From the Archives: In the Beginning ...
Since the late 1800s, the Fort Worth Stockyards has been a place for folks to cut loose and have a good time. It's a place as true to the cowboy spirit as anything ever was.
When cattle were driven down the Chisholm Trail to North Fort Worth, the drovers stopped to graze the cattle along the banks of the Trinity River. The cowboys headed to the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Over the years, the Stockyards grew. Stock pens were built at the turn of the century, followed in 1902 by the Livestock Exchange Building, as well as processing plants built by Armour and Swift. The Fort Worth Stock Show traces its roots back to these early years. It was conceived as a way to promote the Stockyards to ranchers.
Cowtown Coliseum was built in 1908, stock pens stretched more than 100 acres, and a large, open-air cattle barn built in 1910 is now home to Billy Bob's Texas.
In 1936, as a Texas centennial project, the city spent $183,500 to enclose the reinforced concrete, three-acre building. The huge structure contained 1,257 animal stalls and a 1,200-seat auction ring that is now the Billy Bob's Texas Bull Riding Arena. A monitor roof provided light and ventilation for livestock inside.
A prominent feature of the one-story elevation is the flat-roofed, stepped tower on the north. An inset, arched panel contains an entrance below and an arched, second-story window above. Apparently, the south end of the structure was demolished at a later time, as photographs from 1940 show that an identical one on the south balanced the existing tower.
The Stock Show was canceled in 1942 as World War II raged in Europe and Japan so the Coliseum and Cattle Barn could be used as a factory for Globe Aircraft Corporation to build planes for the war effort. The Stock Show moved in 1944 to the new Will Rogers complex, leaving the Cattle Barn to become a horse barn, an auction venue, then a department store so large that the stock boys wore roller skates.
Enter Billy Bob Barnett.
Yes, there is a Billy Bob! At 6'5", Billy Bob Barnett was and still is a larger-than-life character. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Billy Bob played football for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Bears. After football, Barnett briefly operated nightclubs in Austin and College Station, including one in partnership with Spencer Taylor. Taylor, a former car salesman, owned several bars, discos and nightclubs. One of those, The Pickin' Parlour, was in the Stockyards.
In 1980, at the height of the Urban Cowboy craze, the idea for Billy Bob's Texas was born as the two plotted what to do with the 100,000-square-foot department store that was closed and for sale. Barnett knew that the authenticity of the Stockyards and the size of the space would lend itself well to a nightclub. Originally, the vision involved only half the space, at a price tag of $1 million. But they realized they could make use of the whole building, added two investment partners - Thomas and Mitt Lloyd - hired a crew of 80, and set to work.
Security was tight, including a solid eight-foot wood fence around the property. Speculation about the project grew, but without adequate financing, Billy Bob was hesitant to make a commitment about when the club would open. He set the date at April 1, 1981. A fallback plan, if everything fell through, would be "April Fools!"
Remodeling was a challenge because the building was located in a National Historic District. Extensive work could be done on the interior, but the exterior had to remain true to its original architecture. Even today, the beige stucco accented by barn-red window covers replicate its early design. The inside was completely overhauled to transition from department store to nightclub, as the crew bulldozed everything except the load-bearing poles and the plumbing.
Remnants from the building's original use are still apparent. In the showroom area of Billy Bob's, one can see that the floor slopes from the entry at the north end toward the showroom stage, making an ideal elevation for concert seating. This slope was originally constructed to allow easy cleanup and runoff from the cattle pens.
Then there was the name. Originally, the pair thought to capitalize on the popularity of local musician Jerry Max Lane by naming the club "Jerry Max's Texas," but when the legal barriers of licensing that name began to surface, Billy Bob added his own namesake to the club and "Billy Bob's Texas" was born.
Barnett and Taylor scheduled Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers as the first act to play the club. Gatlin was a friend of Barnett's who agreed to play the club early. The two owners knew they needed the stamp of approval from another Texan to draw the big-ticket acts they knew the club needed. That Texan was Willie Nelson.
Nelson was playing in Atlantic City when Barnett and Taylor flew up to meet with him. Willie was glad to see another friendly, Texan face, and he agreed on the spot to play the club. The other acts followed, and the club was ready to open.
Barnett and Taylor were true to their word, and the club opened on schedule with a private party with The Gatlins. "Workmen continued putting the finishing touches on Billy Bob's as the customers filed into the parking lot," reported Roger Kaye of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "In fact, the first thing most of the guests saw was a work crew atop the giant club sign on North Main, welding the Texas-shape sign into position."
Billy Bob's Texas was an instant success. All manners of celebrities were on hand, and everyone in country music wanted to perform on the Billy Bob's stage. Waylon Jennings played April 2 and 3, Janie Fricke on April 4.
Willie Nelson and Family at Billy Bob's Texas for Willie's 4th of July Picnic in Fort Worth, Texas. By Flickr user @giovanni
Billy Bob's was a success, exceeding the expectations of Taylor and Barnett, breathing a new life into the somewhat deserted Stockyards and creating international attention for Fort Worth.
When Willie Nelson played April 5 and 6, the crowds circled the block. With Billy Bob's maximum capacity at 6,000, the fire marshal was present with hand-counters, and, when the club quickly filled, no one was admitted until somebody left! This became a regular occurrence with concerts.
There was something fun for everyone: two performances of bull riding every night, the Texas Oyster Bar, the Gold Rush jewelry store for those looking to impress their dates, the Texas Point restaurant, a Western store including a huge selection of boots and Texas Dry Goods for the necessary Billy Bob's souvenir.
Billy Bob's was a success, exceeding the expectations of Taylor and Barnett, breathing a new life into the somewhat deserted Stockyards and creating international attention for Fort Worth.
In its first full month of operation, total liquor sales topped $600,000, and, for nearly all of 1981, the club hosted three, four and occasionally five top musical acts every week. "It was as if nothing could go wrong," said one of Billy Bob's most loyal customers, the late Richard Fox. "Everyone wanted to be a cowboy, and the club really sold itself."
Billy Bob Barnett and Spencer Taylor believed in doing everything first class. Their VIP membership was exclusive and expensive and included the "A" list in the Metroplex. The Texas Club (VIP Room) was elegant and packed each concert night with ball gowns and boots, cowboy hats and diamonds. The Texas Club entertained local dignitaries and leaders of many foreign countries. But Barnett and Taylor also believed in making the best use out of Billy Bob's space and held boxing matches regularly in 1981 and 1982.
While Barnett and Taylor were great idea men, they lacked someone to manage the finances and oversee all facets of the complex. In the fall of 1981, Barnett handed the management reins to Billy Minick, a former champion cowboy and rodeo producer, who was originally hired at Billy Bob's to produce the nightly bull-riding shows. "While I spent nearly every day and night at the club, I was at the arena," Minick recalls. "The first show at Billy Bob's, after I became manager, was ZZ Top. After the concert, the showroom looked like a sea of beer cups. One thing's for sure: The club didn't come with a set of instructions!"
Especially in the early years, comparisons with Gilley's, the Houston area nightclub that was the location for the John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy, were inevitable. But at 44,000 square feet, Gilley's was only half the size of Billy Bob's Texas and didn't have real bull riding!
Eight months later, the first New Year's Eve at Billy Bob's featured Bob Hope, Chuck Berry, Razzy Bailey and Johnny Cash. With tickets at $250 each sold out, Billy Bob's Texas had arrived. To say the rest is history would be an understatement.
