Anyone from Oklahoma or the surrounding area is familiar with a venue in Tulsa called Cain's Ballroom that's been an historic music hall for decades. It was built in 1924 and was the place from where Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys used to broadcast their first radio show, and it earned the nickname The Carnegie Hall of Western Swing. Besides Bob Wills, it hosted other notable greats like Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams Sr, and Tex Ritter.
It was also a hopping dance hall at that time, famous for its bouncy (rumored to be spring-loaded), maple floor laid out in a concentric square pattern and the 4' neon star in the middle of the roof above the dance floor. There are still folks around Tulsa who have very fond memories of the dances at Cains.
There was a period during the '60s where the place fell into disrepair, but luckily it was purchased and brought back to life in time to see some great modern bands come through, including Jerry Lee Lewis, George Clinton, Jack White, Elvis Costello, and Beck. One of the most seemingly-odd for Tulsa was the Sex Pistols. Cain's was one of only 7 stops on their 1978 US tour.
Today, Cain's is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is an iconic building in Tulsa.
So now for the fun part. I was able to get in touch with the family that owns Cain's, and they've given me some of the original flooring to build 4 guitars. 2 of them will be for Cain's, 1 will be a donation guitar to raise money for Tulsa Public Schools music education, and 1 will be for sale as my Tulsa County Heritage Series guitar.
That's right. Someone is going to be able to own an authentic piece of music history — not something to just hang on the wall, but something to inspire them to make their own music history. Feel free to email me at roger@dogtiredguitars.com if you're interested in this once-in-a-lifetime chance to own something filled with some of the coolest historic music mojo ever.
