88R29832 JRI-D
By: Eckhardt S.R. No. 639
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Broken Spoke, Austin's iconic country dance
hall, was honored with the dedication of an Official Texas
Historical Marker on April 12, 2023; and
WHEREAS, Native Austinite James White opened the Broken Spoke
in 1964 as a cafe in a former lumberyard on South Lamar Boulevard;
the business quickly won the loyalty of country music lovers with
its jukebox and live performers, and in 1966, it expanded to its
current size with the addition of a bandstand and a large dance
floor; from the outset, it featured the same atmospheric decor it
has today, complete with red-checkered tablecloths, pool tables,
and low ceilings; as Mr. White put it in the famous pronouncement he
would make from the stage each night, the Broken Spoke has always
been "a real Texas honky-tonk . . . not Car-neg-ie Hall!"; and
WHEREAS, Within a few years of its opening, the dance hall
began booking well-known country music artists, such as Bob Wills
and His Texas Playboys, Tex Ritter, Ray Price, and Ernest Tubb; in
the 1970s, it became a popular venue for Willie Nelson, Kris
Kristofferson, and other outlaw country acts, and George Strait was
among the performers who cut their teeth at the Spoke early in their
careers; the music royalty who have graced the stage through the
years also includes Kitty Wells, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, and
Garth Brooks, and the impressive lineup of stars is commemorated in
the "Tourist Trap" museum that occupies a room at the nightspot; and
WHEREAS, Standing alongside the performers in most of the
museum photographs is Mr. White, who together with his wife,
Annetta, ran the Broken Spoke for more than a half century; his
friendly greeting welcomed generations of patrons, and his
unwavering allegiance to the venue's traditional country roots made
it a cultural landmark known around the globe; although Mr. White
passed away in 2021, the White family continues to operate the
Spoke, maintaining its traditions of hosting live music five nights
a week, offering lessons for those taking their first steps across
the sawdust-covered dance floor, and serving its famous
chicken-fried steak; and
WHEREAS, Over the years, the Broken Spoke has been featured
in countless publications and on such television programs as Austin
City Limits and the Country Music Television special "Honky Tonk
Sounds"; it also served as a location in the Willie Nelson movie
Honeysuckle Rose, NBC's Friday Night Lights television series, and
the movie Wild Texas Wind, which featured Spoke mainstay Asleep at
the Wheel; in 2010, the dance hall was inducted into the Texas
Western Swing Hall of Fame, and Donna Marie Miller authored a book
about its history titled The Broken Spoke: Austin's Legendary
Honky-Tonk; and
WHEREAS, For nearly six decades, two-steppers and country
music aficionados have found a slice of honky-tonk heaven under the
neon lights of the Broken Spoke, and this beloved cultural treasure
is indeed deserving of this official acknowledgment of its
historical legacy; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature
hereby commemorate the dedication of an Official Texas Historical
Marker for the Broken Spoke dance hall and extend to the White
family and to all those associated with the venue sincere best
wishes for the future; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the Broken Spoke as an expression of high regard by the
Texas Senate.