Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part II (Houston: alligator, singles)

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by Basse Bud

Those record hops at the Municipal Auditorium in the 60's were, I believe, a result of the successes with the
earlier ones in the late 50's. Wish I could locate a copy of the "Top Fifty" records , the 4'by 11'', list that the stations
(KONO, KTSA and KMAC) issued each week. The KONO list had the details about the hop(s) on the reverse side of the list.
(KMAC list had Country listed on one side and Rock and Roll/Rhythm and Blues on the other)

Also, it would appear that EVERYONE'S Mom listened to Elvis in the 50's! I remember the first time Elvis appeared
at the Municipal Auditorium. Regrettably (now), I was preoccupied in the parking lot and missed the show, although
the girls screaming could be heard all over downtown!

Municipal Auditorium, 1957

I was too young to fully appreciate the great talent of Rock & Roll
“legends" that were assembled in one place at the same time that year.
Buddy Holly was just beginning to make it big.
Poster only mentions “The Crickets” & the hit song. “That’ll Be the Day”.

It was indeed a sad day when I read the headlines in ’59 about the
tragic death of Mr. Holly from Lubbock, Texas.
Along with Ritchie Valens & J.P. Richardson better known as
“The Big Bopper.” I remember listening to “Chantilly Lace” on
KONO or KTSA when driving my old ’55 Chevy to high school!

[Basse Bud]

Rancho,

The above poster is for the "package" shows that were popular in the 1950's. Where else could one see half a dozen
"stars" with current (or recent) hits in the top 40? There is a good possibility I attended this show! I tried to catch as many as I could, and this was one of the first! The other Municipal Auditorium shows were single headliners with an opening group/act in most cases. The only exception was Jerry Lee Lewis, no opening act, just 90 non-stop minutes of "The Wild Man from Memphis" as he was billed. "The Wild Mans" 90 minutes seemed like 30 minutes! Even got to go backstage and get an autograph on the back of my 7th grade library card! The interesting thing about the shows in those days was, for the most part, any amplification was via the instruments on stage, the vocals may have been through the PA system, but, basically, what you see is what you got. The acts on the package tours would do 3 or 4 tunes, except the major acts, who would do several of their hits. Those really were the good old days. The most remarkable thing was, no one even noticed the racial mix of the audience. No one cared!

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by Basse Bud

Rancho,

The above poster is for the "package" shows that were popular in the 1950's. Where else could one see half a dozen
"stars" with current (or recent) hits in the top 40? There is a good possibility I attended this show! I tried to catch as many as I could, and this was one of the first! The other Municipal Auditorium shows were single headliners with an opening group/act in most cases. The only exception was Jerry Lee Lewis, no opening act, just 90 non-stop minutes of "The Wild Man from Memphis" as he was billed. "The Wild Mans" 90 minutes seemed like 30 minutes! Even got to go backstage and get an autograph on the back of my 7th grade library card! The interesting thing about the shows in those days was, for the most part, any amplification was via the instruments on stage, the vocals may have been through the PA system, but, basically, what you see is what you got. The acts on the package tours would do 3 or 4 tunes, except the major acts, who would do several of their hits. Those really were the good old days. The most remarkable thing was, no one even noticed the racial mix of the audience. No one cared!

I like the singers that sound like their records.
Sometimes they improvised their songs by going into a longer version on
stage.

But I like the fact that no special effects were needed, it's just their own
unique voices.

Just two examples come to mind.
John Fogarty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) at the “Hemisfair” arena.
At another time Pavoratti at the same location.

No special enhancement required from these guys.
Obviously different style of music but each with their own
pure talented voices. Nice!

Btw: I heard Bob Hope speak up close when I was in the military.
All I could say was “you sound like Bob Hope”!
He did a double take.... Duh!!!!

[theblueone]

The First Mate on Goliad is now Neptune's and is still housed in the same building.
I remember a First Mate on the corner of Culebra and Gen. McMullen. I was a kid but remember something about a lawsuit and someone choking on a fish bone. I don't know if that's the reason they shut down but after that, I noticed Luby's and other restaurants that served fish put up signs warning about the possibility of fish bones. The building on Culebra was eventually knocked down and an Alfonso's opened there. It was successful for a while until Taco Cabana opened. It's been an empty lot for about 10 years.

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by theblueone

The First Mate on Goliad is now Neptune's and is still housed in the same building.
I remember a First Mate on the corner of Culebra and Gen. McMullen. I was a kid but remember something about a lawsuit and someone choking on a fish bone. I don't know if that's the reason they shut down but after that, I noticed Luby's and other restaurants that served fish put up signs warning about the possibility of fish bones. The building on Culebra was eventually knocked down and an Alfonso's opened there. It was successful for a while until Taco Cabana opened. It's been an empty lot for about 10 years.

I thought I was all alone since nobody remembers “First Mate”.
If I’m not mistaken, the one I remember was by Fresno and Blanco St.
Not 100 % sure.

My memory is not too clear, but was the building in the style of a
boat or a bait shop?
The Taco Cabana on San Pedro & Hildebrand was where I “enjoyed" the
flour fajita tacos.

Note:
I wrote “enjoyed”.
Somehow it’s not the same anymore for me.

[txtea]

I remember First Mate!
There was one in the parking lot of Colonies North shopping center, where the old Handy Andy was. We used to chow down there before we hit the San Antonio Rose nightclub inside the mall.
Old friend's dad had something to do with First Mate....some kind of mob connection from up north.
Pretty decent for fast food fish.

[Pachuco2]

Originally Posted by txtea

I remember First Mate!
There was one in the parking lot of Colonies North shopping center, where the old Handy Andy was. We used to chow down there before we hit the San Antonio Rose nightclub inside the mall.
Old friend's dad had something to do with First Mate....some kind of mob connection from up north.
Pretty decent for fast food fish.

I remember also,..The one on the Eastside at the corner of Dawson and New Braunfels St.,..39 cent Matey Burger...Huge sandwich!

[outafocus]

Originally Posted by txtea

I remember First Mate!
There was one in the parking lot of Colonies North shopping center, where the old Handy Andy was. We used to chow down there before we hit the San Antonio Rose nightclub inside the mall.
Old friend's dad had something to do with First Mate....some kind of mob connection from up north.
Pretty decent for fast food fish.

That was Fishin' Pier in the Colonies North parking lot.

[txtea]

Originally Posted by outafocus

That was Fishin' Pier in the Colonies North parking lot.

Yes! That was it!
My apologies....that was too long ago for this old mind to remember.
Thanks for the flashback!

[outafocus]

I still remember the jingle from the First Mate Commercials.

The food tastes great at First Mate.
Everything they serve is really first rate.
People are biting off more than they can chew,
except when it comes to the price!
So come to the number one hundred percent All American,
First Mate. Always clean as a whistle!