Liberty Hall (Houston, Texas)

Last updated
Liberty Hall
Address1610 Chenevert
Location Houston, Texas
Capacity 450
Opened1971
Closed1978
Website
www.facebook.com/LibertyHallHoustonTx/

Liberty Hall was a venue located in downtown Houston, Texas from 1971 to 1978. It was located where a parking lot two blocks away from the Toyota Center is currently. Liberty Hall was owned and operated by Mike Condray, Lynda Herrera, Ryan Trimble, Ken Fontenot, and Roberto Gonzales. It hosted a wide variety of performers, including Bruce Springsteen, ZZ Top, and Journey. [1] It is remembered for its low admittance prices of sometimes only two dollars for nationally known entertainers. [2]

Toyota Center Arena in Texas, United States

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Bruce Springsteen American singer and songwriter

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ZZ Top American rock band

ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. The band has, since 1970, consisted of vocalist/guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist/vocalist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard. "As genuine roots musicians, they have few peers", according to critic Michael "Cub" Koda. "Gibbons is one of America's finest blues guitarists working in the arena rock idiom [...] while Hill and Beard provide the ultimate rhythm section support."

Contents

History

Before Liberty Hall, Condray and George Banks, the future graphic illustrator of Liberty Hall posters, opened Jubilee Hall which became the Family Hand, a restaurant and entertainment venue. The restaurant was known for its red beans and rice, prepared by Thera Neumann, the African-American female chef. When Condray began looking for a new location to open with Herrera and Trimble, Neumann found the building that would become Liberty Hall. The building was originally a church built in the 1940s and later became the American Legion Post 391. On March 4, 1971, it opened as Liberty Hall. Co-founder Herrera came up with the name. Neumann moved with the owners to Liberty Hall and continued to cook for the performances. [2] The nightclub hosted musicians from the country, rock, zydeco, and blues genre. [3] On Liberty Hall's opening night, the venue hosted the country rock musical Earl of Ruston. Soon after Earl of Ruston, Liberty Hall had a six-week-long blues show with musicians like Big Mama Thornton, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Freddie King. [2] [4] Hopkins became close friends with Trimble and performed multiple times at Liberty Hall by himself and with Mance Lipscomb. [5]

Big Mama Thornton American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter

Willie Mae Thornton, better known as Big Mama Thornton, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", in 1952, which became her biggest hit, staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1953 and selling almost two million copies. Thornton's other recordings included the original version of "Ball and Chain", which she wrote.

Lightnin Hopkins American country blues singer, songwriter and musician

Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Centerville, Texas. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Freddie King American blues guitarist and singer

Freddie King was an American blues guitarist and singer. He recorded several hits for Federal Records in the early 1960s. His soulful and powerful voice and distinctive guitar style inspired many musicians, particularly guitarists. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

The venue began to gain prominence in Houston. Springsteen mentions Liberty Hall in his song This Hard Land . KPFT and Liberty Hall worked together to produce live broadcasts of performers like Springsteen, Ramones, and Gram Parsons. [2]

KPFT Pacifica radio station in Houston

KPFT is a listener-sponsored community radio station in Houston, Texas, which began broadcasting March 1, 1970 as the fourth station in the Pacifica radio family. Larry Lee brought the idea to Pacifica to establish listener-supported radio in Houston as an alternative to mainstream broadcasting. The station airs a variety of music and Progressive news, talk and call-in programs. Prominent persons who have been regulars on KPFT include science educator David F. Duncan and humorist John Henry Faulk.

Ramones American punk rock band

The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving only limited commercial success initially, the band was highly influential in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Gram Parsons American singer-songwriter

Ingram Cecil Connor III, known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work with the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers. He also popularized what he called "Cosmic American Music", a hybrid of country, rhythm and blues, soul, folk, and rock. He recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers. His relatively short career was described by AllMusic as "enormously influential" for country and rock, "blending the two genres to the point that they became indistinguishable from each other."

Besides the many musicians that performed at Liberty Hall, the venue hosted plays and comedy performances. Cheech and Chong performed for a completely sold out four-night stand for two dollars a ticket. Cheech and Chong credit Liberty Hall for their success. [4] Liberty Hall also hosted rock opera director C. C. Courtney's play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest from March 23 to April 22, 1972. At the time, it was the longest running play in the history of Houston. [2] Courtney made a deal with Liberty Hall to continue directing his rock operas at the venue. His other work performed at Liberty Hall in 1972 was Ripped and Wrinkled. [6]

<i>One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest</i> (play) play by Dale Wasserman after a work by Ken Kesey

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1963) is a play based on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name.

Liberty Hall did not extend only to music and entertainment performances. The venue held benefits for progressive candidates. [7] On September 17, 1972, Liberty Hall hosted a rally for the "candidates of the people." The rally had a performance by the hard rock band Chocolate Glass. Many candidates attended and spoke at the event including Sissy Farenthold, Gertrude Barnstone, and Curtis Graves. Marvin Zindler, Deputy Sheriff at the time, also attended the event. Red beans and rice were sold for one dollar as a fundraiser. [8] On September 20, 1972, Liberty hall hosted a beans and rice dinner benefit for George McGovern and his presidential campaign. [9] In February 1973, Liberty Hall hosted the first annual convention of the National Women's Political Caucus with female leaders Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, and Betty Friedan. The convention had performances by Tracy Nelson and her band Mother Earth along with a New Orleans band called Flavor. [10]

Frances Tarlton "Sissy" Farenthold is a former U.S. politician, attorney, activist, and educator. She is best known for her two campaigns for the office of Governor of Texas and for being placed in nomination for the office of Vice President of the United States during the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

Curtis M. Graves is an American photographer and former politician in the state of Texas.

Marvin Zindler American television news reporter

Marvin Harold Zindler was a news reporter for television station KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas, United States. His investigative journalism, through which he mostly represented the city's elderly and working class, made him one of the city's most influential and well-known media personalities.

In 1975, Condray left Liberty Hall. Trimble believes Liberty Hall put on 300 to 400 shows a year until it closed in 1978 with a performance by Muddy Waters. The building that was once Liberty Hall became a Chinese film theater. Eventually, the building was demolished. [2] [4] Today, a parking lot near the Toyota Center sits where Liberty Hall once was.

Muddy Waters American blues singer and guitarist

McKinley Morganfield, known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues", and an important figure on the post-war blues scene. His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude".

Design

The venue was relatively small, holding about 450 people. The stage and floors were wooden. The intimate setting allowed for good acoustics, different from popular arena-style venues at the time. Banks constructed the stage and balcony. [2]

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References

  1. ↑ "Liberty Hall by Performers" . Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ayo, Vicki Welch; DeLaVergne, William C. (2015). Boys from Houston II: Deep in the Heart. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-1515051633.
  3. ↑ Tannahill. "Liberty Hall" . Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Smith, William Michael (29 April 2009). "Live at Liberty Hall". Houston Post. Houston, Texas. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Wood, Roger (2012). Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues. University of Texas Press. p. 48. ISBN   0292744196.
  6. ↑ Holmes, Ann (30 April 1972). "Strong Medicine for 'Dead Rock and Dying Theatre'". Houston Chronicle. Houston, Texas.
  7. ↑ Blue, Janice (January 1980). "Liberty Hall: The cultural center for counterculture". Houston Breakthrough. Houston, Texas. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Crumbaker, Marge (18 September 1972). "Lots of handshaking". Houston Post. Houston, Texas.
  9. ↑ Trimble, Ryan. "Benefit flier from scrapbook" (September 20, 1972). Liberty Hall collection. Houston, Texas: Woodson Research Center, Rice University.
  10. ↑ Danglo, H. David (15 February 1973). "Liberty Hall caucus: Tracy Nelson, and raucous talk". Rice Thresher. Houston, Texas. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
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