John Morthland
John Morthland has been writing about music since 1969 when he began working as an associate editor at Rolling Stone. He has also been an associate editor at Creem and Country Music magazines and is the author of The Best of Country Music (Double Day, 1984). He is currently a contributing editor to TEXAS MONTHLY and lives in Austin, Texas.
Features
BBQ08
Eighteen hungry reviewers. 14,773 miles driven/flown. 341 joints visited. Countless bites of brisket, sausage, chicken, pork, white bread, potato salad, and slaw—and vats of sauce—ingested. There are only fifty slots on our quinquennial list of the best places to eat barbecue in Texas. Only five of those got high honors. And only one (you’ll never guess which one in a million years) is the best of the best. June 2008
Grease
At restaurants across Texas, there are any number of things that taste better dipped in egg and milk, dredged in flour, and pan-fried in hot oil. If you think steak is the only chicken-fried, uh, delicacy, wake up and smell the bacon. And the antelope. And the lobster. And… August 2005
The 100 Best Texas Songs
Two are by Willie. Which songs, exactly? And what about the remaining 98? You'll have to check our list to find out. April 2004
Top Fifty
May 2003
Pit Stops
Where are the best places to eat barbecue in Texas? Six years ago we published a highly subjective—and hotly debated— list of our fifty favorite joints, and now we’ve gone back for seconds. Ten intrepid souls drove more than 21,000 miles in search of 2003’s worthiest ‘cue. Here’s what they came back with: the top 5 and the next 45, plus honorable mentions, great chains, and meat by mail. May 2003
A Good Mango Is Hard to Find
Unless you're Susana Trilling, who taught me how to prepare traditional Oaxacan dishes at her cooking school in Mexico. This month she'll teach you tooright here in Texas. April 2002
Shaggy
Tuning in to Shaggy. September 2001
Unsentimental Journey
Ornette Coleman's radical theory of harmolodics helped redefine jazz. His relationship with the music business has always been troubled, however, and today the Fort Worth native suffers from benign neglect. But his tenor sax still packs an emotional wallop. January 2001
Merry Texas Christmas, You All
Ten tunes by Texas artists to jingle your bells. December 2000
Gladys Porter Zoo, Brownsville
October 2000
Music Elida Reyna
Tops in tejano. September 2000
The Meating
Three friends, seven years, untold pounds of pork chops and prime rib, and a single tradition that elevates the experience above mere food. June 2000
Wills Power
Sixty-five years after his first recording sessions with the Texas Playboys, 25 years after his death, Bob Wills is still the king of western swing. May 2000
Musical Marginalia
The places, people and stories behind Texas music. May 2000
A Big Hit
How Nolan and Reid Ryan are Expressing themselves in Round Rock. April 2000
Play Ball, Y'all
Meet eight Texas teams that are bringing America's pastimethe gimmicky, anything-goes minor league versionto a stadium near you. April 2000
Culture • José E. Limón
Folk hero. September 1999
aaaaaaiiiiieeeee!
From Poltergeist to the Steel Eel, Texas has five of the nation’s best new roller coasters. And they’re all a scream. August 1999
Cemeteries
Simple wooden crosses in Terlingua, carefully delineated stonework in Jefferson: Five great graveyards that run the gamut. March 1999
Johnny on the Spot
Country singer Johnny Rodriguez has had a career full of highs and lows, but with a murder trial looming, his lowest day may be yet to come. December 1998
EDUCATION • Diana Natalicio
Diversity U. September 1998
Music • LeAnn Rimes
Little miss hits. September 1997
The Other Cabeza de Vaca
May 1997
Lockhart and Soul
May 1997
Gone To Kansas City
May 1997
Quindon
October 1996
The Kids Are Alright
Fourteen-year-old country prodigy LeAnn Rimes is singing a Blue streak. But she’s not the only Texas teen tearing up the music scene. October 1996
Music • Kirk Franklin
The voice of God. September 1996
No Smoking
Welcome to Llano, the real barbecue capital of Central Texas. The proof is in the pit. March 1992
Columns | Miscellany
O, Canadian!
The Panhandle town may be the first in Texas to decide to base its economy on nature tourism. Judging by the results, it won't be the last. September 2004
Buried Treasure
Secret Santas, take note: Here are my picks for the state's most underrated or underrecognized CDs of the year. December 2003
Prodigal Son
After years of ignoring Woody Guthrie's time in Pampa, residents of the tiny Panhandle community are finally singing "This Land Is His Land." March 2003
We Are the World
With colorful music and dynamic performers who hail from Africa, Asia, and all points in between, the Houston International Festival puts the globe onstage. April 2002
Polka Dotty
Bitter ethnic rivalries. Fragmented musical styles. Who knew that polka fans could be so hard-core? Not Denton's Brave Combo. February 2002
Whole Other Country
Texas artists find a new home at Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame. July 2001
Tennison, Anyone?
Chalee Tennison wants to reclaim old-time country music. April 2001
Spurred On
How Hockley's Fred Whitfield lassoed his place in pro rodeo history. December 2000
Unsung
On the record with Chris Strachwitz, whose Arhoolie label has quietly built the world's best collection of indigenous Texas music. October 2000
Swamp Thing
It's no croc: September is alligator season in Texas, and hunters are taking to the marshes hook, line, and rifle. September 2000
On the Fringe
You might have thought Waco’s Hank Thompson, a forebear of today’s alt-country scene, was dead and gone. But faster than you can say “No Depression,” he’s back, and even at 74, he shows no signs of slowing down. July 2000
Songwriter
Move over, Anna Nicole Smith. Mexia’s biggest celebrity is Cindy Walker, who penned hits made famous by everyone from Eddy Arnold to Bob Wills. December 1999
Blues Brothers
Long John Hunter and his guitar-slinging friends sharpened their axes in and around Port Arthur, so their recent return was truly a homecoming. July 1999
Hog Wild
They’re a major nuisance in rural Texas— but, boy, do they taste good. June 1999
Folk Hero
He’s one of the most influential men in American music. So why haven’t you heard of Alan Lomax? November 1998
Class Acts
Long before they were chart-topping musicians, Erykah Badu and Roy Hargrove made the grade at an arts magnet school in Dallas. September 1998
Soul Survivor
His mentor, Sam Cooke, is long dead, but Dallas’ Johnnie Taylor is alive and well and still living at the top of the charts. July 1998
Horn Free
After years in New York’s jazz trenches, trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe has come home to Smithville in search of the simple life. November 1997
Royal Blue
For decades, Bobby Bland has personified the definitive post–T-Bone Walker Texas R&B style. Even at 67, no one can dethrone him. August 1997
Voice of Amerykah
Whether or not Erykah Badu is the Billie Holiday of hip-hop, her uplifting songs and soulful singing are winning fans from coast to coast. May 1997
Tenor of the Times
Dallas sax player Marchel Ivery has impressed jazz greats like Red Garland and Art Blakey. So why isn’t he more famous? For one thing, he won’t blow his own horn. March 1997
Golden Oldie
After playing for years in relative obscurity, 57-year-old Ronnie Dawson is the latest cult hero in the cultish world of rockabilly. November 1996
To B or Not to B?
Cesar Alejandro’s low-budget action movies aren’t exactly number one with a bullet, but the El Paso director is sure he’ll be hot in Hollywood—some day. May 1996
Walser Across Texas
Beloved by bubbas and the Butthole Surfers alike, 350-pound yodeler Don Walser is country’s current cross-generational king of cool. March 1996
Wasted Days
Freddy Fender has one of the most affecting voices in the music business. So why isn’t he a star? October 1995
Out of Sync
Nearly everyone agrees that the nation’s best college jazz program is in Denton, but critics wonder if it isn’t mired in the past. November 1992
Food Get Your Goat
Juan Espinoza’s classy cabrito puts Johnny’s restaurant in front of the herd. August 1992
Plains Song
When Lubbock-born songwriter Butch Hancock steps onstage, West Texas haunts his music. November 1991
Fire Power
The habanero chile stokes the burning desire of pepper lovers everywhere. September 1991
Presumed Innocent
Rolling with Marcia Ball. June 2001
V.I.P.: The Leroy Preston Songbook
March 2001
Love Letters
February 2001
Mama's Gun
January 2001
A Stagecoach Named Desire
December 2000
Uma
November 2000
Trainfare Home
October 2000
Consent to Treatment
September 2000
The Spectacular Johnny Horton
August 2000
Dallas Alley Drag
July 2000
Waltz Across Texas
May 2000
Adolph Hofner and the Pearl Wranglers
CDs by Adolph Hofner and the Pearl Wranglers, Sister Seven, and Bob Dorough. April 2000
Sweet Inspiration
March 2000
The Big "D" Jamboree Live, Volumes 1 & 2
February 2000
The Texas Trumpets
January 2000
Reporter
Clifford Antone (1949-2006)
The legendary Austin club owner, who died May 23, helped launch many a Texas musician, from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Charlie Sexton. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons remembers the larger-than-life music impresario. July 2006
Five Guys Walk Into a Bar
September 2004
The Great Battle
September 2004
The Revolution Starts...Now
September 2004
Music
Blues, rockabilly, classic honky-tonkand maybe even Jimmy Buffett. September 2004
Movimiento Popular
May 2004
Westernaire
January 2004
Marvelous Things
January 2004
Wheels of Fortune
January 2004
Greyhound Blues
June 2000
Sour Notes
A tejano rift widens. March 1999
Beef 101
An A&M extension class gets beefy. January 1999
It’s Not Over
Okay, he isn’t exactly sexy. But he’s hot! And he’s dead! The busiest balladeer in Texas these days is… Roy Orbison. October 1998
Joe Cool
Joe Ely hits the road. May 1998
Statues of Limitations
Which version of history should be promoted by El Paso’s new statue series: the Wild West or the mild West? April 1998
Television
The newest bilingual TV star. December 1997
Meat Feat
An East Texas hot links meat-and-greet. November 1997
Heavenly
The heavenly hits of God’s Property. September 1997
Hot Stuff
Spicy-food impresarios turn up the heat on each other. August 1997
Ring Class
A knockout boxing program in West Texas. November 1996
Eva, Diva
Listening to conjunto queen Eva Ybarra. July 1996
Web extras
Clifford Antone
ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, environmental activist Robin Rather, and others remember the legendary Austin nightclub owner who died May 23, 2006. July 2006
Sharp Shooter
Richard Young knows it takes a lot of practiceand a little natural abilityto be a proficient cowboy action-shooter. May 2002

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