The Legacy of Cain's Ballroom
Built in 1924 by Tulsa, Oklahoma (OK) entrepreneur Tate Brady, Cain’s Ballroom went from a garage, a dime-a-dance joint and a dancing academy to one of the top performance venues in America. Cain's was the home of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, who broadcast live from the ballroom on KVOO Radio, Tulsa, OK. Wills came to Oklahoma after his former manager, W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, ran him out of Texas. Texas' loss was Oklahoma's gain.
Western swing music evolved out of this Oklahoma state landmark because Madison W. Cain opened the business in 1933 as Cain's Dancing Academy. On-the spot teachers would give lessons in all dance forms - foxtrot and waltz as well as Texas two step. On New Year's Day 1935, Bob Wills and His Playboys were booked for a dance at the ballroom. When the band arrived, their manager, O.W. Mayo, fell in love with the ballroom. So they worked out a deal with Madison Cain, where they could have the ballroom as Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys' headquarters.
Dances followed and KVOO radio broadcast the band from the ballroom. Wills melded country with jazz sounds by using some of the best musicians in the country, many of whom he found in Oklahoma, including legendary rhythm guitarist Eldon Shamblin. KVOO soon doubled its power and its signal reached all over the region.
The Playboys quickly became a national phenomenon and Bob Wills was recognized as a big-time bandleader on par with Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. The music they were creating would soon be called western swing and Wills' name as well as the Ballroom's would be inextricably linked to it. During Bob Wills' heyday, Cain's was owned by O. W. Mayo.
Bob Wills was born into a family of fiddlers where he learned to play the fiddle and mandolin. As a young man, Wills performed at house dances, medicine shows and on the radio. On New Year’s Day 1935, he made his debut at Cain’s and the venue soon became known as The Home of Bob Wills.
As The Home of Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys from 1935 to 1958, the ballroom was especially significant for popularizing a new sound of western music called western swing, a form of country and western that combined jazz, hillbilly, boogie, blues, big band swing and jitterbug music. Weekly dances, a midnight radio show and a daily noon-hour program were played by Bob Wills during what are remembered as his glory years.
The highlight of the ballroom is a historic maple, spring loaded dance floor designed in a log cabin or concentric square pattern. Lighting the dance floor is a four-foot neon star and a silver disco ball. The walls are decorated with oversized photographs of various musicians who played Cain’s, including Johnnie Lee Wills, Ernest Tubb, Ted Williams, Tex Ritter, Kay Starr and Tennessee Ernie Ford. Between the portraits are black fiddle-shaped fixtures illuminated by a single red bulb.
The building was constructed as an auto garage. In the late 1920s, original owner Tate Brady turned the building into the Louvre Ballroom, a dime-a-dance hall ballroom. The original ticket booth is still standing. A red neon star flickers from the ceiling over the center of the dance floor, which is filled with folding chairs and tables ready for a concert. Old timers remember Cain's as the connection for bootleg whiskey.
Prohibition wasn't repealed in Oklahoma until 1957 and the phone booth at Cain's was filled to the brim with business cards of bootleggers willing to meet clients in the alley. When over served patrons got too rowdy, Wills would tap the microphone with the bow of his fiddle and launch into a church hymn.
During the wildcat 1920s everyone traveled to Tulsa to strike oil. Today there are only a half dozen oil companies headquartered in town. Most companies left Tulsa for more fertile ground in Houston and Dallas, Texas.
Tulsa was built on the working class ethic of oil barons Waite Phillips (Phillips 66), J. Paul Getty and William G. Skelly. After working in the oil fields all day, at night Cain's was a popular place to unwind. Cain's is still a top choice of touring bands and music lovers who love the authentic dance-hall ambiance, great acoustics, cheap drinks and original wood dance floor.
Dr. Jim (Doc Roc) and Alice Rodgers purchased the Cain’s Ballroom in 2002. After a much needed three month renovation, the historic venue opened it’s doors once again on October 1, 2003 as a family owned business and a sold out Dwight Yokam show.
Under the management of Chad and Hunter Rodgers, Tulsans have been blessed with live world class entertainment from Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Elvis Costello, Wilco and many others. In the first quarter of 2008 Cain’s Ballroom was listed as number 19 in the world for ticket sales in venues with a capacity less than 3,000.
Researched and written by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music. Oct. 15, 2011
