The Singing Brakeman

Jimmie Rodgers, the singing brakeman, is sometimes called "the father of country music." He was born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1897, but many do not know that he lived in Kerrville, Texas for a time. He is famous for the song "Blue Yodel," which is also called "T for Texas." After Jimmie Rodgers died in 1933, Rodgers' widow loaned Ernest Tubb her late husband's 1927 Martin 000-45 guitar, which he played for the next forty years. Here is a link to Jimmie Rodgers playing "Waiting for a Train," filmed in 1928.

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0LEV04ZBgdW1lAAiIpXNyoA;_ylc=X1MDMjc2NjY3OQRfcgMyBGZyA2FhcGx3BGdwcmlkA1Bqd3FlYWJzUVdxRjZOODk0Q2Q0REEEbl9yc2x0AzAEbl9zdWdnAzkEb3JpZ2luA3NlYXJjaC55YWhvby5jb20EcG9zAzQEcHFzdHIDamltbWllIHJvZGdlcnMEcHFzdHJsAzE0BHFzdHJsAzM0BHF1ZXJ5A2ppbW1pZSByb2RnZXJzIHdhaXRpbmcgZm9yIGEgdHJhaW4EdF9zdG1wAzE0NDMzMDA5MDY-?p=jimmie+rodgers+waiting+for+a+train&fr2=sa-gp-search&fr=aaplw


Here is Ernest Tubb posing with the Jimmie Rodgers guitar.

Hummingbirds in the Burbs

Despite the fact that we live in the middle of the suburbs, the Texas native plants in our little yard attract plenty of wildlife. I particularly enjoy the hummingbirds that come to dine on the red yucca blooms. Hummingbirds love these trumpet-shaped blooms so much that the plant is sometimes called "hummingbird yucca."

Interesting hummingbird fact: Each species makes a different humming sound based on the number of wing beats per second.

Sengelmann Hall

A while back we enjoyed some live music at Sengelmann Hall in Schulenburg. This old hall has long tables like one would expect in a German-style dance hall and has an overall good vibe. Folks like Hayes Carll, Billy Joe Shaver, and Junior Brown have played there. This place is the real deal.

http://sengelmannhall.com/welcome

Crooks

We recently had the privilege of seeing this fantastic Austin band play in Fort Worth. According to Texas Monthly, Crooks' music can be described as "a rueful, hard-edged, and authentic country sound that also flirts with bluegrass, garage, Tejano, mariachi, and Southern rock." We bought a copy of their new CD, "Wildfire," at the show, and I think I listened to it four times in a row before I finally took it out of the CD player. 

http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/listen-austin-outlaw-country-band-crooks-with-flaco-jimenez/#sthash.5f0d9nAB.dpuf 

Here is a link to "Fork in the Road" from Ray Benson's Texas Music Scene.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I0_IPmCg9I

National Humanities Medal: Larry McMurtry

The great Larry McMurtry recently received a National Humanities Medal at the White House. Not too shabby for a fellow from Archer City, Texas.

http://news.rice.edu/2015/09/03/rice-alum-author-larry-mcmurtry-receives-national-humanities-medal/

Big Tex

After eleven months of well-deserved slumber, Big Tex is standing tall in Fair Park. He's looking great considering that in 2011 he did his best imitation of Burning Man. Of course, we all know that you can't keep a 52 foot tall cowboy down.

                                                                                                   

Menger Hotel

One of my favorite places to stay in Texas is the venerable Menger Hotel in San Antonio. The Menger is situated across the alley from the Alamo, as the Bob Wills song goes. Famous guests include Robert E. Lee, U.S. Grant, Sam Houston, Babe Ruth, and Bob Dylan. Teddy Roosevelt recruited the Rough Riders in the bar.

I stayed at the Menger a while back and was given a free "upgrade." That's right. I was placed in the King Ranch Suite. The suite, of course, is considered to be the most haunted place in the hotel, and, considering that the hotel was completely booked, it looks like the person who had booked the suite was too afraid to sleep there. Captain Richard King of King Ranch and Santa Gertrudis cattle fame died in that very room. In fact, he died in the very bed where I slept. The bellman, to his credit, assured me that the mattress had been changed. That is reassuring considering that Captain King died in 1885. 

I will not pretend that I slept particularly well in the King Ranch Suite, and I will not lower my credibility by relating a tale of what some would consider supernatural weirdness and others merely a psychosomatic manifestation of a theatrical, overactive imagination. Nonetheless, if you have never stayed at the Menger, I highly recommend it. The hotel is truly a Texas treasure.