Matthew Robinson
1948 - 
2024 Living Tribute Honoree

A living legend of Black Austin music, Matthew Robinson has seen it all in his 50-plus year career. Born in 1948, Robinson grew up in the rich musical soil of East Austin. With musical parents, he began his musical journey as young as he could. He once reminisced, “There’s a picture of me at the age of six or eight months playing an old piano.” His early music training surely paid off, as he toured The States while just a teenager with his band The Mustangs. Initially just a vocalist, Matthew showed his determination and passion for music by learning guitar in his 20s. With help from the likes of other Austin music legends such as W.C. Clark, Blues Boy Hubbard, James Polk, and Martin Banks, Robinson was able to elevate himself into a bonafide guitar slinger with a strong singing voice to boot. Truly representing the often underappreciated diversity of Austin, Matthew remarked of his style that “I just kind of mix everything together: from Gospel to Chicano music to Jazz.” During his extensive years in Austin, Robinson has seen the East side where he grew up wiped away and erased. Countless Black businesses, communities, artists and venues – once cornerstones – are no longer standing. Robinson still is. Now the de facto ambassador of the Eastside scene, it is paramount that we honor him. Not merely for Matthew Robinson’s sake, but for all the untold stories of Black Austin music from generations past.
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W.C. Clark
November 16, 1939 - March 2, 2024

Dubbed the “Godfather” of Austin blues, W.C. (Wesley Curley) Clark emerged from the womb in 1939 with soul. “All the while my momma was pregnant with me, her and her three sisters had a gospel quartet. They were singing all the time. When I came out, the sound was already in myhead and body,” Clark reminisced. Hailing from the St. John’s area in Austin, Clark spent his whole life in the blues. But before he was The Don he had to learn the ways of a consummate bluesman. Playing with Blues Boy Hubbard and the Jets at Charlie’s Playhouse, perhaps as a bit of a rebellious adolescent, young W.C. dismissed the importance of stage etiquette, appearance and professionalism initially. “I just wanted to play music,” he once recalled, “but now I’m thankful for it ‘cause you’ll never see me on stage drinking beer or talking loud, wasting time between songs.” Clark’s influence on Austin music cannot be overstated. Across his illustrious career he impacted many important Austin musicians such as Matthew Robinson, Marcia Ball, Lou Ann Barton, and the Vaughan Brothers. In particular, Clark played a big role in Stevie Ray Vaughan’s career. “He used to come down [to the garage] and see me all the time. He wanted to put together a band.” Eventually Clark and Vaughan – along with Mike Kindred – formed a group together called Triple Threat. Though they disbanded just two years after their formation, Vaughan and Kindred went on to form Double Trouble, which went on to be one of the most successful Blues acts in history. Clark also had a successful career creating his own group, the W.C. Clark Blues Revue. Clark had a successful string of records starting in 1987 with Something for Everybody, receiving a multitude of accolades along the way. Clark’s success might be due to his uplifting interpretation of the blues. He once remarked, “If the Blues is played right it makes your soul feel clean.” It was with a clean soul in 2024 that W.C. Clark passed away. As the Godfather of Austin Blues, he left a legacy that has shaped the course of Austin music like only The Don could.
Photo by Max Grace.
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Margaret Wright
February 21, 1942 - December 6, 2020

The one and only matriarch of Austin music, Margaret Wright was born in early 1942 and raised on Austin’s east side. Growing up with a mother who played piano for church choir, Margaret was seemingly destined to play music. Young Margaret would spend hours playing the upright piano on the back porch of her family home. However, as she began taking lessons, her instructor told her she should focus on singing. These are words that the teacher would surely regret. Margaret went on to attend Huston-Tillotson University, and after graduation became an elementary school teacher. Breaking down long-standing walls of segregation, she was the first Black teacher at many of the schools where she taught. By all accounts, Wright was a magical performer. It seemed as if she could reach into the audience and speak to the hearts and souls of anyone who was listening. This is reflected in her artistic philosophy. She once reflected, “To me, music is a feeling. If you have a talent, whatever your talent is, like an artist or anybody else who creates stuff, you want to do it to make it more personable.” With a repertoire which runs as deep as her soulfulness, Wright could play anything – from blues to jazz to songbook tunes – all in her signature style. Her longtime bass player, Harold McMillan, recalled that “she knew every tune ever written, [music] was just like breathing to her.” Even with her immense talent, Wright was more than a musician. Johnny LaTouf, owner of Skylark Lounge, reminisced that “Margaret Wright represents the very soul of East Austin with every word she sings and every touch of the ivory keys on that old piano.” Despite receiving so much praise and adoration, she was never interested in giving interviews or attention beyond the stage. She said everything she wanted to say on the bandstand, through her music. Living long enough to see the gentrification of East Austin, Wright, however, was outspoken on the substantial changes taking place. “I don’t like what they did to [East Austin], and I think it was mean in nature. I think it was spiteful, hateful, [and] disgusting. Why do you take stuff from people? Don’t move them, build on what’s there.” Her words echo the sentiments of many Black East Austinites. Beyond her talents, Margaret was known for having a warm heart and an aura that could uplift an entire room. Local musician Oscar Ornelas recalled, “You know, everybody looked up to her… and it was just one of those things where you felt better just being around her. She just changed everybody’s life.” Passing away in December of 2020, Margaret Wright’s voice can no longer bring joy to Austin crowds. But through remembering and honoring her legacy we hope to continue just a little bit of that joy.
Photo courtesy of Texas Music Museum, Austin.
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Tyler 'T.D.' Bell
December 26, 1922 - January 9, 1999

Recognized as the first Austin musician to use an electric guitar on stage, T.D. Bell was an early pioneer of Austin music. Bell was born in 1922 in Lee County, Texas, just east of Austin. Growing up in Rockdale, his grandfather taught him to play banjo as a boy. As a member of the Greatest Generation, Bell was drafted into the Army, and while in the service he bought a hollow body guitar from one of his
compatriots. Once discharged from the Army, T.D. began fiddling around with his guitar – nothing too serious – until a seminal moment when he saw T-Bone Walker at a club in Temple. “While I heard T-Bone Walker there was no doubt in my mind that I was going back that night and start doing something. And I did,” he remarked. Spurred on by this inspirational moment, Bell would spend nights trying to learn T-Bone licks. “Bobby Sox Baby,” in particular, was his favorite song to play. At the behest of Victory Grill owner Johnny Holmes, Bell moved to Austin. Working at an aluminum plant at the time, Bell was initially apprehensive to make the move. However, “he [Holmes] asked me to come up and I just wasn’t ready for Austin, a city, [I was a] country boy.” The decision loomed over him, he thought and thought about it, and eventually decided to come up to Austin for a rehearsal. Once they lauded him as “T Bone Bell,” – and Holmes told him he could make a lavish $125 a week as opposed to his meek $1 an hour at the aluminum plant – the decision was made. Teaming up with legendary pianist Erbie Bowser, Bell became a staple of the Victory Grill, along with clubs like Charlie’s Playhouse and the Club Petit. Bell was recognized as eastside Austin’s premier guitar player of the 50s and 60s. In his heyday he shared the stage with B.B. King, Bobby Bland, his idol T-Bone Walker, among other legends. During his time, Bell was an influence on local musicians, too, including Blues Boy Hubbard and W.C. Clark. A true working man, Bell, despite his success, left the music scene in the late 70s and formed a successful trucking company. In the late 80s, now as an elder statesman of the blues, T.D. Bell made his return to the bandstand. Properly recognized as a legend, he was a mainstay at the Continental Club, and even made his way to the Smithsonian and Carnegie Hall to perform with his group The Blues Specialists. His daughter Melony Bell remarked, “His second go-around at music was an honor and a pleasure for him.” With this deep appreciation for music, T.D. Bell regularly played guitar until his death in early 1999.
​Photo by Clay Shorkey; courtesy of Texas Music Museum, Austin.
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Erbie Bowser
May 5, 1918 - August 15, 1995

A versatile pianist, Erbie Bowser was born in 1918 in Davilla, Texas. Growing up in Palestine, Texas, both of his parents were musicians and that talent was passed on to him as a natural musician. A precocious player, he got early experience touring the South during the summer with a group called the North Carolina Cotton Pickers Review while he was still attending Lincoln High School. When young Erbie was conscripted, he toured with the Special Services Band going around Europe and North Africa. After his discharge, he ended up meeting fellow Black Austin musician T.D. Bell while working in West Texas oil fields. Bowser eventually moved to Austin with his wife in the mid 1950s as she attended Huston-Tillotson College. Once T.D. joined Erbie in Austin, the two became mainstays at the Victory Grill, the Club Petit and Charlie’s Playhouse. Describing his style, Bowser stated, “I like it all. But I keep myself sort of from blues to some sort of jazz. Those are the types that I try to follow most of all.” Bowser also credits his wife as an important factor in his success, as a musician herself she was able to read music while Erbie wasn’t. He admitted, “... see I depended on her a lot... If they had music, then I would have to bring it to her to let her show me my changes and flairs... and when I’d pick that up and go back they’d think I was a professional.” In his later career, Bowser, along with The Blues Specialists, performed at esteemed venues like the Smithsonian Institution and Carnegie Hall. Documented in the Smithsonian archives, Erbie Bowser’s playing will live on for centuries – well beyond his passing in the summer of 1997.
​Photo courtesy of Texas Music Museum, Austin.
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Henry 'Blues Boy' Hubbard
Date unknown, 1934 - November 25, 2019

A gregarious statesman of the blues, Henry ‘Blues Boy’ Hubbard was a gem of the eastside scene. Born in 1934 in La Grange, Texas, Hubbard’s first musical influence was his mother. A multi-instrumentalist, he praised her, saying “She did all this by ear. My mother, she could play anything that she heard.” Though his mother played spirituals, Hubbard fell in love with rhythm and blues by listening to the radio. Inspired after hearing “Boogie Woogie” by Sugar Chile Robinson, Hubbard set out to learn piano by ear. He took lessons at the behest of his mother but – when he heard T-Bone Walker – the guitar called his name. Hubbard was drafted into the Army at the age of 21, then transferred to the Air Force where he became a jet mechanic. After his discharge from service, Hubbard moved to Austin and donned the name ‘Blues Boy.’ Soon he was leading the house band at the legendary Charlie’s Playhouse. Blues Boy Hubbard and the Jets backed some legendary acts including Freddie King, B.B. King, Joe Tex, Z.Z. Hill and dozens of others. Hubbard held down the bandstand at Charlie’s Playhouse from 1958 until Charlie passed away in ‘79. Hubbard nurtured generations of Austin bluesmen in his time. W.C. Clark, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bill Campbell, Derek O’Brien and more all attended Hubbard’s blues training grounds. Though he never garnered much fame outside of Austin, Hubbard never needed it. Even after his residency at Charlie’s Playhouse ended and his phone was ringing incessantly with offers, Blues Boy was content working his maintenance job with the State of Texas and playing gigs for the fun of it. “I’d still play a gig because I liked it. If it’s a little money in it, I’m not greedy,” he admitted. Though perhaps not the most climactic of endings, Hubbard’s easygoing manner allowed him to depart this life in 2019 with peace and contentment in his heart – an achievement beyond any amount of fame or notoriety.
​Photo courtesy of Texas Music Museum, Austin.
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Johnny Holmes
1917 - 2001
Founder/owner, Victory Grill

Johnny Holmes, founder of the Victory Grill, was a pillar of the East Austin music scene. Inspired by his guitar-playing father, Johnny tried for himself but was simply not fit for it. He had the idea that if he couldn’t play music, then why not promote it. Holmes started the Victory Cafe in 1945 initially as a place for returning Black soldiers to hangout after returning from World War II. In 1947, Holmes opened an adjacent space which became the ‘Kovac Room’ – the music venue portion of the Victory Grill. Holmes himself didn’t have much of an interest in the Blues, according to his daughter Faye, but he clearly recognized what his customers wanted. Now a cornerstone of the Chitlin’ Circuit, legends such as B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Gatemouth Brown got their start at the Victory Grill. Many other greats performed at the venue: Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Chuck Berry and Janice Joplin. In 1952, Holmes leased out the Victory Grill as he traveled to West Texas and Alaska. Upon his return, he was stunned to see the drastic changes that had taken place in East Austin. With the tides of integration, affluent Blacks could move to the suburbs along with their wealth. Another change: The Chitlin’ Circuit was no longer necessary if Blacks could play at integrated venues. With this downturn, Holmes closed the nightclub section of the establishment. Victory has had a turbulent trajectory since then. As part of Juneteenth celebrations in 1987, the Blues made its return to the Victory with a “Texas Blues Reunion,” featuring legends T.D. Bell, Erbie Bowser, W.C. Clark and Blues Boy Hubbard. Then, a devastating fire overcame the building in 1988 and the Victory was forced to close. The Victory remained closed for years until a friend of Holmes, R.V. Adams, restored the venue and reopened it to local fanfare in 1996. One of the few clubs left standing from the Chitlin’ Circuit, the Victory Grill is on the National Register of Historic Places and is not going anywhere anytime soon. Johnny Holmes died in 2001, but his enduring contributions to East Austin are certain to live on.
​Photo still from 'Texas Blues Reunion' documentary film, produced by Tary Owens.
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