The Palomino Rides Again!
The Palomino, 6907 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood
by Janna Pendragon
Something’s happening at 6907 Lankershim Boulevard—a rebirth, something that was inconceivable just four short months ago, when the world-famous club Palomino, the most significant country and American roots-music institution this side of the Mississippi, teetered on the brink of extinction. The “Pal,” as it is affectionately known to the many musicians and patrons who have passed through its doors since 1952, when Tommy and Billy Thomas bought the North Hollywood club from country legend Hank Penny, had fallen on hard times. Its mission of providing a nurturing ground for the best of west coast country and American roots music had been gradually lost and forgotten in the years after the death of Tommy and the departure shortly thereafter of his wife and partner, Sherry.
For those who called the Pal home for many years, the gradual demise of the once celebrated country club was like watching the slow death of a loved one. There was nothing that could be done to stop the deadly cancer of unconcern from sucking the spirit out of the place: slowly and painfully the music died, only to be replaced by something foreign, something that did not know or understand the tradition of the music made on the stage of the Palomino by Hank Williams, Sr., Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Rose Maddox, Molly Bee, Waylon and Willie, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, and Dwight Yoakam.
The history of the Pal is long and glorious. “I remember Waylon before he was Waylon, before he was famous,” recalls Sherry Thomas, whose recent return to the helm of the Pal has not only saved the honky tonk from oblivion, but has also sparked a new optimism in the country and American roots-music community in Los Angeles. “I’m the only one left who lived that history—both Tommy and Billy are gone. I’ve buried several bartenders, a manager—I’m the only left who knows what went on here,” Thomas says, as she looks around at the walls that are lined with posters and photos of all the greats who graced the stage of the Pal in its glory days. Now it is not unusual for her to spend 18 hours a day in the club. “I love this place. It is special. All it really needed, like all of us, was to be loved.”
“I came back because, if I didn’t, where would the next Waylon Jennings or Johnny Cash come from? Where would they get the chance to play their own music? Where would great talent like Eddie Cunningham, Kent Gray and Loose Boot, Rio Grande, Lou Anne Lee or Shawn Allan go to play? None of these other places are interested in talent. They only care about country Top 40. I had to come back or these artists would not get heard,” Thomas explains. “I can tell you who the next country legends will be; I’ve seen the next Allan Jackson, the next Kristofferson, the next Alabama. I get tapes and bios every day—and I make time to listen and look over whatever is sent. This is where the future of country and roots music lies, right here at the Pal. If the record companies are looking for talent, real talent, just like in the past, the Pal is where they are going to find it. All they have to do is walk through that front door and look and listen.”
Take the Bakersfield Honky Tonk sound, whose most well known proponents are Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Both men came south to L.A. from agricultural Bakersfield, full of dreams and with a completely different take on the music they heard growing up. Owens and Haggard found a place to grow at the Pal in the early days, a place where they could play and develop their sound, a sound that would become their trademark, and one day inspire a fellow Palomino alumnus, Dwight Yoakam.
Emmylou Harris, whose close association with Gram Parsons helped her develop the California country-rock sound that was so prolific in the ’70s and is still influential today, found nurturing and spiritual sustenance at the Pal. Linda Ronstadt and her one-time back-up band, the Eagles, also used the stage at the Palomino to launch their careers. More recent success stories include not only Dwight Yoakam, but also Jim Lauderdale, Rosie Flores, and Boy Howdy.
Throughout the west, the name Palomino is known and respected. Everyone from Hank Williams, Sr. to Jerry Lee Lewis, Rick Nelson to Rosie Flores, Dave Alvin and Ronnie Mack, have spent time at the Pal. “It is the cool Grand Ole Opry,” says Pal regular, singer/songwriter Eddie Cunningham. “People like Elvis, the Byrds, and Willie Nelson, who didn’t fit into the mold Nashville expected them to fill, could come here and play and be accepted. The Pal is the Honky Tonk Grand Ole Opry, and the most prestigious country club in the world. I love it—and Sherry—and I’m so proud to be a part of the Palomino family.”
Ronnie Mack, whose Tuesday night Barn Dance continues to be the most acclaimed country and roots-music showcase in the west, reflects Cunningham’s sentiment: “The Palomino is as important to country music as the Opry. For us here in the west it is even more important. This is where all the legends should come to play when they are in town, this is where it all started for many of them . . . There is so much talent here in L.A., and we need the Pal in order to make sure all that wonderful talent gets exposure. We sure can’t depend on country radio to help out new artists, especially if they are different or happen to honor the music of the legends. KZLA won’t even play a single Hank Williams song on his birthday. How can newer artists ever hope to get anywhere when country radio has lost touch with the very foundations of the music?”
In the few short months since Sherry Thomas has been back, things have changed dramatically at the Palomino. One patron remarked, “I was in here a week or so before Sherry took over—things were not good. You could feel a heaviness in the air—the atmosphere was dark. It was like the place was full of bad vibes. Then I came back a few weeks later and I could feel the difference when I walked through the door. It’s a miracle.”
Sherry is committed to making the Pal the home base of the L.A. country and roots community. “I’m putting everything into making the Pal what it once was. I am very determined to overcome the problems I inherited when I took over the Pal. If I’m successful, the whole community will benefit. I’ve learned that that is the most important thing, helping each other through and supporting each other. The Pal is about community and family.”
Thomas, besides being a politically astute business woman, is not afraid to tackle some of the more mundane tasks of running a club. Doing much of the work herself, she has managed to paint the outside, fix the roof, clean and repair the bathrooms, bring the kitchen up to code, and re-carpet the stage, among other things. “Jay Leno was here on August 16 to film and we are talking to Dick Clark. Travis Tritt was here doing something for his VH-1 show. They are also going to film a Perry Mason mystery at the Pal. Three radio companies want to do remotes out of here and on September 18 we are going to have the First Annual Gram Parsons/Angels Flight Tribute and Benefit Concert, an event I am really looking forward to; I knew Gram, he’s a part of the history of the Pal and this community.”
But it is what is going on at the club itself that thrills her most. Sunday night is her special night. “That’s my baby,” says Sherry. “We have a ‘Songwriters in the Round’ on the Palomino stage, simply playing their songs. It is beautiful and it confirms my belief that this is where I need to be.”
The Pal is also the place to be if you crave the blues. Veteran musician Jim Stallings, who is a member of the Sir Douglas Quintet, is the producer of the Festival of Blues every Wednesday night. His own band, which features the guitar wizardry of Danny Johnson and Mark Christen, plays, and there are always special guests. In addition, Thursday night is “Talent Night,” an old tradition that has just been reinstated in order to give beginners a chance to get up on stage, something Sherry hopes will benefit everyone involved.
Reflecting on all this, Thomas adds, “There is a lot of interest but there is also a lot of work that has to be done before things are set right.” Sighing at the thought of the task ahead of her, Sherry smiles a smile that cuts through the dim lights of her club and says, “We just have to keep going, one day at a time. I feel like we will succeed; I have angels dropping out of the sky all the time who show up when I need them most.”
To the club Palomino and the musicians and artists who can now come to the Pal seven nights a week and know that their music and their talent will be honored and respected, Sherry Thomas is the most important angel to “drop out of the sky.” She literally saved the life of the club that has been in her family for 42 years. She is responsible for the revival that is taking place and she is the one who is working hard to ensure that today’s musical talent will be heard. As the Losin’ Brothers Eric Aren’t and Jon Berating noted, “This is sacred space, and Sherry is our angel.” ♦