Only one place in the whole world can claim to be both the Carnegie Hall of western swing and the penultimate stop on the Sex Pistolsโ infamous American tour. Now, for the first time ever, all the secrets of the hottest honky-tonk of the 20th CenturyโCainโs Ballroomโare revealed, in the words of the people who made it happen.
Spanning the famed venueโs first 75 years, from 1924 through 1999,ย Twentieth-Century Honky-Tonkย tells it all, from Bob Wills and His Texas Playboysโwho became a national sensation with their clear-channel ballroom broadcastsโto U2, the Police, and Van Halenโas Cain's became an essential stop for breakout acts and cosmic cowboys. The book also covers cutting-edge alt-rock acts, metal bands, and off-the-wall attractions like ladiesโ mud wrestling (which worked) and Pig Time Racing (which didnโt).</p
BuyTwentieth-Century Honky-Tonkย for the fascinating (and unauthorized) story of this fabled hardwood hangoutโs first seven-and-a-half decades. Itโs a honky-tonk fever dream!