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Bay City Rollers in Holland (1976)Background informationAlso known asThe Saxons, the Tartan Horde, the Rollers, the New RollersOrigin, ScotlandGenres,Years active1964–1987, 1990, 1998–2000, 2015–presentLabels,Associated actsWebsiteMembers. Ian Thomson. Marcus Cordock. Jamie McGroryPast members. Neil Porteous.
Gregory Ellison. Mike Ellison. Ian Mitchell.
Gordon 'Nobby' Clark. Keith Norman.
Eric Manclark. Neil Henderson. Jimmy Rooney. Archie Marr.
John Devine. George Spencer. Duncan FaureThe Bay City Rollers are a Scottish band known for their worldwide popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the ' teen sensations from ', and 'the first of many acts heralded as the 'biggest group since '.The group's line-up had many changes over the years, but the classic line-up during its heyday included guitarists and, singer, bassist, and drummer. The line-up in 2018 includes guitarist (Woody), singer Ian Thomson, bassist Marcus Cordock and drummer Jamie McGrory. Contents.History Early days and formation: 1966–1973 In 1964, a trio called the Ambassadors was formed in, Scotland, by 16-year-old on acoustic guitar, his younger brother on drums, and their older cousin Neil Porteous on acoustic guitar.
The group never performed publicly under this name, just a family wedding where they covered '. They changed their name to the Saxons, and Derek invited his schoolfriend, Gordon 'Nobby' Clark, to be the lead singer. Porteous moved from acoustic to electric guitar, and Alan Longmuir followed suit by changing to electric bass. The Saxons played occasional dance hall concerts while the band members completed their schooling or worked during the day (Alan apprenticed as a plumber). Porteous left the band in July 1965, with new guitarist Dave Pettigrew filling the spot after answering an advertisement placed by the band in an Edinburgh newspaper. Pettigrew was more advanced musically than the others, and pushed the band to improve. Their repertoire included American R&B/pop songs such as ' and '.
They played at least one gig at the Gonk Club as the Deadbeats, but they discovered a conflict: another band was playing locally as Rock Bottom and the Deadbeats.While taking a technical class at, Alan met fellow plumbing student Gregory Ellison, who joined the Saxons on electric guitar, with Pettigrew shifting to keyboards. Gregory's older brother Mike joined as a second lead singer, allowing more complex harmonies, especially useful for the Motown songs they liked to perform. The band convinced, a former leader and influential local band and club manager, to audition them at the Longmuirs' house. Paton booked them for a Thursday night at his club the Palais, then assigned them to open for the Hipple People at Top Storey. Further gigs followed.More successful now, the Saxons moved out of the Longmuirs' back room to practice in at a church. They played a couple of contemporary numbers but favoured American songs, including a new one: ' by and the Detroit Wheels.
Desiring a better name for the band, they settled on 'Rollers', but needed a more powerful American-sounding term in front of that. Derek Longmuir threw a dart at a map of the United States, landing first on Arkansas. This did not meet anyone's approval, so a second dart was thrown.
It landed near. The band agreed on the name, the Bay City Rollers. Short-term members from this period included bassist (from 1969 to 1970) and keyboardist (1969–71), who went on to be founding members of another Edinburgh band,.After signing with, the band's first hit was ' (UK No. 9, 1971), a cover of a 1965 hit. Upon this release's success, they made appearances on 's.Several non-charting singles were released over the following two years. This period saw the addition of long term member guitarist. In mid-1973, they narrowly missed the with their fourth single, '.
By the end of 1973, Clark had become disillusioned with the band's musical direction and decided to leave just when his recording of ' zoomed up the charts to No. He was replaced as lead singer. A couple of months later, in early 1974, what became known as the classic line-up was completed; guitarist John Devine was replaced by Stuart 'Woody' Wood.Breakthrough: 1974–1975 In late 1973, McKeown recorded lead vocals on ', and a lead-in to a series of UK. 16-year-old Stuart Wood completed the 'classic five' line up in February 1974, a week after the band had debuted the 'Remember' single on. (John Devine had mimed the piano part).
By early 1975, the band was well on the way to achieving global success. The 'classic five' line up consisted of:;Alan Longmuir, Derek Longmuir, Stuart Woody Wood, Eric Faulkner and Les McKeown.Beginning with ' (UK No. 6), the Rollers' popularity exploded, and they released a string of hits on the UK chart. Following in succession were ' (UK No. 2), ' (UK No. 3), and 'All of Me Loves All of You' (UK No. 4).By early 1975, they were one of the biggest-selling acts in the UK. The successful '75 UK tour, which prompted newspaper headlines about the rise of 'Rollermania' (a take-off on a decade before). The Rollers were the subject of a 20-week UK television series,.A cover of ' ' stayed at No. 1 in the UK for six weeks in March and April 1975, selling nearly a million copies and becoming the biggest seller of the year. The subsequent single, ' topped the charts in July 1975, achieving their second No. 1 hit. Two full-length LPs were produced during this period: (1975) and (1975).
Faulkner and Wood undertook the majority of the songwriting duties.By this time, Bay City Roller had a completely distinctive style of dress, featuring calf-length trousers and tartan.English singer-songwriter wrote a 'Jaundiced' (in Lowe's words ) paean to the band titled 'Bay City Rollers We Love You'. The track was 'carefully sculpted' to be poor enough to get Lowe out of a recording contract with United Artists. The strategy backfired. UA issued the record as by the Tartan Horde, which was the name given to Rollers fans in England, and it became a substantial hit in Japan.
Lowe was obliged to record a follow-up song called 'Rollers Show', which did not meet with the same commercial success. This follow-up song was included on the US release of Lowe's first album,.World impact: 1976 As the group's popularity swelled to superstardom in the UK, a concerted effort was made by (the record company that evolved from Bell) to launch the Rollers in North America. New Arista head, was instrumental in grooming and overseeing the project. His work paid off, as in late 1975, the Rollers reached No. 1 on the US with '. Consequentially, 'Saturday Night' had missed the UK chart completely two years earlier. The Rollers gave the track their American debut, via a satellite-link performance on. In Canada, it fared equally well, hitting No. 1 on the national singles chart on 10 January 1976.
The (1975) album (North American release only) hit No. 1 in the same chart on 7 February.A second North American hit came with 'Money Honey', written by Faulkner, which hit No. 9 in the US. In Canada, it fared better, following its predecessor to the top, giving them their second No. 1 in the RPM national singles chart on 13 March 1976.The North America/Japan release album (1976) jumped from No. 25, to the top position, in a single week in Canada. This deposed their own (1975) album at No. 1 on the national chart, on 27 March 1976, However, it only managed to achieve the No. 31 spot on the US Billboard chart.They were also extremely popular in Australia. One example of their popularity, was put into the book about – the Australian TV music show which ran from 1974 - 1987. Their 1976 appearance on Countdown coincided with a of the sun. Director recalls;'(there). Were thousands of kids done up in tartan pants that didn't reach the top of their shoes, constantly bashing on the doors.
They would do anything. To get into that television studio.
There's 200 kids bashing on the door and a total eclipse of the sun occurred. I'd never seen one. On this day we all stopped in the studio and the Rollers went up on the roof. We stood out there and watched the flowers close up and all the automatic street lighting come on. It was chilling, the most fantastic thing you'd ever see.
Downstairs the kids never turned around, staring into the plexiglas waiting to see the Rollers come out of the studio, go down the corridor and into the canteen. (They) never noticed the total eclipse of the sun'.By early 1976, the strain of success (and the discomfort of being a man in his late 20s in a teen band) had taken its toll on bassist Alan Longmuir, who decided to leave the group. He was replaced for seven months by 17-year-old Ian Mitchell from – the first band member born outside Edinburgh, Scotland. With Mitchell, the group released an album titled (1976), and hit the charts with a of the song, ' You. ' The song reached US No. 12, as well as 'Yesterday's Hero' (featuring live material from a 1976 personal appearance in 's ), and 'Dedication'.1977–1979 As the Rollers' popularity waned, the shuffling of personnel continued; Mitchell quit the band. He was replaced by guitarist.
Further struggles involved the direction of their sound, as the members wished to pursue more sophisticated styles. They settled on 's producer, and in August 1977 released as a four-piece group, comprising McKeown, Wood, Faulkner and Derek Longmuir.
The It's a Game tour was recorded in 1977 at Japan's, and was later released in 2001 as Rollerworld: Live at the Budokan 1977.On the tour, they covered an unsuccessful 1973 single by, 'It's a Game' to give them their final UK Top 20 hit (#16 in May 1977). Oddly enough, this single provided them with their highest-charting German hit, reaching No. 4 in the same year. The follow-up ' could only make No. 34 in July in the UK and No. 10 in the US, but this would be their final major success there, too. New singer, new name At the end of 1978, the band had split with McKeown, then fired manager Tam Paton shortly after, and decided to continue in a more, rock-oriented sound.
Their name was now the Rollers. South African-born joined the band as new lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. With Faure, the line-up produced three albums: Elevator (1979), Voxx (1980) and Ricochet (1981). Following the expiry of the band's Arista contract, neither of the releases sold as well as expected, and they stopped touring by late 1981.Thirty-five years after its release, described Ricochet as a pop rock masterpiece, demonstrating a maturity in the band's musical style.
Agreed, comparing Ricochet to the pop/ style of, and recommending the album be 'rescued from obscurity'. 1980s–2000s During the 1980s and 1990s, there were a few short tours. Seven past members played Japan in 1982, and again in 1983. A reunion album, Breakout, was released in Japan and Australia in 1985, and added drummer George Spencer. Breakout was written primarily by McKeown and McGlynn with minor contributions from Faulkner, Wood, and Mitchell.In the late 1980s, a version of the band called the New Rollers was formed featuring Faulkner on lead vocals, Kass (Karen Prosser) on vocals, Jason Medvec on guitar, Andy Boakes on bass, Mark Roberts on drums.
The band toured extensively throughout the US and Canada as well as tours of the UK and Australia. This group also released an independent five-song titled Party Hardy.In 1990, Stuart Wood and Alan Longmuir joined with Faulkner to tour under the Bay City Rollers name, and issued several CDs of re-recordings of the old Roller tunes.The classic line-up (minus Derek Longmuir) performed a one-off New Year's Eve millennium concert, the last official Bay City Rollers concert (1999–2000) in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle in Scotland.
Interest was rekindled in the UK by various television documentaries about the group; and a new television-advertised of, Very Best of the Bay City Rollers, entered the, on release in 2004 at No. 11. Recent activity On 22 September 2015 the Bay City Rollers, including McKeown, Stuart “Woody” Wood and Alan Longmuir announced that they were reforming and would play a show at the Glasgow Barrowlands on 20 December.On 27 February 2018, Stuart “Woody” Wood announced that the new Bay City Rollers would be performing in Tokyo, Japan in June of the same year. The band comprises Woody on guitar, Ian Thomson on lead vocals and guitar, Marcus Cordock on bass, and Jamie McGrory on drums.Bassist Alan Longmuir died on 2 July 2018 after falling ill while on holiday with his wife in Mexico.His autobiography I Ran With The Gang: My Life In and Out of The Bay City Rollers was published posthumously in November 2018. The book was written with.Financial disputes According to the, the Bay City Rollers sold 120 million records.In March 2007, six former members of the group (Faure plus the 'classic line-up') announced a lawsuit against in hopes of claiming what they describe as 'tens of millions of dollars' of unpaid royalties. Nobby Clark has threatened to sue the other band members if their lawsuit is successful, stating that he was the creative force behind the band's success, despite the fact that he left the group in 1973 before the bulk of their fame and fortune began.In September 2010, Gordon 'Nobby' Clark, Ian Mitchell and Pat McGlynn filed a complaint in the courts, in the United States, against the six members (Faure plus the 'classic line-up'), over being excluded from the case against Arista records.
Clark, Mitchell and McGlynn were seeking to have their rights determined, and are also seeking financial damages against the other Bay City Rollers, for alleged breach of contract. In 2013 a judge in the ruled against the three due to the, which establishes that certain agreements must be in writing under certain conditions, with the ruling, 'A claim for unjust enrichment must be based on the value of plaintiffs' contribution to the joint effort of the band at the time it made the relevant records, not on the income stream resulting from a revival over thirty years later,'In March 2011, a New York judge determined that the Bay City Rollers can move forward with their four-year-old lawsuit against Arista Records.
Arista denied responsibility for the majority of the royalties, citing a New York statute of limitations. The statute limits plaintiffs from recovering damages post six years in contract disputes; therefore would negate the Rollers' claims for royalties incurred prior to 2001. However, since Arista had continued to promise the Bay City Rollers their royalties, in writing, the judge ruled that the statute was not applicable. Discography.
Downtown Amarillo in May 2005LogoLocation in Potter and Randall Counties, within the State of TexasCountryArea.(233.9 km 2). Land89.8 sq mi (232.7 km 2). Water0.5 sq mi (1.2 km 2)Elevation3,605 ft (1,099 m)Population (2016).201,324. Estimate (2016)201,324. Density2,229.5/sq mi (860.73/km 2).253,823Amarilloan. Summer CDT 1, 79114, 1, 4, 79159, 79163, 8, 2, 79174, 79178, 79182, 79185, 79187, -03000feature ID1351066U.S. RoutesWebsiteAmarillo ( refn ) is the 14th-most populous city in the of, in the. It is also the largest city in the Texas Panhandle, and the of. A portion of the city extends into.
The population was 190,695 at the (105,486 in Potter County, and 85,209 in Randall). The Amarillo metropolitan area has an estimated population of 236,113 in four counties.Amarillo, originally named Oneida, is situated in the Llano Estacado region. The availability of the railroad and freight service provided by the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad contributed to the city's growth as a cattle-marketing center in the late 19th century.The city was once the self-proclaimed ' Capital of the World' for having one of the country's most productive helium fields.
Amarillo operates one of the largest meat-packing areas in the United States. Pantex, the only assembly and disassembly facility in the country, is also a major employer. The location of this facility also gave rise to the nickname Bomb City. The attractions Cadillac Ranch and Big Texan Steak Ranch are located adjacent to. Highway 66 also passed through the city.
Contents.HistoryLarge ranches exist in the Amarillo area: among others, the defunct XIT Ranch and the still functioning JA Ranch founded in 1877 by Charles Goodnight and John George Adair. Goodnight continued the partnership for a time after Adair's death with Adair's widow, Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie Adair, who was then the sole owner from 1887 until her death in 1921.During April 1887, J.I. Berry established a site for a town after he chose a well-watered section along the way of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad, which had begun building across the Texas Panhandle. Berry and, merchants wanted to make their new town site the region's main trading center. On August 30, 1887, Berry's town site won the election and was established in Potter County.
Availability of the and service after the county seat election made the town a fast-growing -marketing center.The settlement originally was called Oneida; it later changed its name to Amarillo, which probably derives from yellow wildflowers that were plentiful during the spring and summer or the nearby Amarillo Lake and Amarillo Creek, named in turn for the yellow soil along their banks and shores ( Amarillo is the Spanish word for the color yellow). Early residents originally pronounced the city's name more similar to the Spanish pronunciation, which later gave way to the current pronunciation. Grand Opera House, Amarillo, Texas (postcard, circa 1909–1924)On June 19, 1888, Henry B. Sanborn, who is given credit as the 'Father of Amarillo', and his business partner Joseph F. Glidden began buying land to the east to move Amarillo after arguing that Berry's site was on low ground and would flood during rainstorms.
Sanborn also offered to trade lots in the new location to businesses in the original city's site and help with the expense of moving to new buildings. His incentives gradually won over people, who moved their businesses to Polk Street in the new commercial district. Heavy rains almost flooded Berry's part of the town in 1889, prompting more people to move to Sanborn's location.
This eventually led to another county seat election making Sanborn's town the new county seat in 1893.By the late 1890s, Amarillo had emerged as one of the world's busiest cattle-shipping points, and its population grew significantly. The city became a, milling, and feed-manufacturing center after an increase in production of wheat and small grains during the early 1900s. Discovery of in 1918 and three years later brought oil and gas companies to the Amarillo area.The United States government bought the Cliffside Gas Field with high helium content in 1927 and the Federal Bureau of Mines began operating the Amarillo Helium plant two years later. The plant was the sole producer of commercial helium in the world for a number of years.
National Helium Reserve is stored in the Bush Dome Reservoir at the Cliffside facility.Following the lead of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad established services to and from Amarillo. Each of these three carriers maintained substantial freight and passenger depots and repair facilities in the city through most of the 20th century and were major employers within the community. Amarillo, March 1943In 1929, Ernest O. Thompson, a decorated World War I general and a major businessman in Amarillo, was elected mayor to succeed Lee Bivins. Thompson instituted a major capital-improvements project and worked to reduce utility rates.
He joined the Texas Railroad Commission by appointment in 1933 and was elected to full terms in 1934, 1940, 1946, 1952, and 1958. He became an international expert on national petroleum and natural gas production and conservation. The first Mrs. Thompson, May Peterson Thompson, a former singer, was involved in the arts while in Amarillo and later when the couple lived in.Amarillo was hit by the and entered an. Routes 60, 87, 287, and 66 merged at Amarillo, making it a major tourist stop with numerous motels, restaurants, and shops.
World War II led the establishment of Amarillo Army Air Field in east Amarillo and the nearby Pantex Army Ordnance Plant, which produced bombs and ammunition. After the end of the war, both of the facilities were closed. The Pantex Plant was reopened in 1950 and produced nuclear weapons throughout the.In 1951, the army air base was reactivated as Amarillo Air Force Base and expanded to accommodate a Strategic Air Command wing. The arrival of servicemen and their families ended the city's depression. Between 1950 and 1960, Amarillo's population grew from 74,443 to 137,969. However, the closure of Amarillo Air Force Base on December 31, 1968, contributed to a decrease in population to 127,010 by 1970.In 1970, the Census Bureau reported Amarillo's population as 6.1% Hispanic and 88.5% non-Hispanic white.
In the 1980s, ASARCO, Iowa Beef Processors (present day Tyson Foods), Owens-Corning, and Weyerhaeuser built plants at Amarillo. The Eastridge neighborhood houses many immigrants from countries such as,. Many of them found employment at the nearby Iowa Beef Processors plant. The following decade, Amarillo's city limits encompassed 60 square miles (155 km 2) in Potter and Randall Counties.
Interstate 27 highway connecting to Amarillo was built mostly during the 1980s.In 2006, the historian Paul H. Carlson, professor emeritus at in Lubbock, published Amarillo: The Story of a Western Town. Geography and climate. Lighthouse pinnacle in Palo Duro Canyon: The canyon system is located south of the city.Amarillo is located near the middle of the Texas Panhandle. It does not share similar weather characteristics with south and east Texas. Amarillo sits closer in proximity to the Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado state capitals than it does to Austin. The region's surface is relatively flat and has little soil drainage.
Due to the lack of developed drainage, much of the rainfall either evaporates, infiltrates into the ground, or accumulates in playa lakes. According to the, the city has a total area of 90.3 square miles (234 km 2), with 89.9 sq mi (233 km 2) of it land and 0.4 sq mi (1.0 km 2) of it (0.50%) covered by water. The Amarillo metropolitan area is the 182nd-largest in the United States with a population of 236,113 in four counties:, Potter, and Randall.About 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Amarillo is the Canadian River, a central corridor of the Southwestern Tablelands ecological region, which divides the Western High Plains ecological region. The southern divide of the Western High Plains is the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains geographical region. The river is dammed to form Lake Meredith, a major source of drinking water in the Texas Panhandle region. The city is situated near the Panhandle Field, in a productive gas and oil area, covering 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) in, Potter, Carson, and Counties.
The Potter County portion had the nation's largest natural gas reserve. Approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Amarillo is the canyon system, Palo Duro Canyon.The underground structures known as Amarillo Mountains are an extension of the Arbuckles of Oklahoma and the of and Oklahoma. They are some thousands of feet underground.
The range was discovered by pioneer oilmen. Some of the peaks are believed to be 10,000 feet (3,000 m) high. The tallest peak is reported to be 2,500 feet underground in northeast Potter County under the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument. CityscapeMost of Amarillo's population growth and commercial development are occurring in the southern and northwestern parts of the city.
Similar to many towns in the Texas Panhandle, the city's downtown has suffered economic deterioration throughout the years. To help revitalize it, the organization Center City of Amarillo was formed to establish partnerships with groups who have a large presence in the city. Since its conception in the 1990s, Center City has sponsored public art projects and started block parties in the downtown area.The 31-story Chase Tower was opened in Amarillo's downtown in 1971. Completed in the same year as the Chase Tower, the Amarillo National Bank Plaza One building houses the headquarters of Amarillo National Bank, the city's largest financial institution. The Santa Fe Building, completed in 1930, was the regional offices of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, but was vacant for several years until Potter County bought the building for $426,000 in 1995 to gain new office spaces. The Santa Fe Building in the downtown areaAmarillo's historic homes and buildings listed on the reflect the economic growth from around 1900 to the start of World War II.
Polk Street contains many of the city's historic downtown buildings and homes. The large historic homes on this street were built close to downtown, and homes were located on the west side of the street as a symbol of status because they would be greeted with the sunrise every morning.The City of Amarillo's Parks and Recreation Department operates over 50 municipal parks, including a west of the city. Amarillo's largest parks are Medical Park, Thompson Memorial Park, and Memorial Park, near Amarillo College's Washington Street Campus. From 1978 to 2002, the Junior League of Amarillo and the City of Amarillo's Parks and Recreation Department co-sponsored Funfest, a family entertainment festival, benefiting the city parks and the league's Community Chest Trust Fund. Funfest was held in Thompson Memorial Park during weekend.
The festival included Amarillo's only 42.2-kilometre (26.2 mi) foot race, the Funfest Marathon. ClimateAmarillo, like most of the Texas Panhandle, has a cold semi-arid climate ( BSk). Both the city and the region as a whole lie in 7. Amarillo is characterized by a winter season featuring large diurnal temperature variation, great day-to-day variability, a rush of cold air from the north or northwest into a warmer area and occasionally, by and a hot summer with low humidity. The normal annual precipitation is 20.4 inches or 520 millimetres, most of it occurring in the late spring and summer months. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 37.0 °F (2.8 °C) in January to 78.3 °F (25.7 °C) in July. Sunny weather prevails year-round, with nearly 3300 hours of bright sunshine annually.
The forecasts and provides climatic data for the city.Extreme temperatures range from −16 °F (−26.7 °C) on February 12, 1899 to 111 °F (43.9 °C) on June 26, 2011, but lows do not typically lower to 0 °F or −17.8 °C in most years, while highs above 100 °F or 37.8 °C are seen on 4.7 days. There is an average of 5.9 days of lows at or below 10 °F or −12.2 °C, 8.9 days where the temperature fails to rise above freezing, and 61 days of 90 °F (32.2 °C)+ highs; unlike in the Rio Grande Valley or eastern portions of Texas, days where the low does not fall below 70 °F or 21.1 °C are uncommon due to the aridity and elevation. Blizzards are very possible, but snowfall is typically light, averaging nearly 18 inches or 0.46 metres seasonally and the median figure is near 10 inches or 0.25 metres. Much of Amarillo's precipitation falls during heavy convective showers and thunderstorms. According to 'Cities Ranked and Rated' (Bert Sperling and Peter Sander), Amarillo averages 48 days per year during which thunder and lightning is reported. This is above the national average. These storms can be severe – Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle are situated in the western portion of '.
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Amarillo is also recorded as the windiest city in the U.S. By the Weather Channel. Retrieved April 16, 2014. This map shows the city's average number of inhabitants per square mile of land in 2000.At the 2010 Census, there were 190,695 people residing in Amarillo, an increase of 9.8% since 2000.According to the 2010 Census, 59.7% of the population was White, 6.3% Black or, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.1% Asian, 0.1% from some other race (non-Hispanic) and 1.5% of two or more races (non-Hispanic). 28.8% of Amarillo's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin (they may be of any race).There were 67,699 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families.
Of 67,699 households, 2,981 were unmarried partner households: 2,713 heterosexual, 82 same-sex male, and 186 same-sex female. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10.The age distribution of the city was as follows: 27.9% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there are 92.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.The median income for a household in the city was $34,940, and the median income for a family was $42,536.
Males had a median income of $31,321 versus $22,562 for females. The for the city was $18,621. About 11.1% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over. Culture See also:. Listing of Amarillo-area personnel killed in theAmarillo has a number of natural attractions near the city. The Palo Duro Canyon State Park is the United States' second largest canyon system, after the and is located south of Amarillo.
Palo Duro has a distinct hoodoo that resembles a lighthouse. Another natural landmark near the city, the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is located 30 miles (48 km) north of Amarillo. It is once known as the site for prehistoric inhabitants to obtain in order to make tools and weapons. About 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Amarillo in is Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, the state park is the home of the official Texas State Herd, who were captured and taken care of by cattle rancher Charles Goodnight.From 1932 to 1977, the Paramount Theater, originally built for $250,000, flourished in Amarillo. It had plush red, and a, 1,433 seats, and was considered the finest theater north of. The building is now an office and parking garage.Local millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 funded many public art projects in the city including the Cadillac Ranch, located west of Amarillo on, a monument of painted Cadillac automobiles that were dug into the ground head first. Marsh participates as well in an ongoing art project called the Dynamite Museum, which consist of thousands of mock.
These signs, bearing messages such as 'Road does not end' or displaying a random picture, are scattered throughout the city of Amarillo. Besides these works, one can find close to the city the final earthwork of Robert Smithson (and another commission by Marsh), Amarillo Ramp.The city has events and attractions honoring the and Texas culture. During the third week of September, the Tri-State Fair & Rodeo brings participants mostly from Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas to Amarillo since 1921.
On the Tri-State Exposition grounds, the Amarillo National Center is a special events center for events ranging from national competitions to. The World Championship Ranch Rodeo sponsored by the Working Ranch Cowboys Association is held every November in the Amarillo Civic Center. Amarillo hosts the annual World Championship Chuckwagon Roundup the first weekend in June. Teams in competition prepare a feast of breaded beef cutlets, mashed potatoes, baked beans, and sourdough biscuits and attempt to duplicate the food served on western cattle trails of the 1860s and 1870s. The Amarillo Livestock Auction on Bull Road holds a free-to-the-public cattle auction on Tuesdays.
Now located on Interstate 40, The Big Texan Steak Ranch is famous by offering visitors a free 72 (2 kg) beef steak if it (and its accompanying dinner) is eaten in under an hour. A sleeps in the afternoon heat in the Amarillo Zoo.Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, opened in 2006, houses the Amarillo Opera, Amarillo Symphony, and concerts. The facility, located just across the Amarillo Civic Center, features a 1,300-seat auditorium. The Globe-News Center was built in hope by city officials and others that it will revitalize the downtown area. The nonprofit community theater group, Amarillo Little Theatre, has its season run from September to May. The theater group's two facilities, the Mainstage and the Adventure Space, are located west of Amarillo's downtown. The Pioneer, located in nearby Palo Duro Canyon, is the setting for the outdoor musical drama Texas, which plays nightly during the summer.
The musical depicts a story about the history of Texas Panhandle settlers throughout the years. In 2002, the producers changed its name to Texas Legacies after retiring the previous script that was used for 37 years for a more historically-accurate one, but attendance declined over the next four seasons, so it was decided to revert to the original Paul Green script in 2006.The Amarillo Public Library is affiliated with the Harrington Library Consortium. The consortium consist of public, college, and school libraries located in the Texas Panhandle that share resources and cooperate with one another. Other members include the Amarillo's public schools, Amarillo College, Canyon Area Library, Lovett Memorial Library in, and Hutchinson County Library in. The Amarillo Public Library's main branch is located in downtown and operates 4 neighborhood branches.Wonderland Amusement Park is located in northern Amarillo at Thompson Park, named for Ernest Thompson. The park also houses the Amarillo and offers picnicking.Amarillo residents are known as Amarilloans.
Notable Amarilloans include actress Ann Doran (1911–2000), old-style journalist Bascom N. Timmons, prominent surveyor W.
Twichell, the Dory Funk wrestling family, former Champions Heath Herring and Evan Tanner, astronaut Rick Husband, professional golfer Ryan Palmer, rockabilly pioneer Buddy Knox, actress, actress and dancer, actor and poet Harry Northup, State Senator Max Sherman, Republican state chairman Tom Mechler, W. Winfred Moore, politicians Beau Boulter, Roy Whittenburg and John Marvin Jones, businessman T. Boone Pickens, Jr., singer-songwriter J. Souther, gambler Thomas 'Amarillo Slim' Preston, and music artist and composer Terry Stafford ('Amarillo by Morning'; 'Suspicion').
Tom Blasingame, considered to have been the oldest cowboy in the history of the American West, worked for seventy-three years, primarily, on the JA Ranch south of Amarillo. Pulitzer-prize-winning author Mark E. Was born in Amarillo on November 10, 1944. In nearby and, lived the artist Harold Dow Bugbee, whose early works were patronized by Ernest Thompson. Physician Steven Berk wrote Anatomy of a Kidnapping: A Doctor's Story about his from his Amarillo home in 2005 and how the four-hour ordeal changed his perspective on life. Singer Lacey Brown of Amarillo advanced to the top 24 in season 8 on the hit show.
She returned to the show again in season 9 and advanced to the top 12 but was eliminated from the program on March 17, 2010. Museums and art collectionsThe American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse breed.
The organization is headquartered in Amarillo and has a museum. There is also an American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame exhibited in the museum; among the inductees was J. 'Dusty' Rhoades of, who served as AQHA president in 1966 and 1974. In addition, the AQHA and Center City of Amarillo co-sponsors the project, 'Hoof Prints of the American Quarter Horse' which consist of horse statues located in front of several Amarillo businesses, such as the downtown Amarillo National building, Nationwide Insurance, and Edward Jones. An area business would purchase a horse statue and a local artist paints on it.Two of the Amarillo area's higher education institutions have at least one museum in their campuses. The Amarillo Art Center, opened in 1972, is a building complex with the Amarillo Museum of Art (AMoA) and concert hall located on the Washington Street Campus of Amarillo College. In addition, Amarillo College's Washington Street Campus is the home to the previously mentioned AMoA and is regarded as the largest natural history museum belonging to any two-year college in the United States.
Located on the campus of West Texas A&M University, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum claims to be the largest historical museum in Texas. Medical Center Park adjacent to Amarillo Botanical GardensDon Harrington Discovery Center, located in the city's hospital district, is an interactive science center and space theater with over 60 hands-on exhibits. Outside of the building is a steel structure called the Helium Monument which has time capsules and designates Amarillo the 'Helium Capital of the World.' Near the proximity of the Discovery Center, the Amarillo Botanical Gardens has gardens, indoor exhibits, and a library for visitation throughout the year.The claims to be the only Texas museum specialized in the research, collection, preservation, and exhibition of the history of pharmacy, is also located in the city's hospital district.Founded in 2013, by businessman Tom Warren, The Amarillo Historical Museum is Amarillo's only local museum to exclusively feature local history.Other notable museums in the area are the Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum and the English Field Air & Space Museum.
The Kwahadi Kiva Indian Museum features a collection of artifacts and provides dance performances. Sadly, the English Field Air & Space Museum, which had been operated by the Texas Aviation Historical Society featuring aircraft and space exhibits, in 2007 closed its doors and lost many of its aircraft. The museum is now rebuilding its aircraft collection as Texas Air & Space Museum and is located on American Drive on the south side of the airport.