Kenneth Threadgill (September 12, 1909 – March 20, 1987) was a country singer and tavern owner, who mentored the early Austin folk music scene that included
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
. He also lent his name to two nationally famous restaurant/bar venues.
[
]
Early life & yodeling
Born John Kenneth Threadgill in
Peniel, Texas. His father was an itinerant minister who worked between
Hunt County, Texas
Hunt County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 99,956. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named for Memucan Hunt, Jr., the first Republic of Texas Minister to the United States from 183 ...
and
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. The family lived in
Beaumont
Beaumont may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beaumont, Alberta
* Beaumont, Quebec
England
* Beaumont, Cumbria
* Beaumont, Essex
** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s
* Beaumont Street, Oxford
France (communes)
* Beaumont, Ardèche
* ...
and in 1923 moved to
Austin
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 ...
, where Threadgill attended
Austin High School. Later he met mentor and idol,
Jimmie Rodgers
James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...
while working at the Tivoli Theater in Beaumont. Backstage, Threadgill impressed Rodgers with his yodeling and eventually Threadgill incorporated yodeling into his country singing act to create his own popular style.
[
]
Threadgill's Tavern
In 1933 he moved back to Austin and began working at a Gulf service station on North Lamar Boulevard. In December when Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
ended Threadgill bought the establishment, secured the first post-Prohibition beer license in Austin and opened it as Threadgill's Tavern.
Threadgill and his wife, Mildred (Greer), ran the restaurant and tavern until World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when they closed for a few years. While Threadgill worked as a welder for the war effort, the music did not totally stop. When Hank Williams
Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...
came through Austin and did a show at the Dessau Dance Hall, northeast of Austin, Threadgill was there. Hank was late, so Kenneth took the stage and was singing "Lovesick Blues" when Hank arrived. Hank came onstage and finished the show.
By the mid forties Threadgill was selling soft drinks and beer while his friends played and sang hillbilly blues. In the mid fifties groups of local musicians were coming every week to play, and Threadgill would pay them with two rounds of free beer.[ This tradition of paying singers with tavern fare was echoed later in the 'Sitting and Singing for Supper' sessions.][
]
In the beginning there was no stage and performers played right sitting amongst the customers. "A microphone connected to little amp would be passed around to performers. Eventually Threadgill install a sound system and musicians would wait in the back for their turn.[
]
Post World War II & Janis Joplin
After World War II Threadgill’s Tavern reopened and UT students came to the tavern to hear Threadgill and his Hootenanny Hoots play. Threadgill’s open-mic nights became popular and helped form the basis of the fledgling singer-songwriter community in Austin.[
Two musicians from the Hootenanny Hoots, encountered ]Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...
while driving in Austin and invited her to Threadgill's. She came and sang[ and soon Joplin became the star attraction for the Wednesday open-mic. Eventually she became a close friend of Kenneth and his wife Mildred.][
]
In 1970 a concert near Oak Hill was held to celebrate Threadgill's birthday.
Janis Joplin, who by this time was a major star, had been in Hawaii the day before, canceled a $15,000 appearance to fly to Austin for the occasion. Joplin and Threadgill sang and danced for the crowd. Threadgill's birthday picnic was noted in the Congressional Record when Congressman J. J. Pickle called Threadgill the "Father of Austin Country Music".[
After Mildred's death in 1974, Threadgill closed the club and later sold it to Eddie Wilson, the owner of ]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 ...
. Wilson reopene
Threadgill's
as a restaurant on December 31, 1981.
As late as June 1983 Threadgill continued to entertain at the restaurant, singing and yodeling on most Wednesdays evenings.
Music and movie
In the early 1980s, Threadgill and 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'' (197 ...
appeared together and sang in the movie Honeysuckle Rose. In September 1981 "Silver Haired Daddy" with Renee Best, Steve Mendell, Bill and Bonnie Hearne and Johnny Gimble was released on Armadillo Records. It was recorded at Onion Audio and produced by Michael J. Osborne and Hank Alrich. His work showed the early influences of Jimmie Rodgers
James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...
ballads and Al Jolson
Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...
movies, which were could be seen in his singing and dancing. Some of his best-known songs were "Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," and "T for Texas, T for Tennessee."[
]
Death and legacy
Threadgill died from a pulmonary embolism on March 20, 1987, at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin; he was 77.[
The city of Greenville (which annexed Threadgill's hometown of Peniel in 1957) hosts the Kenneth Threadgill Concert Series in his honor.
He was inducted into th]
Austin Music Memorial
in 2010. A second Threadgill's opened as a restaurant by Eddie Wilson in 1996.[ Kenneth Threadgill's reputation for good food and great music continues in Austin according to ]Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
music writer, Margaret Moser
Margaret Moser (May 16, 1954 – August 25, 2017), or Margaret Moser Malone, was an American journalist, music enthusiast, critic and historian, groupie, and backup singer. She was best known for her work as the director of the Austin Music Awar ...
.[
]
Discography
Soundtrack albums
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Threadgill, Ken
American country singers
Janis Joplin
1909 births
1987 deaths
Deaths from pulmonary embolism
People from Greenville, Texas