A Texas music legend - the great Johnny Rodriguez - makes his Cactus Theater debut on Friday, October 18!
Almost 40 years after he first arrived in Nashville, Johnny Rodriguez is right back where he started coming full circle back to making the kind of honest country music that he and his fans always enjoyed.
Born December 10, 1951, Johnny was the second youngest of 10 children living in a four room house in Sabinal, Texas, a small town about 90 miles from the Mexico Border. In 1969, caught with friends stealing and barbecuing a goat, Rodriguez took the rap. It was this jail visit that gave Johnny his first break.
His jail house singing enthralled Texas Ranger, Joaquin Jackson, who told a promoter about Rodriguez. The promoter, Happy Shahan, hired Johnny to perform at the Alamo Village, a popular south Texas tourist attraction and location of many well know movie sets. It was here that Johnny was heard by Nashville artists Tom T. Hall and Bobby Bare who both encouraged Johnny to fly to Nashville. in 1971. 20-year-old Rodriguez found himself stepping off the plane with nothing more than his guitar in hand and $14 in his pocket. Soon he was fronting Tom T. Hall's band and writing songs.
Less than year later, Hall took Johnny over to the office of Roy Dea and Jerry Kennedy, then record producers of Mercury's Nashville operation, for an in-person audition. Dea offered a contract on the spot. There were 15 number one singles that followed. The first of the singles to reach number one was "Pass Me By”. The song raced through the country charts and put Johnny in the fast lane of the country music world. His next single, "You Always Come Back To Hurting Me” - didn't stop until it hit the top. It was the first of 11 consecutive #1 records.
His debut album, “Introducing Johnny Rodriguez” went to #1 on all three major trade charts and by 1973 he was nominated by the Country Music Association for "Male Vocalist of the Year" and won the Billboard Trend Setter Award for first Mexican-American to capture a national audience. Some of Johnny's classic hits during this period included "Pass Me By", "You Always Come Back (To Hurting Me)", "Riding My Thumb To Mexico", "That's The Way Love Goes" and "Just Get Up And Close The Door".
In the past 40 years, Johnny has released 35 albums and charted 45 singles. He has beat the pavement touring in every state in the U.S. and enjoys an enormous response when touring overseas in countries such as Switzerland, England, South Korea, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Guam, Poland, Canada and Mexico. This favored son of Texas has received standing ovations by audiences ranging from the Ryman Auditorium to Carnegie Hall. He has been honored with the presence of presidents - including Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and playing the Inaugural Ball for George Bush.
Johnny was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, TX in 2007, an honor well deserved for his contribution to country music. In 2010, Johnny received the Pioneer Award from the Institute of Hispanic Culture.
Tickets:
First 3 rows…………………………………………………$35
Remainder of floor……………………………………..$30
Standard balcony…………………………………….…$25
Box Seats (includes concessions)……………..$60