Monday, March 24, 2014

Lookin’ for Luckenbach

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http://www.agweb.com/mobile/newsdetail.aspx?ArticleId=354289

From the site:

The town of Luckenbach, Texas, lost its post office in 1971. It would have been the death of most places, but it was just the beginning for this town in Texas Hill Country.
Andrew McCrea
When the post office closed, rancher Hondo Crouch purchased the property. "Buying" Luckenbach meant acquir­ing a general store, dance hall and a few other worn-out buildings. While few people lived in Luckenbach (three, according to records), it served as a place to sell produce, buy supplies or dance on Friday nights.

Crouch enjoyed sitting under the broad trees telling stories and playing tunes. In 1973, his friend and fellow musician, Jerry Jeff Walker, recorded "Viva Terlingua" in the town’s dance hall. Luckenbach was back on the map, so to speak.

A few years later, Chips Moman and Bobby Emmons heard about Luckenbach and wrote a song about the town. Waylon Jennings cut the song in 1977, and it quickly rose to the top of the charts.

Neither Jennings or the songwriters had ever been to Luckenbach. In fact, it was 1997 before Jennings paid a visit. That’s not unusual, though. The Eagles never "stood on a corner in Winslow, Ariz." The Monkees didn’t "catch the last train to Clarksville," Tenn. Neither did Stephen Foster ever venture "way down upon the Suwannee River."