Rodeo Memories

Elvis rides around the Astrodome in a convertible waving to fans following his 1974 rodeo concert. Buzz residents Lynn Schulse Plummer and Brenda Brooks Bartley will never forget being in the audience. (Photo: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo)

One of my fondest childhood memories is attending the rodeo in Houston. Originally known as the Houston Fat Stock Show, the name was officially changed to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1961. I loved dressing up on Go Texan Day and even the smell of the cattle in the Astrohall. The rodeo lured us back each year.

My own personal memories of the rodeo started me wondering about its beginnings.  After all, the event has been around my entire life. While my first rodeo experience was not until the mid-1960s, there was a lot of history that came before, and so much that has occurred since. I have always been amazed at the fascination created as the rodeo approaches each year. I thought it might be fun to look at some highlights from the past, as well as some from the present. 

The Houston Fat Stock Show and Livestock Exposition was established in 1931 after seven men met for lunch at the Texas State Hotel on Fannin Street in downtown Houston. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo moved to the Astrodome complex in 1966. The first performance in the new “domed stadium” attracted over 25,000 spectators. The show’s concert finale in the Astrodome featured George Strait on March 3, 2002. His performance broke the all-time paid attendance record for any event ever held in the Astrodome, with nearly 70,000 spectators.

The rodeo has provided entertainment for decades. Once the winner of the barbecue cookoff (started in 1974) is announced, the livestock show, auctions and bronc-busting festivities begin, and money flows in for scholarships. While some people like the competitive events, for me, the main attraction is the singers. I loved going to the rodeo concerts as a kid, but what I didn’t like was waiting for all the rodeo events of the evening to finish before the music began.

The Jackson Five take the rodeo stage in 1973. (Photo: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo)

Many legendary performers have played at our rodeo throughout the years.  During the ’60s, country and western singers ruled.  I remember my excitement as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans rode out on their white horses as all the kids, including me, were yelling and screaming. As they sang their final song, Happy Trails to You, I was leaning on the rail waving my red and white cowboy hat from side to side. My parents were huge rodeo fans, and I hated being left behind each year as they went to see some of their favorite performers from this decade, including Jerry Reed, Marty Robbins, Roy Rogers, Michael Landon, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Brenda Lee and Jim Nabors. For weeks after each rodeo, my dad would subject our family to hours of country and western music marathons.

However, the 1970s brought a shift in the entertainment climate. Rock and pop performers joined the classic-country artists. This era began with none other than the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley, whose Feb. 27, 1970, performance set an all-time attendance record at the time with 43,614 spectators in the Astrodome. Country superstars from this era – Lynn Anderson, Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash – were joined by popular artists of the 1970s, including David Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Helen Reddy, Sonny & Cher, The Fifth Dimension, The Jackson 5 and KC & The Sunshine Band. The rodeo had become as much a concert event as a livestock show.

I attended Glen Campbell’s 1971 performance, and his sparkly, maroon, polyester, bell-bottom slacks and silk mini-tie scarf remain vivid in my memory, as does his dynamic performance of his 1969 hit Galveston. The crowd in the stadium went wild as he belted out the first verse of his ballad about our beloved Houston-area beachfront community.

Several of my former Bellaire High School classmates (and current Buzz-area residents) recently shared some of their favorite rodeo-performance memories. Local musician Steve Gilbert remembers seeing his childhood favorite, Glen Campbell, in 1972. Later, he loved seeing his idol, Bob Dylan. “I do remember the sight of seeing him sing Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 to an HLSR crowd, and seeing the crowd sing along was definitely worth the price of admission.”

This Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo official souvenir program from 1973 features some big-name stars, including Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, The Jackson 5, and Sonny & Cher. (Photo: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo)

Native Houstonians Lynn Schulse Plummer and Brenda Brooks Bartley both remember seeing Elvis in the Astrodome.  Brenda remembers being in the front row and waiting for him to come out of the tunnel into the Astrodome. “The lights were dimmed, the music would start, and then he appeared in the back of a Cadillac convertible. The crowd went wild!  After the concert he rode around the arena very close to the railing.” 

Lynn remembers how star struck she was seeing “The King” perform. “He was hot! I mean good looking. Even at such a young age I knew that much.” Fellow native Houstonian Lynda Jensen Carnegie remembers, “My dad took me to see David Cassidy in 1971.  I sang along to every song as did all the other teenage girls attending his concert.”

In 2003, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo celebrated its first year in its new homes: NRG Stadium and NRG Center, where everyone still flocks to the musical concerts and performances. While the music, livestock, rodeo events and carnival remain as main crowd pleasers, feeding our hunger with the outlandish and inventive foods is also a chief rodeo attraction. Burgers, barbecue, hot dogs, pretzels, turkey legs, cotton candy, peanuts, corn cobs on sticks and popcorn served in souvenir megaphones displaying the Astrodome logo were once the reigning kings of the rodeo food tradition, but somehow the demand for all things fried, on a stick, and bacon-wrapped has taken over.

Going to the rodeo always meant eating lots of food. I’d ask for popcorn, and when I was done, I’d use the souvenir megaphone to scream at the rodeo contestants or to bug my older brother. Next, my eyes would focus on another kid enjoying his peanuts, so I’d have to ask for some myself. Then I’d see someone else eating a huge turkey leg, and ask for one of those. By the end of the evening, my dad would be carrying me out of the Astrodome as I laid my head on his shoulders, worn out from all the food.

Buzz-area resident and barber Jeanne Mar tried a “fried Oreo” at a recent rodeo. “It was nothing more than a chocolate-stuffed doughnut hole. I thought it was going to be a round Oreo cookie that was deep fried. But I’m sure all the calories were still there.”  I tried one myself, and found that Jeanne’s description was accurate. However, another friend found one from another vendor, and his was that deep-fried round Oreo cookie.

Last year, I tried a sampling of fried treats at the rodeo. Since I have a huge sweet tooth I sampled the Fried Red Velvet Cake, which was three layers of spongy red cake and tangy cream cheese icing enrobed in a fried shell and drizzled with chocolate syrup. It was nothing more than a big blob of gooey sugar and butter. However, I really enjoyed the Fried Bananas Foster – bananas coated in homemade funnel-cake batter. But my favorite was the tequila-infused pickle popper – a big juicy pickle, infused with tequila and filled with a creole jalapeño cream cheese stuffing, breaded and deep fried. Taking my first bite, I could see the spicy flakes of jalapeño mixed with creole seasoning, wrapped around a green, crunchy and tart dill pickle. Sweet, sour and spicy were combined in a perfect combination.

Before all the music, food and competition begin, the rodeo starts off with the arrival of trail rides in the city.  The trail riders come in from all over Texas and gather at Memorial Park to camp, rest and party before the big annual downtown parade. From there, it’s on to NRG Park, where, by the time this article appears, I will have just enjoyed the World Championship Bar-B-Que Contest and witnessed the crowning of this year’s champion. I am looking forward to the musical performances, rodeo competition, and sinking my teeth into some enticing food – fried and otherwise.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo runs March 3-22. See rodeohouston.com for details.

Editor’s note: We’d love to hear and share your memories of Houston rodeos gone by. Email us at [email protected] or comment under this story.