The Texas Music Series at Old Town Theatre
2019-2020 Season
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The Texas Music Series at Old Town Theatre celebrates some of the finest music and musicians Texas has to offer. Huntsville has always played a vital role in the growth and history of the Lone Star State, and here at Old Town Theatre, we are committed to supporting Texas artists and offering them a warm Texas welcome to the home of General Sam Houston.
The Texas Music Series at Old Town Theatre
is funded in part by a grant from the Huntsville Arts Commission. |
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Johnny RodriguezSaturday, January 18, 2020, at 7 p.m.
Tickets $30- $50
No Additional Ticket Fees Almost 40 years after he first arrived in Nashville, Johnny Rodriguez is right back where he started - coming full circle back to making the kind of honest country music that he and his fans always enjoyed.
Born December 10, 1951, Johnny Rodriguez was the second youngest of 10 children living in a four room house in Sabinal, Texas, a small town about 90 miles from the Mexico Border. Growing up in Sabinal, Johnny was a good student, captain of his Junior High School Football team, a high school letterman and an altar boy at church. But in 1969, caught with friends stealing and barbecuing a goat, Rodriguez took the rap. It was this jail visit that gave Johnny his first break. His jail house singing enthralled Texas Ranger, Joaquin Jackson, who told a promoter about Rodriguez. The promoter, Happy Shahan, hired Johnny to perform at the Alamo Village, a popular south Texas tourist attraction and location of many well know movie sets. It was here that Johnny was heard by Nashville artists Tom T. Hall and Bobby Bare who both encouraged Johnny to fly to Nashville in 1971. 20-year old Rodriguez found himself stepping off the plane with nothing more than his guitar in hand and $14 in his pocket. Soon he was fronting Tom T. Hall's Band and writing songs. Less than year later, Hall took Johnny over to the office of Roy Dea and Jerry Kennedy, then record producers of Mercury's Nashville operation, for an in-person audition. Dea offered a contract on the spot after hearing "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "If I'd Left It Up To You". Fifteen of Johnny's singles rose to top ten, six of which were #1 hits. There followed 11 consecutive #1 records, some of which he wrote or co-wrote. His debut album, Introducing Johnny Rodriguez, went to #1 on all three major trade charts, and by 1973 he was nominated by the Country Music Association for "Male Vocalist of the Year" and won the Billboard Trend Setter Award for first Mexican-American to capture a national audience. Over the past 40 years, Johnny has released 35 albums and charted 45 singles. He has toured in every state in the U.S. and enjoys an enormous response when touring overseas in countries such as Switzerland, England, South Korea, France, Spain, East & West Germany, Japan, Belgium, Guam, Poland, Canada and Mexico. This favored son of Texas has received standing ovations by audiences ranging from Ryman Auditorium to Carnegie Hall. He has been honored by several Presidents of the United States including Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and played an Inaugural Ball for George Bush. Rodriguez has been honored for his contributions and place in Texas music history. This artist brings the Hispanic communities and country music together with his bilingual songs. Johnny was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2010, Johnny received the Pioneer Award from the Institute of Hispanic Culture. One Night Only! Don't miss this Texas legend singing all his hits in his first ever performance at Old Town Theatre!
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Shake Russell:
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