GilleysMuseum.com welcomes all Gilley’s fans!

Posted by gilleysmuseum.com on October 13, 2010 · 17 Comments 

Howdy ya’ll,

Welcome to the GilleysMuseum.com home and blog, THE authority on Gilley’s Club memorabilia. We are dedicated to building and sharing the largest collection of Gilley’s Club memorabilia in the world. With in excess of 1000 unique items from both the original Gilley’s in Pasadena, TX (1971-1989) and Gilley’s at the Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, NV (1988-2007) we will be displaying, discussing, and searching for rare items from these great country bars.

Why are we doing this? The answer is simple. We believe that the original Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas, and the cult hit film “Urban Cowboy” (which was spawned by the marketing genius mind of Sherwood Cryer – Mickey Gilley’s partner and creator of Gilley’s Club), are the direct link between the old days of country music where anyone who wasn’t a “cowboy” thought listening to country music was beneath them to today’s cross-over following all over the world. “Urban Cowboy” and John Travolta brought country music and the lure of being in a country bar to the masses. The film was a hit on nearly every continent. Mechanical bulls went from being a training tool for rodeo cowboys to being a source of entertainment in bars everywhere. Cowboy hats and boots became cool. It opened the door for people like Garth Brooks to bring country music to jammed stadiums instead of local bars, in a way never imagined before.

Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas was declared “The world’s largest honky tonk” by the Guinness Book of World Records and declared Night Club of the Year in 1983 by the Academy of Country Music (ACM).

Gilley’s “1983 Club of the Year” award from the Academy of Country Music

Without Gilley’s and “Urban Cowboy” country music would still be the “ugly duckling” of the music industry, hiding away in small towns, bars, dinky radio stations, and pick-up truck radios. So the answer is, we want the memory of Gilley’s to be protected for future generations in a way no one else, to our knowledge, has done. We want to bring together as many artifacts, especially rare and one-of-a-kind pieces, as possible so they aren’t lost and forgotten. This blog will report on our progress and hopefully attract more unique items to our collection as time goes on and more people become aware of our efforts. So let’s get started!

We also have memorabilia from the Gilley/Cryer owned Johnny Lee’s Club (formerly the Nesadel Club) right down the street from the original Gilley’s. If you remember, Johnny Lee worked closely with Mickey Gilley, was also managed by Mickey’s manager and club partner Sherwood Cryer, and had a huge hit with “Looking For Love (In All The Wrong Places)” among many others.

Made famous by the cult film classic “Urban Cowboy” (1980) starring John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Sherwood Cryer, Charlie Daniels, Bonnie Rait, the Mechanical Bull, etc., Gilley’s is the most widely known and beloved country bar in the world. Known as “The World’s Largest Nite Club” Gilley’s was the home of Mickey Gilley, his radio show “Live From Gilley’s”, world famous concerts, rodeos, 4th of July picnics, Gilley’s Recording Studio, and crowds numbering in excess of 5,000 people on a regular basis. It was “THE” place to be.

The original Gilley’s Pasadena, TX poster pictured at the top of our home page is in perfect condition and properly framed. It hangs in the Gilley’s Museum collection. It’s 27×40 and cost an incredible $3.50 in the 1980’s according to the 2 Gilley’s merchandise catalogs in our collection. Good luck trying to find one now that doesn’t have pin holes, tape marks, tears, stains, fading, wear or folds. I haven’t seen another one in years of looking. Since we know that the beer can pictured in the poster came into existence in 1979 we know that the poster must have been designed around that time.

In early 2012 we came into possession of another original Gilley’s poster, this one in excellent condition, and it came in its original mailing tube that it was sent in from Gilley’s to its original purchaser. The mailing label on the tube is to a woman in Amarillo, Texas (we won’t give her name to protect her privacy) and the postage of $0.92 is shown on a Pitney Bowes machine printed stamp dated November 7, 1980 and postmarked Pasadena, Tex. so we know this is a very early printing, if not the first printing.

Gilley’s at the Frontier was always the best country bar in Las Vegas. When NFR and PBR had their events in Vegas there were lines all the way out the casino for hours all night long. It was a great place to hang out with your friends, have a few drinks, dance, ride the bull, watch Bikini Bull Riding, Mud Wrestling, and more. I was a regular there for nearly 4 years, and was there on closing night until the lights went out at about 5 a.m. The room was as quiet and dark as a funeral.

We will regularly be adding pictures of items in our collection along with any info we have on them. PLEASE comment on any of them, especially if you have additional info on anything from rarity, original price, current value, relevent stories, etc. or if you have questions. Your contributions are greatly appreciated! Offers to contribute or sell items to the museum are always welcome.

FYI, we don’t collect anything from the existing Dallas Gilley’s since it’s still going strong or from the new Gilley’s in Las Vegas (opened in mid-April, 2010 when they made an inquiry to purchase this collection for their club, which we declined to discuss) since it’s really just a BBQ joint/tourist trap and not really anything to speak of as a country bar, in our humble opinion. Check out our Gilley’s Las Vegas Poll at the top of the page to register your opinion and see how others feel.

Having passed on the new Gilley’s Las Vegas, we are looking for another venue to put the collection on display to the public. We also offer country bar design/decor consulting based on our decades of experience around country bars and thousands of conversations with customers about what they like and don’t like. Don’t make the same mistakes almost every bar makes. Talk to us BEFORE you let some designer push the same poor designs on you that he sells to everyone else.

We’ll be adding lots of new info, pictures, and commentary. So there you go. Visit us often and be a part of our community of Gilley’s lovers! And leave your comments and questions.

And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Just click the links at the top of this page!

See ya soon.

Bubba
Proprietor and Owner

PS. Please help support our efforts by visiting our sponsor CWdating.com. It’s always free to join with great features. If you’re single and into the country western lifestyle, check it out now. Thanks ya’ll.

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Filed under Autographs, Casino silver strikes, Collecting, Country Bars, Country Dancing, Country music collectibles, Gilley's gaming chips, Gilley's LE chips, Gilley's memorabilia, Johnny Lee, Mickey Gilley, Urban Cowboy collectibles, Urban Cowboy memorabilia, Vintage posters · Tagged with 2-step, beer memorabilia, Beer Posters, Bikini Bull Riding Contest, collectibles, country bars, country dancing, country music, country music poster, Gilley's, Gilley's Beer, Gilley's collectibles, Gilley's Frontier Hotel & Casino, Gilley's Las Vegas, Gilley's Las Vegas Memorabilia, Gilley's memorabilia, Gilley's Pasadena, Gilley's Treasure Island, Johnny Lee, memorabilia, Mickey Gilley, two step, TX, Urban Cowboy