‘Urban Cowboys’ Reunite: Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee Mosey into Town

Will “El Torro” the mechanical bull be there? We’ll have to wait and see.

Country music legends Johnny “Lookin’ for Love in all the Wrong Places” Lee and Mickey “Stand by Me” Gilley will be joining forces to co-headline the upcoming Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour with the Urbanettes and the Urban Cowboy Band. 

Their Houston show is Friday, July 20 at the Stampede Houston at 7 p.m. 

The tour reunites two of the stars of the Urban Cowboy film. The audience is in for a treat when both Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee take the stage to perform their string of Top 10 hits. The two friends are reuniting for a series of live concert dates throughout 2018. The tour has visited cities across the country but the majority of their remaining shows will only be performed at Mickey Gilley’s Shanghai Theater in Branson, Missouri. So unless you’re headed to Branson, it would be best to catch them in Houston while you can.

Country music legends Johnny Lee and Mickey Gilley will reunite for the upcoming Cowboy Reunion Tour. (Photo courtesy of 117 Entertainment Group) 

Mickey may be 82 and Johnny may be 72 but they’re both still feisty. They look forward to getting back to Texas where they love to perform even if the weather’s hot. Johnny even told me, “I heard the weather’s been so hot down in Texas that the other day someone saw a fire hydrant chasing a dog!” Mickey talks about why he's excited to perform at The Stampede in Houston in this video on his Facebook page, ending with his signature wink, of course. 

Meyerland resident Sarah Evans is a pilot for Southwest Airlines and is often lucky enough to have Johnny Lee as a passenger on her flights. She says what a sweetheart he always is and appreciated him taking a picture with her.

Buzz resident Sarah Evans, who's a Southwest Airlines pilot, often has Johnny Lee on her flights and says he's a sweetheart. 

Bellaire resident and Long Drive Dog and Cat Clinic owner, Dr. John Shelby, grew up in Pasadena. He has fond memories in the ’80s of going to football practice at his intermediate school, which was located practically across the street from Gilley’s. After practice, John and his friends would ride their bikes home from school. But first, they’d stop at Gilley’s and go in to hit the punching bag games.

“Urban Cowboy is one of my most favorite movies of all time,” gushed West University author, Holli Clayton. “I can't believe my mom let me watch it at five years old! I loved the music! I’m serious. One of my faves since age five!”

The 1980 movie depicts Bud, a young man, played by John Travolta, who learns about life and love in a Houston bar called Gilley’s, which was a real-life honky-tonk owned and operate by Gilley himself in Pasadena, Texas. Many old-school Houstonians have tales of visiting the Guinness World’s Record holding “World’s Largest Night Club” located at 4500 Spencer Highway to two-step across the dance floor or give the mechanical bull a spin. Back in the early ’80s, many a car on Houston freeways had a red Gilley’s sticker slapped on its bumper.

Yep, urban cowboys and cowgirls, dust off your cowboy hats and boots and hold on tight…seeing Johnny and Mickey back in concert and living some of those Gilley’s memories is gonna be one heck of a bull ride!