Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic

Discoveries of a Pop Music Archaeologist

“Big Beaver”: Thank You, Goodnight from The Texas Troubadours

Ernest Tubb is coming into the home stretch as he prepares to let Leon Rhodes and Buddy Charleton loose on a Bob Wills instrumental – “Big Beaver” – from the 1965 live LP, Hittin’ the Road:

Big Beaver – The Texas Troubadours

[Pssst:  Click on the triangle above to hear ”Big Beaver” by The Texas Troubadours.]

Thanks to Gary Olson of Home on the Range, I now know that Big Beaver is a place in Osage County, Oklahoma that once had a big dance hall frequented by Bob Wills and those fabulous Texas Playboys.

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Typo Alert:

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LINK to Western Swing on Zero to 180

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8 Responses

  1. Big Beaver Dance Hall was actually located in Kay County which is just west of Osage County. There is nothing left of the dance hall other than foundation and a metal sign someone put up commemorating the location.

      1. The Big Beaver Night Club was
        1/2 mile N of Lyman, OK
        Or
        3 1/2 miles NW of Cooper, OK
        On the banks of Big Beaver Creek.
        My grandmother owned it.

      1. Do you have any photographs of the dance hall? I’m working on a western swing documentary for the music’s 90th anniversary celebration, to be held in Fort Worth this November. Please let me know if there is any memorabilia that we can use in the film. Thank you! – Cary Ginell (originjazz@aol.com)

  2. The night club was just below our family home which is no longer exists. I spent much time there as a child. My great aunt a Kaw Indian had married Delmer Graham from Webb City and numerous family members have resided at Little house on the prairie as it was often referred to. My Grandma and other elders had often talked about that time of Big Beaver. The stories have been passed down over the years. Many figures in history had been seen in the little club from famous cowboys to Chicago mobsters most likely due to the Oil boom. Such deep history in this region from the good with men like Ben Johnson, historical like Frank Phillips, and horrific with the Osage Murders.

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