September 22, 2026
Last week I ventured down to Dallas to take in a concert that was taking place in a piece of Dallas, Texas history. Dallas music history, that is. This, of course, was the legendary Longhorn Ballroom! If you’ve never heard of the place, it’s a concert venue that stands true and proud in south Dallas, not too far from the banks of the Trinity River. The place was built way back in 1950 by some eccentric Dallas millionaire who according to legend, opened the place for none other than the king of Western swing music Bob Wills and his band, the Texas Playboys. Indeed, my family (especially my mom’s) was full of Bob Wills’ fans. At one time, back in the 1950’s, the place was run by Jack Ruby. You might remember him as being the guy who killed Lee Harvey Oswald who was the guy who killed President John F. Kennedy. Apparently, Jack Ruby was a colorful guy who ran a lot of clubs in the Dallas, Ft. Worth area although he grew up on the south side of Chicago. Whether he was considered a mobster or not is anyone’s guess.
Although seats and tables can be added for the tamer shows, for my concert the place was one of those general admission, standing room places. As the guy at the door scanned my ticket, he merely told me, “Go find a spot to stand.” According to the web, the place holds 2,200 happy music lovers, but I have a feeling that back in the day of Bob Wills and Western swing the big area where we all now crowded into was probably a dance floor. However, I had found my way to the legendary venue to see the legendary punk rockers the Sex Pistols. This meant if there was any kind of a dance floor to be had, it was a mosh pit. So what makes this so special? Well, way back in 1978 the Sex Pistols broke onto the music scene with a wild sound that basically scare the heck out of parents or anyone over thirty for that matter. As guitarist Steve Jones once said, “I couldn’t play and Johnny (former singer Johnny Rotten) couldn’t sing, and when we plugged in, we made this awful noise.” However, such was an awful noise that people seemed to like, and in January of 1978 they played the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas Texas! So one might say history was repeating itself.
The place has an awesome musical history that goes way beyond Western swing and punk rock though. James Brown, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bo Diddly, Count Basie and Roy Orbison all played there back in the day. In 1954 Nat King Cole played at the venue, and even though this was during a time of segregation in Texas, the black audience sat in front for the show while the white fans stood in the back.
For a little step into the venue’s history there are several displays in the back of the place that highlight some of the big names who have stopped by over the years. There are signed guitars from Waylon Jennings, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Loretta Lynn, along with a robe from James Brown, and there’s even a display dedicated to Jack Ruby. Walking through the intro of the venue I couldn’t help but notices how the walls were covered with photos of many more artists who rocked North Texas by way of the Longhorn Ballroom. There are photos of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aerosmith, and of course the Sex Pistols. I can only imagine what a thrill it would have been seeing Aerosmith play in a place that only holds 2,200. Now that’s something you could tell your grandkids about. Of course, you may have to first explain to them who Aerosmith is.
The trip down to the venue was a bit of a pain in the neck considering all the construction going on in that part (or any part) of Dallas. My GPS kept telling me, “Stay in the left lane.” Which I would answer back, “There’s only ONE lane!” I was actually forced on a detour of my own making when some homeless guy walked out in front of my truck looking for handouts causing me to miss my turn. Closer to the venue I passed some street person who was camped out under an underpass with two or three shopping carts full of stuff. Such made me wonder how long she had been living down there. However, the venue has a couple of good-sized parking lots close by, but a lot of folks on hand seemed to be doing the Uber thing.
Apparently, the place has a backyard amphitheater, and I’m not sure if that’s something in the future or something in the present. I’ve never seen it. However, this wasn’t my first Longhorn Ballroom experience. A couple of years ago I took my first step inside to see the Los Lonely Boys. These are three West Texas brothers who have put together a pretty darn good band. However, the upcoming act that caught my eye was contemporary Christian singer Amy Grant. Although I just saw Amy a couple of years ago, I might have been the only fan at a Sex Pistols show that was interested in seeing Amy Grant play live.
Back in 1978 when the Sex Pistols played the ballroom, bass player Sid Vicious caught a bottle in the head and finished the show bleeding. But what was really interesting about that particular show was the fact that the legendary country music icon Merle Haggard was playing the very next night at the venue back in 1978. Why is that so cool? Well, here in 2026 guess who was playing the day after the Sex Pistols’ show at the Longhorn Ballroom? Merle Haggard’s son Ben Haggard. Now I’m sure there’s a country song in there somewhere.
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