Music
July 31, 1987
Revenge of the Retrorockers
The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Mason Ruffner, and Omar and the Howlers all got the same message from album-oriented-rock radio: Wrap it up, we’ll take it.
Music
Storytelling and reviews about the artists and trends that define the sounds of the Lone Star State
Latest
1701-1750 of 1779 Articles
Music
June 1, 1987
Culture Club
Once San Antonio’s elite took pride in their support of the city’s fine symphony. When the cream of that elite, the Symphony Society board, abruptly canceled the upcoming season, it was time for some soul-searching
Music
May 1, 1987
Every Good Boy Does Fine
In the late seventies, celebrated pianist Van Cliburn inexplicably disappeared from public life. No tortured artist in hiding, Cliburn is having the time of his life sitting around his Fort Worth mansion in his bathrobe.
Music
April 30, 1987
Fruit of the Vinyl
A good record store is more than just a supermarket of sound.
Music
February 1, 1987
You Can’t Get There From Here
From Houston’s Miss Molly to San Antonio’s Claude Morgan, Texas is full of local music heroes. Does their road to success have to pass through Austin?
Food
January 1, 1987
Between a Hard Rock and a Place
The world’s hottest restaurant chain turns into Texas’ hottest restaurant feud.
Music
November 1, 1986
Who Made the Cut?
On LPs spurred by the MTV limelight, Timbuk3 blends street beast with witty wordplay, the True Believers combine six-string moxie with striving vocals, and the Tail Gators pack a sonic wallop.
Music
September 30, 1986
Country Music’s Hermit Saint
Don Williams won’t do beer commercials, sign autographs, or sing in honk-tonks. If that means he isn’t a superstar, that’s fine with him.
Health
September 1, 1986
The Faulty Cure
Houston is famous for medical cures. But when British rock star Ronnie Lane came to town with a crippling disease and $1 million for research, all he got was crippling legal problems.
Music
August 1, 1986
Why I Didn’t Attend Farm Aid II
Thank God I’m sort of a grown-up.
Music
July 31, 1986
Deep Ellum’s Summer of Love
Dallas’ new late-night club scene is daring and diverse, a showcase for pioneering bands.
Music
June 30, 1986
The Denton Dilemma
North Texas bands face a tough choice: living to make music or making music for a living.
Music
April 1, 1986
Manchild in Musicland
Charlie Sexton. Austin’s guitar-playing boy wonder, is now dream fodder for the masses; Eric Johnson is our latest contender for guitar hero.
Music
December 1, 1985
Better Than Ever and More of It
New records from Texas bands have only one thing in common—stubborn individuality.
Music
September 30, 1985
Dancing in the Streets
Tuff Enuff, the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ fifth and finest album, has a snap, crackle, and pop that could finally make the T-Birds explode.
Music
July 1, 1985
Music to My Ears
The small-town orchestra has it all: performers who love the music passionately, audiences who lend their wholehearted support, and even occasional moments when all the instruments are playing the right note.
Music
April 30, 1985
Resident Rockers
Five new albums show that Texans can get any kind of music they want from local labels.
Music
April 30, 1985
The Shaggy Club
In a mixed-up world, mixed-up kids need somebody who really understands. In Dallas that somebody is a punk DJ called Shaggy.
Music
March 1, 1985
New Music Man
A producing career, a hit video, a record company, successful sound tracks: Austin’s Patrick Keel is having it all.
Music
November 1, 1984
Lawrence Welk Meets The Doors
Brave Combo’s World Dance Music brings wit and verve to an unlikely mix of sounds; the Sir Douglas Quartet is still recording after all these years.
Music
August 31, 1984
Cut From the Herd
“Herd It Through the Grapevine,” a new disc anthology, has the top of the pop crop.
Music
May 31, 1984
Top O’ the Pops
The fare offered by the Houston Pops Orchestra may not be highbrow, but conductor Ned Battista thinks it’s American music at its best.
Music
August 31, 1983
Blues at His Fingertips
Bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan showcases his powerhouse guitar on a nationally released record. Also on new LPs are fellow Texans, from country king George Jones to Austin cutups the Big Boys.
Music
May 31, 1983
The Sphinx Who Sings
Austin blueswoman Angela Strehli is an enigma, but there’s no secret to her success: she writes great material and sings it with unbeatable style.
Music
February 1, 1983
Thunder Claps
The Fabulous Thunderbirds storm away on a new album that shows why they’re Texas’ hardiest rhythm and blues band. Eight more releases capture everything from mandolin picking to Balinese monkey chants.
Music
November 1, 1982
Texas Monthly Reporter
Texas’ greatest rural sheriff, oddest permutation of democracy, unlikeliest punk heroes, and hottest airline dogfight.
Music
November 1, 1982
Halftime Heroes
The bright-eyed, pink-cheeked cream of Texas youth aren’t scrambling on the football field. They’re playing in the high school band.
Music
September 30, 1982
The Blues Of The Gulf
Johnny Copeland had to abandon his Gulf Coast home and head for New York City before he could make hi mark with the blues.
Music
June 1, 1982
A Singin’ Fool
George Jones really lives the way he says he lives in the songs he sings.
Music
May 31, 1982
Twelve-Pack To Go
A dozen new releases by everyone from the late, legendary Janis Joplin to rising star Rodney Crowell to perennial favorite Waylon Jennings.
Music
December 1, 1981
Rockers, Kickers, and Hepcats
Texas music is wide open these days. You can stand by old standbys like Willie or take a chance on nuclear polka and Caribbean funk.
Music
November 1, 1981
The Attack of the Electronic Beast and Other Pleasures
Four performers in Dallas are making a new kind of music that combines precision, grace, and crazy humor.
Music
August 31, 1981
Spontaneous Combustion
Half a dozen Texas bands rev up and rock out.
Music
August 1, 1981
Trial by Piano
Why knock yourself out for two grueling weeks at a piano competition in Fort Worth? For $12,000—and a string of concert bookings money can’t buy.
Music
May 1, 1981
Champs
It IS whether you win. And these eight Texans are winners.
Music
April 30, 1981
Wall, Croon, and Thrum
Small-label recordings prove that whether Texans are singing ballads, blues, or punk, they make their best music at home.
Music
April 30, 1981
Wall, Croon, and Thrum
Small-label recordings prove that whether Texans are singing ballads, blues, or punk, they make their best music at home.
Music
March 1, 1981
Make Friends With the Quin Tikis
Onstage, all happy lounge acts are alike; offstage, all unhappy lounge acts are unhappy in their own ways.
Music
September 30, 1980
Jumpin’ Joe Flash
Joe “King” Carrasco and the Crowns rock New Wave with a Tex-Mex rhythm.
Popular Music
July 31, 1980
The Armadillo’s Last Waltz
The imminent demise of Austin’s famed music hall already has Texans singing the Armadillo homesick blues.
Music
June 30, 1980
The Ballad of Dan Del Santo
He came to Austin, Texas, with a guitar on his knee.
Music
May 31, 1980
Wax Works
The beat goes on in Texas music - from Christopher Cross’s pop ‘n’ roll to the ever-rich rhythm and blues of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Music
April 1, 1980
Let the Good Times Roll
Filmmaker Les Blank focuses on foot-tapping music, down-home cooking, and the vanishing art of having a good time.
Music
February 1, 1980
Rock ’N’ Roll’s Wizard of Oz
How Gordon McLendon stormed Texas with Top 40 . . . da doo ron ron.
Music
January 1, 1980
Willie and the Power Boys
New records from Texas’ die-hard country, rock, and punk musicians.
Music
December 1, 1979
Tune into the Eighties
New stars in sight are big and bright—deep in the heart of Texas.
Music
August 31, 1979
Dust Off Your Blue Suede Shoes
Then grab your platters and step into the golden era of rock ën’ roll.
Music
June 30, 1979
For the Good of the Country
Neither the Lone Star Café nor Debby Boone is what country music is all about, and a few Texas citizens are trying to set the record straight.
Music
April 30, 1979
Say Uncle
You may have to bar hop to find Austin’s best-kept musical secret-Uncle Walt’s Band. And, presenting the annual Buddy magazine music awards, sealed with a kiss.
Music
April 30, 1979
Running Wild with Jerry Jeff
His friends say the king of country rock is getting mellow. The question is, mellow compared to what?