HOUSTON – A Texas legend from the past may be coming back to Pasadena.
Country legend Mickey Gilley announced on his Facebook page Wednesday that he has a plan to reopen Gilley's nightclub.
"We are putting a plan together, a business plan, to rebuild Gilley's in Pasadena, Texas," Gilley said in the Facebook video. "We're gonna hopefully raise the money to put the club in place."
Gilley's was the honky-tonk that made country cool. Opened in 1971 by singer Mickey Gilley and his partner Sherwood Cryer, Gilley's was already a local institution when "Urban Cowboy" made it, and John Travolta, a star.
"I can't tell you, when Gilley's was going out here and active, how many times I got a call from socialites in Houston saying I got prince so in so from Saudi Arabia in town and he wants to go to Gilley's," said Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell.
He says Gilley is now talking to the city about reopening Gilley's. On Wednesday, Gilley announced on Facebook that he's looking for investors. He's also looking for a new location.
The original Gilley's was gutted by fire in 1990. The land now belongs to the Pasadena School District. About all that's left is the sign, salvaged by a local restaurant in 2006. It's a reminder here of a time when Pasadena seemed glamorous.
Will Gilley's rise again, will the tour buses return, maybe even spark a sequel to "Urban Cowboy?" Stay tuned.
While the original Gilley's is long gone, there are Gilley's dance halls currently operating in Dallas and Las Vegas.