More Gilley’s event posters.

Posted by gilleysmuseum.com on January 23, 2011 · 11 Comments 

The old Gilley’s Pasadena, Texas was more than just a country bar. It was also a special events center and concert hall. Did you know they regularly held professional boxing matches there? Here is a 14 x 22 fight poster from December 14, 1982 featuring heavyweight contender Gerry Cooney. Also fighting were well known fighters Wilford Scypion and Mike Ayala.

Gilleys December 14, 1982 Gerry Cooney Boxing Poster

Here is another early 1980’s poster for Gilley’s Rodeo. This annual event was a popular draw for cowboys and fans everywhere. Heavy paper posters like this are extremely hard to find in any condition. Again, it’s the standard 14 x 22 poster size.

Early 1980s Gilleys Rodeo Poster

Vintage concert posters are always cool. This one is for the July 13th, 1985 George Strait concert at Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas for two late shows.  Anyone know the ticket prices? Also the standard 14 x 22 poster size.

George Strait Concert Poster July 13th, 1985.

Also, from 1981 according to the great members of the “Remembering Gilley’s” Facebook group (where I’m a member), is this rare Ricky Skaggs December 10 concert poster for his appearance at Gilley’s. It is the standard 14″ x 22″ size.

December 10 Ricky Skaggs concert poster at Gilley’s Pasadena.

Last, but certainly not least, is this rare Loretta Lynn concert poster. It promotes her April 5, 1986 show at Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas with T. Graham Brown and Dwight Yoakum. Nice colors and the standard 14″ x 22″ size. Being one of the most important artists in country music history, we are very proud and happy to have found this great poster for our collection.

Loretta Lynn Gilleys concert poster from 1986.

Here’s a new addition we picked up in January of 2012. It’s a very rare vintage original Stevie Ray Vaughan concert poster for his May 1, 1986 performance at Gilley’s in Pasadena, TX. Like the others, it’s the standard 14″ x 22″ size.

MARCH 2020 UPDATE:  After a conversation with the curator of the Stevie Ray Vaughan Archive (www.srvarchive.com) and Gator Conley, a long-time regular at Gilley’s who played himself in Urban Cowboy and was an important contributor along with me in CMT’s Urban Cowboy 2015 documentary, we have been unable to confirm that this SRV concert at Gilley’s ever took place. Although Stevie Ray was not far away in Texas on that date, it is not likely that he actually played on that date.

Based on those conversations, I think the most likely explanation for the existence of this poster is that there was an attempt to make this concert happen, and a small amount of promotional posters were made until the attempt failed, but that’s only a guess. That would also explain the unusual use of the phrase “unscheduled tour appearance” on the poster.

May 1, 1986 Stevie Ray Vaughan Gilley’s Poster.

This particular poster has a very common reproduction that is sold all over the internet. Notice the musical note to the right of Stevie’s picture? The reproductions all have 2 musical notes to the left and 2 to the right of his picture, so if you see one like that you know it’s not a vintage original. See our Beware Rip-Offs! page for details and pictures.

Here’s another new addition as of early July, 2012. It’s the RARE version of the Gilley’s October 7, 1971 Willie Nelson concert poster. Again, it’s 14″ x 22″ on heavy paper. Unfortunately, this concert is a fantasy. Thanks to Gator Conley, one of the original Gilley Rats who appeared throughout Urban Cowboy, he pointed out that the picture of Willie is NOT correct for the time period as his hair was still short in 1971, and this concert never happened. Like all of the above, this poster is part of the GilleysMuseum.com collection.

RARE version of the Gilley’s 1971 Willie Nelson (fantasy) Concert Poster

Like the Stevie Ray Vaughan poster above, this poster has been reproduced in large numbers but with several variations that are obvious. Before purchasing any of these posters, read our explanation and see the comparison pictures on our Beware Rip-Offs! page so you know what you’re buying.

This next Willie Nelson poster presents new questions. Everything about it appears to be true vintage, and we’ve never seen another one like it, so it doesn’t seem logical that it could be a repro. If it were, you’d expect to see them everywhere. However, again, this concert didn’t happen and the picture is incorrect for the time period, so it appears to be another RARE fantasy poster.

Version 2 of the Willie Nelson 1971 fantasy concert poster at Gilley’s club.

Next is our Johnny Cash Gilley’s concert poster dated December 17th. Since the picture is from Johnny’s “Gone Girl” album released January 1, 1978 I think it’s a reasonable assumption that the concert took place just before its release in 1977.

Vintage Gilley’s 1977 Johnny Cash concert poster.

Another new addition is this vintage Molly Hatchet concert poster from November 17, 1984. It’s on heavy paper and measures the standard 14″ x 22″.

As usual, it’s 14″ x 22″ and printed on heavy paper.

Vintage Molly Hatchet concert poster from November 17, 1984.

Were you at any of these events? Do you have any interesting stories or info to pass along? We’d love to hear from you. And please let us know if you have any Gilley’s posters. We are always looking to add to our collection and always love to see pictures of them.

See ya,

Bubba

Filed under Collecting, Country Bars, Country Dancing, Country music collectibles, Gilley's memorabilia, Mickey Gilley, Vintage posters · Tagged with boxing poster, collectibles, country bars, country music clubs, George Strait, Gerry Cooney, Gilley's, Gilley's collectibles, Gilley's concert poster, Gilley's memorabilia, Gilley's Pasadena, Loretta Lynn, Mickey Gilley, Rodeo poster, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Urban Cowboy