When I think of music I tend to think of Nashville, Memphis or even New Orleans but Texas is very rooted in music too. After all, we do have Pantera, Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, The Toadies, George Strait, Vanilla Ice, Paul Wall, Los Lonely Boys, Sunny Sauceda, Rick Trevino, Erykah Badu, Polyphonic Spree, Bowling For Soup, Beyonce, Don Henley...wow! We have so many Texas musicians so what was I thinking?! Perhaps the iconic museums such as The Country Hall Of Fame Museum located in Nashville, Rock n Roll Museum, Graceland and Sun Records in Memphis are the ones that dominate my thoughts in association to music history.
Well there is a hidden gem outside of Dallas/Fort Worth located in Hillsboro, Texas in a Victorian cottage built in 1895 that is dedicated to the preservation of Texas musicians called Texas Musicians Museum. I recently took drive with a friend to visit this place and meet T.K. (Tom Kreason), the Founder/Director. He used to work for the Hard Rock Cafe in Dallas, Texas at the Research Department collecting memorabilia back when they were on McKinney, the original location and as a producer of the live shows too traveling to New York, Boston, and Washington D.C. He plays the guitar but he doesn't think he's great. He names Texas legends like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Freddie Everett, Bobby Mack, and Don Henley as being great guitar players.
This place is full of incredible music history! It has many different things to see like the 1st autograph of Buddy Holly in his sixth grade yearbook before Holly dropped the "e." A leopard faux fur trimmed outfit of Bobby Patterson, one of Dallas true Blue legends is there. The casket of Big Bopper, one of the fatal victims that died along with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens that made that tragic day known by their fans as "The Day Music Died." There are too may items to tell you about but this place is remarkable for seeing all the different memorabilia relating to music.
T.K has a passion for music and its Texas history. It was great seeing him open a package he had received in the mail upon us arriving there. It was the Longhorn Records "Cotton Eyed Joe" by Joe Adolph Hofner, aka "Dolph" who was the artist to first record that song. He played it for us and it was like I was a kid in elementary gym class laughing and dancing to the Cotton Eyed Joe! One of his many current projects is completing a discography of Longhorn Records. He owns 30 something out of the 79 records that exist. Another one of his projects is getting the funds to buy a new building to move Texas Musicians Museum. He has his eye on one building that he took us to located seconds off the highway next to a hotel that would be convenient for travelers to enjoy a short visit driving through or an overnight one. His vision for this museum is clear but the funding for it is unclear and hopes to get money to keep Texas Musicians Museum preserving the rich history of Texas artists old and new. I threw some ideas at T.K for some fundraising that he seems to like and I hope this good man gets to have a newer and bigger building for the sake of his dreams coming true and for the sake of making Texas a place to stand out as the Lone Star State rich in Texas music.
Texas Musicians Museum would make a fun place for a photo shoot, production or video and is available for rental. If you go out there, call the museum first and plan for a quick trip to see where Willie Nelson sometimes attends church at the historical Abbott United Methodist Church that has been holding services since 1883. Send me an email if you are interested or contact T.K and let him know you read it here. Thank you!
