| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The Broken Spoke, Austin's iconic country dance |
|
|
hall, was honored with the dedication of an Official Texas |
|
|
Historical Marker on April 12, 2023; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Native Austinite James White opened the Broken Spoke |
|
|
in 1964 as a cafe in a former lumberyard on South Lamar Boulevard; |
|
|
the business quickly won the loyalty of country music lovers with |
|
|
its jukebox and live performers, and in 1966, it expanded to its |
|
|
current size with the addition of a bandstand and a large dance |
|
|
floor; from the outset, it featured the same atmospheric decor it |
|
|
has today, complete with red-checkered tablecloths, pool tables, |
|
|
and low ceilings; as Mr. White put it in the famous pronouncement he |
|
|
would make from the stage each night, the Broken Spoke has always |
|
|
been "a real Texas honky-tonk . . . not Car-neg-ie Hall!"; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Within a few years of its opening, the dance hall |
|
|
began booking well-known country music artists, such as Bob Wills |
|
|
and His Texas Playboys, Tex Ritter, Ray Price, and Ernest Tubb; in |
|
|
the 1970s, it became a popular venue for Willie Nelson, Kris |
|
|
Kristofferson, and other outlaw country acts, and George Strait was |
|
|
among the performers who cut their teeth at the Spoke early in their |
|
|
careers; the music royalty who have graced the stage through the |
|
|
years also includes Kitty Wells, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, and |
|
|
Garth Brooks, and the impressive lineup of stars is commemorated in |
|
|
the "Tourist Trap" museum that occupies a room at the nightspot; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Standing alongside the performers in most of the |
|
|
museum photographs is Mr. White, who together with his wife, |
|
|
Annetta, ran the Broken Spoke for more than a half century; his |
|
|
friendly greeting welcomed generations of patrons, and his |
|
|
unwavering allegiance to the venue's traditional country roots made |
|
|
it a cultural landmark known around the globe; although Mr. White |
|
|
passed away in 2021, the White family continues to operate the |
|
|
Spoke, maintaining its traditions of hosting live music five nights |
|
|
a week, offering lessons for those taking their first steps across |
|
|
the sawdust-covered dance floor, and serving its famous |
|
|
chicken-fried steak; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Over the years, the Broken Spoke has been featured |
|
|
in countless publications and on such television programs as Austin |
|
|
City Limits and the Country Music Television special "Honky Tonk |
|
|
Sounds"; it also served as a location in the Willie Nelson movie |
|
|
Honeysuckle Rose, NBC's Friday Night Lights television series, and |
|
|
the movie Wild Texas Wind, which featured Spoke mainstay Asleep at |
|
|
the Wheel; in 2010, the dance hall was inducted into the Texas |
|
|
Western Swing Hall of Fame, and Donna Marie Miller authored a book |
|
|
about its history titled The Broken Spoke: Austin's Legendary |
|
|
Honky-Tonk; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, For nearly six decades, two-steppers and country |
|
|
music aficionados have found a slice of honky-tonk heaven under the |
|
|
neon lights of the Broken Spoke, and this beloved cultural treasure |
|
|
is indeed deserving of this official acknowledgment of its |
|
|
historical legacy; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature |
|
|
hereby commemorate the dedication of an Official Texas Historical |
|
|
Marker for the Broken Spoke dance hall and extend to the White |
|
|
family and to all those associated with the venue sincere best |
|
|
wishes for the future; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for the Broken Spoke as an expression of high regard by the |
|
|
Texas Senate. |