Houston: Peacock Records

In 1949, Don Robey founded Peacock Records in Houston on one mission: record Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. The label grew out of Robey’s Bronze Peacock nightclub in Houston’s Third Ward. But it became something far larger — one of the most important independent labels in American music history. And it all started because Gatemouth Brown needed a home for his sound.

Brown’s guitar playing didn’t fit any existing category. He played blues, but also country fiddle, jazz, and rock and roll. He often played all of them in the same show. Robey understood that a sound that eclectic needed a label that could take risks. So he built one. Peacock Records gave the world Brown’s early catalog. Then Robey signed Bobby “Blue” Bland, Junior Parker, and the Dixie Hummingbirds.

Lyons Avenue and the Duke-Peacock Empire

A Texas Historical Marker stands at 4120 Lyons Avenue — the original Peacock Records address. Robey eventually merged Peacock with Duke Records and built a full music empire from this Houston block. He operated the label until 1973, when he sold it to ABC/Dunhill Records. The Louis Robey Professional Building still stands at the site today.

Peacock Records documented the sound of Black Texas in the 1950s and 1960s. It launched Gatemouth Brown and defined his early career. But it also became a cornerstone of American soul and gospel music. Few chapters in Texas music history are more overlooked. The Lyons Avenue marker puts you right at the center of that story. See also the Bronze Peacock Club, where Brown’s career launched in 1947.