Edwin Osbourne Wilson is a former concert promoter and co-founder and owner of the

Armadillo World Headquarters Armadillo World Headquarters (The 'Dillo or Armadillo WHQ) was an influential Texas music hall and beer garden in Austin at 525 Barton Springs Road – at South First Street – just south of the Colorado River and downtown Austin. The 'Dillo fl ...

(1973–1980). The music venue led a music movement in Austin to national prominence from 1973 to 1980 as the birthplace of Texas progressive county, aka "redneck rock" – a fusion of country music and rock – later, more blues than rock. It was a popular venue for

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

. Wilson is the owner of two Threadgill's restaurants in Austin. The original, which he purchased in the mid–1970s from John Kenneth Threadgill (1909–1987), was where Janis Joplin got her start.

Growing up

Wilson graduated from

McCallum High School A. N. McCallum High School is a public high school in Austin, Texas, United States. McCallum, the second oldest high school in the Austin Independent School District (formerly known as Austin Public Schools prior to desegregation in 1971), open ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, in the spring of 1963. In the fall of 1963, he enrolled at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...

in Denton. At North Texas, he joined the school's Folk Music Club, whose student members included Spencer Perskin,Dan Roth, Jan Charles Reid (1945– )
"The Coming of Redneck Hip,"
''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'', November 1973, pg. 72 Steven Fromholz,

Ray Wylie Hubbard Ray Wylie Hubbard (born November 13, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Hubbard was born in the town of Soper, Oklahoma. His family moved to Oak Cliff in southwest Dallas, Texas, in 1954. He attended W. H. Adamson High Scho ...

, and

Michael Martin Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, country music and popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs' ...

. The Folk Music Club was founded and sponsored by Stan Alexander ''(né'' Stanley Gerald Alexander; 1928–2017), an English professor who had been influenced by the music scene at Threadgill's in Austin while working on his doctorate at

The University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Bibliography

* ''Threadgill's: The Cookbook,'' by Edwin O. Wilson, Longstreet Press (1996) & Eakin Press (2002); * ''Armadillo World Headquarters: A Memoir'', by Eddie Wilson and

Jesse Sublett Jesse Sublett (born May 15, 1954)"Biographical Note" a, Wittliff Collections, Alkek Library, Texas State University–San Marcos (retrieved September 18, 2009). is a musician and writer from Austin, Texas. As a musician he is best known for his lo ...

, TSSI Publishing (publisher) and

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

(distributor) (2017);

References

External links

Eddie Wilson describes the first time he saw Janis Joplin

Wisdom of Eddie Wilson from Threadgills North

Discussion of Armadillo World Headquarters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Edwin Osbourne People from Austin, Texas University of North Texas alumni North Texas Mean Green football players Living people Year of birth missing (living people)