In July 8th & 9th, 1966 (55 years ago) Johnny Bush and Wade Ray backed Willie Nelson on the album Live Country Music Concert, recorded over two nights at Panther Hall, Willie’s home away from home in Fort Worth. From the night Panther Hall had opened in June 1963, the building with the futuristic, eight-sided exterior that resembled a flying saucer was the country music showcase in Fort Worth and Dallas. The dance floor was huge, the air-conditioning cold, and the surroundings nice, with long tables for seating. Waitresses dressed in Western outfits. Even though pop tops had already been developed for beer cans in 1962, the waitresses or bartenders could still open cans quicker with a can opener (popularly known as a church key) as long as the cans were opened on the bottom, which explained why beers were served upside down. Panther Hall was also Willie’s second television home. He played there so often, he was a semiregular on the Cowtown Jamboree, broadcast live from Panther Hall from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Saturday to viewers in the Fort Worth-Dallas area to hype the show later the same night. The televised portion of Jamboree was hosted at various times by popular Fort Worth disc jockeys Bill Mack, Bo Powell and Dale Wood. Willie’s relationship with Panther Hall had been cemented by Bo Powell, a disc jockey at KCUL. “I always looked on the record to see who wrote the song,” he explained. “It seems like every good song I was hearing was written by Willie Nelson.” Powell’s booming voice introduced Willie Nelson with all the flair of a wrestling announcer. The live music concert recording that followed validated Willie Nelson as a songwriter and a performer as he covered his own songs and songs of other composers.
*Except from the book Willie Nelson: An Epic Life by Joe Nick Patoski. https://www.amazon.com/Willie-Nelson-Joe-Nick-Patoski/dp/0316017795/ref=nodl_
#willienelson #pantherhall #liverecording #cowtown #jamboree #hearfortworth #discjockey #Tarrant #texas #texasmusic #fortworthhistory #dfw #July #1960s #anepiclife #patoski #fortworthyhistory
