Urban Coybows featured for melon fest
HOPE – Mickey Gilley, the 1976 Country Music Entertainer of the Year, and Gold Record recording artist Johnny Lee will perform their world-famous Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour at the 42nd Annual Hope Watermelon Festival on Friday, August 10, at 8:30 p.m. The concert will be held on the CMC Stage inside Hope Fair Park. Gates open at 6:00 p.m.
Mickey Gilley helped create “Gilley’s,” the landmark Texas nightclub in 1971. Gilley’s Club was the sensation of the era: the “world’s largest honky-tonk.” It was a launching pad for some of country music’s biggest stars and the dominating force behind the “Urban Cowboy” craze that swept the country in the early ’80s, following the release of the John Travolta movie filmed in the Pasadena, Texas, nightclub.
He scored his first string of consecutive number-one hits in the mid-’70s — “Roomful of Roses,” “I Overlooked An Orchid,” “City Lights,” “Window Up Above,” “Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier At Closing Time” and “Bring It On Home To Me.”
In all, Mickey has achieved a remarkable 39 Top-Ten country hits, with 17 of those songs reaching the #1 spot on the country charts. In 1976, he swept the ACM Awards, hauling home trophies for Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist, Song of the Year, Single of the Year and Album of the Year.
Johnny Lee is one of the newest members of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. Lee performed in the film, “Urban Cowboy,” and recorded several songs used in the soundtrack. “Lookin’ For Love,” from the soundtrack, became Lee’s first Gold Record. The song spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Country Music Singles Charts as #1, and #2 on the Pop Music Singles Charts.
He followed up “Lookin’ For Love” with “One In A Million,” which spent two weeks at #1. More #1 Singles during this time included — “Bet Your Heart On Me,” “The Yellow Rose,” and “You Could’ve Heard a Heart Break.” His string of Top 10 hits continued with “Pickin’ Up Strangers,” “Prisoner of Hope,” “Be There for Me Baby,” “Cherokee Fiddle,” “Sounds Like Love,” “Hey Bartender” and “Rollin’ Lonely.”
General admission ticket prices are $15 for adults and $6 for children ages four to ten. Reserved seating tickets are available for $40. Adult general admission prices will increase to $20 on the day of the event. Tickets will be available beginning June 7 at the Hope Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce office or online at www.uacch.edu.