RodeoHouston Lineup

Photos courtesy of Houston Livestock Show & RodeoGeorge Strait in 1996​If you walk through Reliant Center, hanging from the ceiling are banners listing almost every musical performer RodeoHouston has hosted since the '60s. The names reflect the hallowed history of country and fleeting fancies ... More >>

Vintage Rodeo Concert Pictures: Elvis, George Strait And More

All photos courtesy of Houston Livestock Show & RodeoElvis Presley (1970, '74)​Rocks Off was so knocked out by our sister blog Hair Balls' gallery of vintage Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo pictures a few days back that we emailed the Rodeo (which starts tomorrow with Clay Walker, for all you r ... More >>

How Willie Nelson & Charley Pride Integrated East Texas

politicsworldwide.com​Willie Nelson's Conroe buddy Larry Butler was not only a performer, he also ran a series of clubs in the area over the past 50 years, including Willie Nelson's Night Life on FM 1960 during Willie's IRS problem years. And while Butler has some fond memories of IRS agents ... More >>

20 Musician Biopics Currently In Development Hell

Happy birthday, Janis.​News came down last week that Sacha Baron Cohen will be stepping into the rhinestones and glitter as Queen icon Freddie Mercury. It's been a long time coming for Cohen, the Borat and Bruno star who is slowly becoming his generation's Peter Sellers and has been rumored to ... More >>

No Shame

Dr. Dog shrugs off faint praise.

Upcoming: 50 Cent, Aventura, Hole, Jonas Bros., Liza Minnelli, Octopus Project, Etc.

​50 Cent: Sat., June 12. Arena Theatre. Agent Orange: Wed., June 30. Rocbar. Asleep At The Wheel: Fri., May 28. Cypress Saloon. As I Lay Dying, Underoath, Between The Buried And Me, Blessthefall, Cancer Bats: Tue., July 27. Verizon Wireless Theater. Aventura: Thu., July 1. Toyota Center. Barringt ... More >>

Aftermath: Darius Rucker's Forever Road To Purple Rain, Via David Allan Coe And Hank Jr. At RodeoHouston

Photos courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™​Took us long enough, but Aftermath finally understands the rodeo. After one performer who left us cold, and another who turned Reliant Stadium into the world's biggest gospel/R&B revival, Darius Rucker's set Tuesday was the definition of " ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Concluding Our African-American Country Series With O.B. McClinton

One other Charley Pride contemporary who cut a wide swath through country music in the '70s and '80s was Mississippian O. B. McClinton.. After failing to break into R&B, although several of his songs were cut by other artists, McClinton hit the Billboard country charts twice in 1972 with "Six Pack ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: The Rockabilly Country Soul of Big Al Downing

Maybe the most successful African-American country artist of the post-Charley Pride period was Big Al Downing. Talk about a guy who could blur the line between country and soul. An affable Oklahoman, Downing had a huge baritone voice that could melt hearts. Downing's career began in rockabilly. Aft ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Stoney Edwards, Another Lost African-American Country Singer

In our previous story regarding black artists who took the country music route, we omitted a huge talent who, though he never achieved Charley Pride's level of commercial success, was a respected artist among those in the know in Nashville. Stoney Edwards was a farm boy from Oklahoma who eventually ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Between Darius Rucker and Charley Pride, There Was Otis Williams

Darius Rucker's award as the Academy of Country Music's New Artist of the Year recently made him the first black artist to take a significant country award since Charley Pride ruled Nashville in the early '80s. Rucker's "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" marked the first time a black artist had e ... More >>

Westheimer Block Party Listology: Bright Men of Learning Remember Their Parents' Favorite Music

All this week, Rocks Off is previewing Saturday and Sunday's Westheimer Block Party by asking WBP performers to fill out a list from Lisa Nola's Music Listography book we're so fond of. It's not too late for your band to be up here, either; just email chris.gray@houstonpress.com by noon Thursday if ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Our Pal Arty Hill Picks His Favorite Songs About Drunk Women

Arty Hill is a Baltimore, Md., honky-tonker who has been playing regularly in Austin the past couple of years. He also reads Lonesome Onry and Mean's blog religiously and has already penned a couple of new songs based on the goings-on in these pages. He recently contacted LOM about Mike Stinson's l ... More >>

Five Memorable - But Not Necessarily Good - Astrodome Concerts

Bobby Weatherford​It was (semi-seriously) billed as the Eighth Wonder of World, the brainchild of Judge Roy Hofheinz was the first domed ballpark and - for better or worse - ushered in the era of the homogeneous, multipurpose stadiums. The Structure Formerly Known as Harris County Domed Stadium si ... More >>

Charley Pride

The Houston 100: The Master List

Houston's Very Best Songs Ever

...otherwise known as the H-Town 20

Starry Lullabye

Ailing Houston-area native David Schnaufer has taken the Appalachian dulcimer to the mountaintop

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Bowing to Pop

A Muslim by choice, Jawad couldn't deny the will of his music

Wandering Son

Carlton Pride, son of Charley, opted not to take any country roads

Live Shots

The Burial and Resurrection (maybe) of Doug Sanders

For 14 years, Doug Sanders ran Houston's most celebrity-filled golf tournament. Then he was accused of sticking his hand in the till. Now he wants to come back.