Houston music landmark razed

The old Bronze Peacock Records building, which most recently housed Charity Baptist Church, was razed over the weekend. Country singer Johnny Bush recalled that the sounds of the club would resonate beyond its walls into the streets of the neighborhood. "I'd walk out to the street and just listen," he told the Chronicle. "The music, the sounds were something else. It seemed almost like a dream." >>Keep clicking for a look at Houston's favorite music venues. less The old Bronze Peacock Records building, which most recently housed Charity Baptist Church, was razed over the weekend. Country singer Johnny Bush recalled that the sounds of the club would resonate beyond ... more Photo: Nick De La Torre, STAFF Photo: Nick De La Torre, STAFF Image 1 of / 59 Caption Close Houston music landmark razed 1 / 59 Back to Gallery

Decades had passed since the white building at 2809 Erastus at the corner of Wylie in the Fifth Ward served as the epicenter for African-American nightlife in Houston. The storied Bronze Peacock club was eventually shuttered and transformed into the headquarters for the late Don Robey's Houston-based music empire, where he oversaw his Duke and Peacock labels and the successful Buffalo Booking Agency.

The building for years housed the Charity Baptist Church, but it had fallen into disrepair and became a canvas for graffiti. Over the weekend the building, a forgotten landmark in the city's musical history, was razed.

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The Bronze Peacock was the culmination of years of entertainment development by Robey, a Fifth Ward native. Robey was a ruthless and wily businessman and gambler, who started opening night clubs in his neighborhood in the 1930s. In February 1946, he opened the Bronze Peacock, designed to be the finest upscale club in the Fifth Ward. The Peacock was a bustling destination in post-War Houston and quickly became the city's prime hub for live music on the chitlin' circuit, where top-tier black entertainers would perform.

Country singer Johnny Bush recalled the sounds of the club would resonate beyond its walls into the streets of the neighborhood. "I'd walk out to the street and just listen," he told the Chronicle. "The music, the sounds were something else. It seemed almost like a dream."

Robey's interests were grander than a single club, though. He wanted to build a music empire in Houston, as he realized the financial possibilities in music publishing and recordings. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top called him "a mover and shaker on the Houston blues, gospel and R&B scene."

Robey started Peacock Records, one of the first, if not the first, music business run by a black man in the States. Eventually that empire grew too large for its office on Lyons, so in 1953 Robey converted his club into a recording studio and office for his new venture. That year he bought the Memphis-based Duke Records, and began releasing music on the Duke and Peacock labels by artists like Bobby "Blue" Bland, Junior Parker, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, Johnny Ace, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, the Bells of Joy and numerous others.

He courted the city's deep pool of music talent including the writer Joe Medwick and the brilliant producer and arranger Joe Scott. Though Robey's musical aptitude has been described as marginal or non-existent, he managed to grease his name (or one of his pen names) onto scores of recordings so he'd get a cut of the publishing. His business acumen was brass-knuckled, which created both loyalty and animosity.

And he ran the entire operation out of 2809 Erastus, with inestimable input from business manager Evelyn Johnson, who also ran his Buffalo Booking Agency.

By the 1970s the industry had changed such that Robey's corner had been reduced significantly. He sold what was left of his music business holdings in 1973. Two years later, he died.

In 2011, Peacock Records was honored with a State Historic Marker, but it was placed at the 4120 Lyons address, which benefited from more diligent upkeep than the Erastus building, which has deteriorated for years. The building's disappearance leaves only history and memories and the smaller room at House of Blues downtown, named the Bronze Peacock Room in honor of the storied old venue.