This Week in Texas Music History: Don Robey
This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll learn about a record label that was a real feather in the cap of the Texas recording industry.
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On May 23, 1973, Don Robey sold Duke-Peacock Records to ABC-Dunhill, bringing an end to an important era in the Texas recording industry. Owner of the popular Houston nightclub, the Bronze Peacock, Robey founded Peacock Records in 1949 to promote his featured artist, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. In 1952, Peacock merged with Duke Records. This helped expand Robey’s roster to include such prominent R& B musicians as Junior Parker, Bobby Blue Bland, Big Mama Thornton, and Johnny Ace.
As one of the first nationally-successful black-owned labels, Don Robey’s Duke-Peacock Records helped shaped the sound of early rock ‘n’ roll and left a lasting imprint on American popular music.
Next time on This Week in Texas Music History, we’ll meet some musicians who really knew how to honk their horns.
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