|
|
Sportcenter
The Austin Sportcenter, or "Sports Center" as it was sometimes billed, was located at 501 Barton Springs Road, on the south side of the Colorado river across from the triangle bordered by South 1st St. and W. Riverside Drive. It was a large rectangular structure believed by some to be originally a National Guard Armory. It was built probably in the 1940s or very early '50s a block east of Disch field, an area that would eventually be occupied by the City Coliseum and Municipal Auditorium. It featured a tiled floor and bleacher style seating on the sides with a large stage on one end.
Images viewable here,
here,
and here The Sportcenter was a regular venue for many performers on the Louisiana Hayride, among others, when they took their show on the road.
Image viewable here
Image viewable here Image viewable here
Image viewable here Just over a month after the July Stars of the Hayride show at the Sportcenter, Elvis, Scotty and Bill made their second appearance in Austin on August 25, 1955 when they performed with many of the same acts on another Hayride show at the Sportcenter. This was part of a weeklong tour promoted by Horace Logan that had included other Texas stops in Wichita Falls, Bryan, Conroe and Gonzales. An article in the Statesman read: Chance Record Gives Presley Start To Top
Another Austin article read:
Of the show, Lee Cotten wrote, tickets were 75-cents in advance and $1.00 at the door. Children’s admission was 50-cents. The stage was low, and when Elvis began his portion of the show, teenagers got out of their chairs and rushed up front to sit on the floor. One song that Elvis sang on this date was I Forgot To Remember To Forget. As soon as the show finished, teens scrambled on stage to get his autograph, at the same time pushing Elvis against the fake fence backdrop. Later, it was reported by the Austin Statesman (September 29, 1955) that “enthusiastic fans (mainly teenage girls) practically ripped him apart before he even got on stage.1
It was around this time that DJ started touring with them regularly. When Scotty and Bill suggested to Elvis that he needed a drummer, he agreed with them, but said he couldn't afford to hire one. Scotty and Bill talked it over. If Elvis would hire D. J. to tour with them, they would share the cost of his $100-a-week salary. D. J. already was performing with them every week at the Hayride (after their first appearance, he was allowed to come out from behind the curtain and be seen by the audience), and they all liked him.2
It would however not be until December that DJ would officially be on the payroll. Their next appearance in Austin would be in just over a month, in October at the Skyline club though DJ would not be on most dates around that time due to gallbladder surgery.
The Sportcenter building was empty when in August of 1970 it was reopened as the Armadillo World Headquarters. Now with a listed address of 525 1/2 Barton Springs Road, it operated as one of Austin's premier music and entertainment centers through December 31, 1980. The unique blend of country and rock music performed at the hall became known by the terms "The Austin Sound," "Redneck Rock," progressive country or "Cosmic Cowboy." Artists that almost single handedly defined this particular genre and sound were Michael Martin Murphy, Jerry Jeff Walker and The Lost Gonzo Band. Many upcoming and established acts such as Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, and ZZ Top played the Armadillo. Freddie King, Frank Zappa, and Commander Cody all recorded live albums there. Bruce Springsteen played five shows during 1974. AC/DC played their first American show at the Armadillo in July 1977.3
Today, like much of the property south of the Colorado River in Austin, it has been redeveloped and a new high rise office building and parking lot now occupies the site. page added December 15, 2010 (Armadillo World Headquarters appeneded December 16, 2010) 1
excerpt from "Did Elvis Sing in your Hometown?" by Lee Cotten Special thanks to E5RSY of the TDPRI for his input about the Armadillo World Headquarters
I just found the Scotty Moore web site and am enjoying the music history there. I have lived in the Austin area all my life (63 yrs) and remember some of those places in your photos and text. In particular, I saw some photos on your website of a Louisiana Hayride show at the Austin Sportscenter on 7-21-55.
In a couple of the photos, there is a woman who apparently tentatively was believed to be Jeanette Hicks. There must be some question about that identity because there is a question mark after her name there. When I saw those photos, I believed that the women in those pictures could possibly be Irene Franklin. Irene Franklin was born in Austin in 1928 and was very active in country music here in the 50’s.
My earliest memory of experiencing live country music, was in the mid 50’s when my parents took me (I was 5 or 6 at the time) to a country music show of some sort that was held in the old skating rink next to the building that later housed the Armadillo World Headquarters on Barton Springs Road. Irene Franklin sang there, and I remember for some reason that they must have had country music shows there regularly, in the old skating rink, during that time period. I also remember that Irene Franklin’s daughter was either in my first or second grand class at Ridgetop school (1954 or 1955). Irene Franklin passed away in 2007 and here is the link to her obituary in the Austin Paper.
I also captured a few of the photos of Irene Franklin from a “memory book” of photos that were on the funeral home website at the time. I have attached some of them for your review and comparison to the photos of the woman tentatively identified as Jeanette Hicks.
There are some “hillbilly comics” in one of the pictures on your website with the woman who is possibly Irene Franklin. It is possible that the “hillbilly comics” could be a group called “Chester Ayers and the Hungry Mountain Boys”, who were around Austin in the 1950’s. The main group member in the photo jogs my memory as to the appearance of Chester Ayers; and I remember seeing him with an extremely wide tie like that. I remember seeing a show that they played at the Ridgetop Elementary School auditorium one evening in the mid 1950’s and I think that they also had some spot appearances on local early tv shows here in the 50’s at TV station KTBC. I hope some of this information helps. I am very interested in early country music, especially in the Austin area. Sincerely,
|
|
All photos on this site (that we didn't borrow) unless otherwise indicated are the property of either Scotty Moore or James V. Roy and unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited. |
Image
viewable 
About a year ago, a young amateur singer and a couple of his musician friends decided to make a record-mainly for their own amusement.
