“The World’s Largest Honky-Tonk,” has attracted some of the world’s biggest stars over the years.
FORT WORTH, Texas — The legends and tales of country music’s greatest performers aren’t just told at Billy Bob’s Texas; they’re etched into every corner of the building.
And General Manager Marty Travis knows them all.
“I think this was Trisha (Yearwood’s) ex-boyfriend,” Travis says while pointing to an “X” marked on the wall of the backstage green room. “Garth (Brooks) came and put the X through the guy’s name.”
Wednesday night in Nashville, country music’s greatest will be celebrated at the Country Music Association Awards.
But everyone who is anyone in country music has likely come through Fort Worth and left their mark on Billy Bob’s.
Every room holds memories of artists who have taken the stage. The hallways display decades of country music lore.
Even the floor holds special meaning for many.
“People tell me they met their wife on this dancefloor, or they learned to two-step on this dancefloor,” said Travis.
In fact, a 1981 WFAA story on Billy Bob’s opening night may have foreshadowed its place in country culture.
Billy Bob’s opened to the public in April 1981, billed as “The World’s Largest Honky-Tonk” with Waylon Jennings booked as the opening act.
A performance, an occasion and a crowd literally too big for Fort Worth to handle.
The club quickly reached its capacity of 5000 people, but the problems came outside, where Fort Worth Police towed 37 cars for parking violations. Billy Bob’s was several hundred parking places short of the number required by city ordinance.
However, the shows went on after they were granted a variance because other businesses in the Fort Worth Stockyards did not mind the increased attention and customers in the area.
In 44 years, despite its reputation, Billy Bob’s hasn’t physically grown.
“The size of the building is the same,” Travis says. “We’ve cleaned it up, made it nicer, made it a better experience. We’ve improved our operations.”
But with each and every show, each and every name, the legend grows larger.
And the stories keep coming.