Pasadena, Texas

Everything Pasadena is known for

17 songs mention this city 2 artists from here

Pasadena, Texas, a city in southeastern Harris County, holds one of the most famous spots in country music history. It was home to Gilley's, the giant honky-tonk where the movie Urban Cowboy was filmed, and Johnny Lee's "Looking for Love" from that soundtrack is one of the songs in our collection that brings the city to life.

Pasadena is also home to the Tejano band La Fiebre, a fixture of the genre for nearly four decades, and country artist Jake Bush. Songs like "Honkytonk U" by Toby Keith keep the city's dance-hall legacy alive, and the annual Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo still features live music.

Music in Pasadena

Songs About Pasadena

Looking for Love
Johnny Lee
90%
Sam’s Place
Buck Owens
54%
"She hails from Pasadena"
Beaumont
Hayes Carll
53%
"I'd of stopped in Pasadena"
Hot Texas Christmas Day
Dale Watson
51%
"'Cause down, oh-oh-oh, Pasadena way"
someone else's now
wade bowen
45%
Heaven
Kevin Fowler
30%
High Everyday
South Park Mexican
23%
"Peace to my boys up in Pasadene"
Honkytonk U
Toby Keith
7%
"I've played every beer joint tavern from New York City out to Pasadena"
Pasadena
Ken G-713
5%
"(title contains "Pasadena")"
Holly the Hustle
The Delines
4%
"She moved to Pasadena and it worked the same"
Pretty Ugly
Teague Brothers Band
4%
"It's hell on a Pasadena night"
Someone Else’s Now
Wade Bowen
3%
"The wildest flower out of Pasadena"
The South’s Gonna Rattle Again
Hank Williams Jr.
2%
"And Gilley's sellin' bowls everywhere you go"
Drank Like Hank
Brothers Osborne
2%
"Yeah we sang like Mickey Gilley"
Marley Purt Drive
Bee Gees
2%
"Headed to the freeway Tried to find the Pasadena sign"
I’ve Been Everywhere
Hank Snow
1%
"Diamantina, Pasadena, Catalina, see what I mean-a"
I’ve Been Everywhere...In Texas
Brian Burns
1%
"Pasadena"

Artists From Pasadena

L
La Fiebre
latin Pop: 36
J
Jake Bush
country Pop: 25

Rivers & Roads in Song near Pasadena

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Pasadena.

Interstate 45 7 songs Interstate 10 32 songs US Route 90 8 songs U.S. Route 59 7 songs Brazos River 37 songs Trinity River 10 songs

Musical Heritage

Gilley's honky-tonk RoadyGoat

4500 Spencer Highway, Pasadena, Texas. Today it's an empty lot — but people still pull over to take pictures of nothing, because of what stood there. Gilley's. The honky-tonk they billed as the biggest in the world, with a mechanical bull in the middle of the floor and something like six thousand people packed in on a big night. In 1980 it became the whole set of "Urban Cowboy." John Travolta spent a month out here getting the walk right; Debra Winger took an actual waitress job at Gilley's to prep. Houston's own Patsy Swayze taught the cast to two-step, and Johnny Lee sang "Lookin' for Love" straight off that soundtrack and onto the radio. Then in 1989, a fire took it, and it never came back. Now it's just a slab. But stand there long enough and you can about hear it.

RoadyGoat →

Gilley's: The World's Largest Honky-Tonk RoadyGoat

1971

You are standing on the ground that was once Gilley's, billed as the world's largest honky-tonk. In the early 1970s a Pasadena businessman, Sherwood Cryer, took an old open-air beer joint he ran on Spencer Highway, a concrete slab with a roof and not much else, walled it in, air-conditioned it, and put a country singer's name over the door. The singer, Mickey Gilley, wanted to call it the Den of Sin. Cryer insisted on Gilley's, because Gilley was the draw. At its peak the place sprawled across roughly seventy thousand square feet and could pack in around six thousand people. The Guinness Book of World Records listed it as the largest honky-tonk on Earth. Inside were acres of dance floor, a row of bars, dozens of pool tables, an indoor rodeo arena, a recording studio, and a punching-bag machine. It ran from ten in the morning to two at night, seven days a week. The motto said it all: We Doze but We Never Close. (Sources: TSHA Handbook of Texas; Austin Chronicle; Houston Press.)

The Soundtrack That Outshone the Movie RoadyGoat

1980

The Urban Cowboy soundtrack may have outshone the movie. The double album hit number three on the Billboard 200, topped the country chart, and went multi-platinum. Its breakout single was Johnny Lee's Lookin' for Love, a number-one country hit that crossed to number five on the pop chart, though, fun fact, it wasn't written for the film and had been turned down by a long list of singers first. Mickey Gilley scored his own number-one with a country cover of the soul classic Stand by Me. The Charlie Daniels Band's The Devil Went Down to Georgia rode along too, plus tracks from Joe Walsh, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray, Boz Scaggs, and Jimmy Buffett, whose Hello Texas opened the record. The album gave country music some of the biggest mainstream exposure it had ever seen. (Sources: Billboard; RIAA; Wikipedia.)

History of Pasadena

Pasadena, TX RoadyGoat

Pasadena felt Harvey's wrath like a personal blow. The bayous and drainage ditches that once whispered of rice paddies and alligator sightings swelled into raging rivers, turning familiar streets into watery labyrinths. It wasn't just the sheer volume of rain, though that was devastating enough. It was the way the storm lingered, an uninvited guest refusing to leave, relentlessly pounding the city that prides itself on hard work and resilience. Entire neighborhoods were submerged, families displaced, and the spirit of Pasadena, usually so robust, felt momentarily dampened. Even now, years later, the scars remain, not just in the rebuilt homes and businesses, but in the collective memory. Conversations still drift back to "the flood," a shared experience that reshaped the city's identity. There's a heightened awareness of emergency preparedness, a stronger sense of community as neighbors remember helping neighbors, and a renewed appreciation for the simple things – a dry home, a working car, the reassurance of familiar faces. The Strawberry Festival, always a beloved tradition, took on a deeper meaning in the years after Harvey, a symbol of Pasadena's enduring spirit and its determination to bloom again, no matter what the storm.

Pasadena, TX RoadyGoat

Pasadena, Texas, is more than just a stop along the Gulf Freeway. It's a place where hard work and Texas pride run deep. Back when rice paddies stretched across the landscape, this area was starting to make a name for itself. Even now, if you spend enough time near the bayous, you might catch a glimpse of an alligator sunning itself. But Pasadena’s got a personality bigger than any reptile. For a while there, the whole world seemed to know Pasadena because of Gilley's. That massive honky-tonk, the biggest anywhere, drew crowds from everywhere. It's where country music and the Texas spirit collided. And while Gilley's might be gone now, the spirit lives on in the people.

Pasadena, TX RoadyGoat

Pasadena is a place shaped by water and the land's patient flatness. You won't find dramatic hills or rocky outcroppings here. Instead, the land slopes gently toward Galveston Bay, a coastal prairie crisscrossed by bayous and slow-moving rivers. This low elevation and proximity to the Gulf have always defined life here. It’s why rice farming took root so easily, the fields drinking deeply from the abundant rainfall and the natural irrigation provided by the waterways. It’s also why the American alligator, a creature perfectly suited to these humid, marshy environments, feels right at home. The people of Pasadena have learned to live with the rhythms of this land. They're resilient, industrious, and deeply connected to their community. That spirit comes from generations of working this land, understanding its bounty, and respecting its power. Hurricane Harvey’s devastating floods are a stark reminder of that power, but also a testament to the community's ability to rebuild and endure. It’s a spirit you can feel at the annual Strawberry Festival, a celebration of the land's gifts, and even in the echoes of Gilley's, a place where hard work and Texas pride found a release.

Regina Kay Walters and the Truck Stop Killer

1990

In early 1990, 14-year-old Regina Kay Walters left Pasadena, Texas with her 18-year-old boyfriend Ricky Lee Jones, hitchhiking toward Mexico. The pair were picked up by long-haul truck driver Robert Ben Rhoades — a serial killer who operated a torture chamber in his cab. Rhoades killed Jones immediately and held Walters captive for weeks before strangling her with wire. Her body was found in an Illinois barn in September 1990. Rhoades was caught that April in Arizona. He is suspected in up to 50 murders and remains imprisoned for life.

Biographical →

Texan Army Crossing of Buffalo Bayou (San Jacinto)

1836

3000 ft. north at this site the Texas army under command of General Sam Houston crossed Buffalo Bayou on April 19, 1836 on a raft built from Isaac Batterson's house and began the march which terminated with the victory at San Jacinto April 21, 1836.

Historical Marker →

Dean Corll and the Houston Mass Murders — Pasadena, Texas, 1973

1970

In August of nineteen seventy-three, a seventeen-year-old named Elmer Wayne Henley shot and killed his thirty-three-year-old associate Dean Corll in a house in Pasadena and then called the police. What officers found when they arrived made the Pasadena Police Department physically ill. Corll, a Houston candy factory worker known around the neighborhood as the Candy Man, had spent three years abduc…

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Gilley's

1970

Gilley's was a nightclub located in Pasadena, Texas, from 1970 to 1990. The club, owned by Sherwood Cryer, had been previously called Shelly's. Cryer decided to reopen it in 1970 under the name Gilley's, with budding musician Mickey Gilley as partner. Gilley, who grew up in Ferriday, Louisiana, with cousins Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimmy Swaggart, wanted to call the club the "Den of Sin," but Sherwood insisted on naming it Gilley's, since Mickey Gilley himself was to be the headlining act. Gilley's launched Mickey Gilley's career, for the club was an instant success. It filled to capacity nightly soon after the opening. It had a shooting gallery, showers for truckers, a rodeo arena with mechanical bulls, pool tables, punching bags, and a dance floor big enough for thousands. It had a 6,000-person capacity and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest honky-tonk. Gilley's was open seven days a week, from 10 A.M. to 2 A.M. Its motto was "We Doze but We Never Close." Dramatic economic growth occurred along the Texas Gulf Coast in the late 1970s, especially in Houston. Many residents of Pasadena worked in the Houston-area petrochemical plants, and they used Gilley's as a place to socialize. Loretta Lynn, Ernest Tubb , Emmylou Harris, and Roseanne Cash all played at Gilley's, along with many other famous country artists. Most performances were recorded live and archived, and the nightly shows were broadcast weekly on radio from 1977 to 1989. Live from Gilley's was carried nationally by more than 500 stations. Thanks to Armed Forces Radio, the show was also broadcast around the globe. In 1978 Aaron Latham published "The Ballad of the Urban Cowboy: America's Search for True Grit" in the September 12 issue of Esquire magazine. Cryer had urged Latham to write this article, based on Latham's experiences at Gilley's, in hopes that a movie would be made of the story. The movie Urban Cowboy began filming in 1979. Most of the movie was filmed inside Gilley's. It starred John Travolta and Debra Winger as the characters Bud and Sissy, who meet at Gilley's, marry, separate, and then reunite. Gator Conley, a regular at Gilley's, was considered the best dancer and mechanical bull rider; the director used him frequently throughout the movie. Conley stated, "A lot of people say the movie made Gilley's, but actually it was the other way around." Urban Cowboy , a box office hit, brought Gilley's into American pop culture and made the club one of Houston's main tourist draws. Even after the fad passed, Gilley's continued to draw crowds. The Academy of Country Music awarded Gilley's the title "best nightclub of the year" in 1984. Eventually Mickey Gilley became frustrated because he believed that Cryer failed to maintain the place and present quality acts. Cryer refused to make major renovations over the years, and fans were complaining of dirty restrooms and a bad parking lot, among other problems. Gilley, who thought this reflected poorly on his name, sued to gain control of the club in 1988, claiming that Cryer had been keeping profits. The jury awarded Gilley the club and forced Cryer to pay Gilley $17 million. Cryer had to give up much of his real estate to pay the debt. The club operated under Gilley briefly after the lawsuit, until the judge ordered it closed in 1989 due to loss of profits. Gilley rescued the tapes of the live shows before a suspicious fire burned the club down in 1990. The Pasadena school district has owned the lot since 1992. In the early 2000s the property was still mired in tax liens, unpaid taxes amounted to more than the property was worth, and PISD was searching for a buyer. In November 2005 all remaining structures, including the rodeo arena, were demolished to clear the site for the construction of a middle school. The restored Gilley's sign can be seen about a mile away at the Cowboy Ranch restaurant. Mickey Gilley opened Gilley's Dallas in 2003 to serve patrons in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metrop

Tsha Handbook → · 4.3 mi away

Pasadena

1836

This area has progressed from Indian territory to pioneer ranch land to space-age Pasadena. Known at one time for its strawberry patches, it is now acclaimed for its oil and chemical industries. The Vince brothers, members of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 settlers, developed area as ranch land. The armies of both Sam Houston and Santa Anna traveled through what is now Pasadena in 1836, to San Jacinto to decide the future of Texas. "Deaf" Smith destroyed a bridge on the Vince ranch to block possible escape by the Mexican army. After the brief battle, Santa Anna eluded the victorious Texas army on a horse stolen from Allen Vince. He was captured approximately one mile from this marker. Site of the bridge and capture may be seen by following signs to the north. In 1850, surveyors of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad called the area "Land of Flowers." Col. J. H. Burnet, a land developer from Galveston, founded Pasadena in 1895. He said, "Pasadena will be the hub of a vast rich agricultural area." The area fully justified his vision, for by 1908, "delicious strawberries, figs, oranges and vegetables" were the boast of Pasadena. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

Historical Marker →

Batterson, Isaac, Near Site of, Home

1836

Famed for its part in winning the War for Texas Independence, the flooring of this house was, on April 19, 1836, appropriated by General Sam Houston to build rafts to ferry his army across rain-swollen Buffalo Bayou. Although 248 soldiers, most of whom were ill, remained at the Batterson place, Houston's army was victorious in the Battle of San Jacinto two days later. This land, originally part of the Ezekiel Thomas Estate, was purchased in 1835 by Batterson. The settlement he started (now Galena Park) he named "Clinton" for his former home in New York.

Historical Marker → · 3.4 mi away

Things to Do in Pasadena

food 8.7 mi away
The Original Ninfa's on Navigation

Ninfa Laurenzo was a widow with five kids when she opened a little restaurant in her late husbands failing tortilla factory on Navigation Boulevard in 1973.…
historical 11.6 mi away
Space Center Houston

Houston we have a problem. Every word spoken between Apollo astronauts and Earth came through Mission Control at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. The…
historical 11.8 mi away
NASA Johnson Space Center

Houston we have a problem. Where Mission Control guided Apollo 11 to the moon.
historical 8.5 mi away
Battleship Texas

The last surviving WWI-era dreadnought. Fought at D-Day and Iwo Jima.
historical 8.7 mi away
San Jacinto Monument

On April 21 1836 Sam Houston and nine hundred Texans caught Santa Annas army napping at San Jacinto and won Texas independence in eighteen minutes. Six hundred…
historical 8.7 mi away
San Jacinto Monument

Taller than the Washington Monument. Where Texas won independence in 18 minutes.
food 9.7 mi away
Killen's Barbecue

Chef Ronnie Killen's Pearland powerhouse. A classically trained chef who chose brisket over fine dining. The beef rib is absurd.
quirky 11.3 mi away
Eclectic Menagerie Park

An outdoor display of giant welded-metal sculptures along the edge of the Texas Pipe and Supply pipe yard including a King Kong hanging from a crane a 20-foot…

Everything Near Pasadena

2084 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Explore Pasadena on the Map
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