First things first. Thank you for taking the time to check out The Wittliff Collections’ new blog, “The Keystone.” For most of you the word will be familiar—the Keystone was the semi-annual newsletter you received in the mail for many …
Welcome to The Keystone
First things first. Thank you for taking the time to check out The Wittliff Collections’ new blog, “The Keystone.” For most of you the word will be familiar—the Keystone was the semi-annual newsletter you received in the mail for many …
The making of Wyatt McSpadden’s traffic-stopping photo of Abra Moore
It’s a face that’s launched a thousand conversations at The Wittliff Collections. Wyatt McSpadden’s iconic photograph of singer-songwriter Abra Moore has been a conversation piece since it was first published in Texas Monthly in January 1996. The framed print — …
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A new Wittliff “Bookmark” on the radio
The Wittliff is excited to announce that you will soon be able to hear in-depth interviews with your favorite Wittliff authors, thanks to a new partnership with “Bookmarked,” the weekly radio program hosted by Priscilla Leder on San Marcos radio …
Funeral for a friend: Rita Vidaurri
Golden Age ranchera singer Rita Vidaurri, who died January 16 in San Antonio at age 94, was a friend of The Wittliff Collections. Thanks to the Ramon Hernandez Collection, and a 2017 exhibition “Legends of Tejano: Highlights from the Ramon …
Teen Canteen letters shed light on ’60s youth culture
Sam Kinsey’s fabled Teen Canteen, a teen dance club which operated from 1961 to 1977 at various locales in San Antonio, wasn’t only an important rock venue of the era – the Sir Douglas Quintet, Mike Nesmith (pre-Monkees), Mike Post, …
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A Brief History of The Encino Press
In 1963, shortly after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Bill Wittliff and his wife, Sally, founded the Encino Press on the kitchen table of their Dallas apartment. The press focused on regional material about Texas and the …
The Boys Who Wrote the Songs
The Rogers & Hammerhead Show aired from 1996-1997 on the Austin Music Network on cable access TV. Freddy Powers and Bill McDavid created the show to shine a spotlight on songwriters who developed country music in Texas—and whose songs …
The mystery of Texas songwriter Rich Minus
Making sense of the hard luck and career of forgotten “Laredo Rose” songwriter Rich Minus isn’t easy. There are lots of gaps in the story of the enigmatic San Antonio native who for a time ran with hard-scrabble singer-songwriters Townes …
