LUCKENBACH....Where Everybody's Somebody....

 

 

 

The only two things in life that make it worth livin'
Is guitars that tune good and firm feelin' women
I don't need my name in the marquee lights
I got my song and I got you with me tonight
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love

Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas
With Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin'
Got us feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys
Between Hank Williams' pain songs and
Newberry's train songs and Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain
Out in Luckenbach, Texas ain't nobody feelin' no pain
(from the Waylon Jennings song...)

 



(a funny thing about country music...now that we happened upon the subject:  if you play it backwards, you might get your wife back, you might get your dog back, you don't lose the big stakes card games and you're still "feeling no pain"......)

 



But we digress......to quote John Steinbeck, these days Luckenbach is a state of mind....a Texas state of mind where you can kick back, relax and get away from the hustle and bustle that life throws at you....like a step back in time.  And who doesn't need that on occasion!

 



The tiny hill country hamlet where "Everybody's Somebody" was established as a trading post in 1849 making it one of the oldest settlements in the hill country.  The Post Office / General Store / Beer Joint first opened in 1886 by August Engel, an itinerant preacher from Germany (apparently there were such folk), whose daughter, Minna, chose the name Luckenbach in honor of her fiance', Albert Luckenback.   The trading post catered to pioneer farmers and Commanche Indians alike.  The outpost continued as such well into the 20th century. 

 

 



 

In 1970 Luckenbach, which had remained in the hands of the Engels family the whole time, fell into "eclipse".  Benno Engel retired as postmaster and placed an ad in the local paper "TOWN FOR SALE"...lock, stock and dancehall.  Luckenbach was purchased by a collection of "only in hill country" Texas characters - Hondo Crouch and his cohorts, Guich Koock and Kathy Morgan, who had what might be described as over active imaginations.   Hondo, the leader, formed a 'make believe' town and proclaimed himself Mayor.  He made Marge the Sheriff and the appointed ambassador to foreign countries.  (Apparently, Guich had no such official titles but was an important "go to" guy in the new town - population 3)!! 

 

The trio began to use the nearly abandoned buildings as a backdrop for anything that smacked of mirth and diversion:  Hug Ins, the Luckenbach Worlds Fair, Hell Hath No Fury Ladies State Chili Bust, Mud Dauber Festival, and later, the Luckenbach Ladies Lynchin' League.....among many others.  In addition to the festivals, which continue to this day, everyday is celebrated with the 'pickers still pickin' out under the big oak trees.  

 

 



 



 

In 1973 Texas country rocker, Jerry Jeff Walker, came to Luckenbach to record an album.  He wanted a laid back out of the way Texas locale for a backdrop  and Luckenbach was laid back with a vengence.  Jerry Jeff and his Lost Gonzo Band (for real, folks) took over the old dancehall, stacked hay bales around for sound baffles and sat around the ancient saloon writing songs (and drinking beer) all day.   As a result, as Luck(enbach) would have it....was the album Viva Terlingua, which went gold and made Luckenbach a destination point for everyone who heard it.  Since Terlingua (which is actually a very small town near Big Bend National Park on the border with Mexico, interestingly enough....and in the ever present 'small world' we live in....I have been there) songs such as London's Homesick Blues, Home with the Armadillo, Up Against the Wall Redneck mother (yep, a real song), Desperados Waiting for a Train and others had some origination with Luckenbach.   Then came the big boys....Waylon and Willie....and Luckenbach became a cult type destination.

 

In Luckenbach you can saddle up the Longhorn.

                                                                    



 Hondo passed away in 1976, a year before Luckenbach became a big hit....but Marge lived two decades longer to see Luckenbach "flourish" and become what it is today....a laid back, eclectic mix of early history, larger than life personas (ie: Hondo the Imagineer), and an unrivaled legacy of music that make us feel that everybody is indeed somebody in Luckenbach.

 

This blog is dedicated to the memory of John Russell "Hondo" Crouch, who will forever remain the "Mayor of Luckenbach" .........  

 

Please note there are several factors in the delay of this blog edition:  we traveled nearly 1000 miles from Fredericksburg through West Texas and Southern New Mexico for three days.....and we did not have internet access during that time....and telephone service was sketchy.   Also, after Luckenbach we will 'fast forward' to our present location in Gallup, NM as there really is not much to report about or show during those three days of travel in what is in our opinions a "desolate" part of this country.   Yes, Carlsbad has its caverns and Roswell its UFOs but otherwise it is a vast expanse of "not much"....!   While I am sure the folks who live there will take issue with it, those are our impressions anyway.