MYSTERY OF THE TEXAS TWOSTEP

CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE:

COUNTRY MUSIC

Written by Rick Archer 

JUNE 1980

OUTLAW COUNTRY MUSIC

I loved my friend Joanne dearly, but I could not stand her country music.  Nor could my students in the original Die Hard class who insisted I begin teaching Country-Western.  They complained about Joanne's music all the time.  By and large, people who loved Disco music despised Outlaw Country.  There were exceptions, but not many.

Outlaw Country was male-dominated.  Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Johnny Paycheck, and Hank Williams were the stars.  Also known as 'Redneck Rock', Outlaw was very popular at Gilley's.  Outlaw Music was angry music.  It was the music of defiance and rebellion.  Outlaw music embraced the Dukes of Hazzard lifestyle: outracing the cops in a souped-up car, standing up to the Man, telling your boss where to go, driving pick-up trucks, getting drunk, blowing off steam, having a good fistfight, smoking dope, hiding contraband, doing the crime, doing the time, speaking your mind.  Oh, don't let me forget, kicking hippies' asses and raising hell. 

I suppose if I had been raised country, all those songs about drinkin', cheatin' and carryin' on would have made me feel right at home.   But I was not raised in the country, I was raised in the city.  My music tastes were the Doors and the Rolling Stones.  Was not much of a Beatles fan, but I added Santana, Fleetwood Mac, and the Eagles in the Seventies. 

Then came Disco.  Okay, I agree a lot of the music was silly.  But Disco music was not meant to be complicated or insightful.  It was meant to be hypnotic.  I have to be honest, my love for Disco music poisoned all tolerance when it came to Twang.  There was something about exaggerated nasal wailing that rubbed me the wrong way.  Now, mind you, if someone else liked this music, more power to them.  I'm a live and let live kind of guy.  I was not going to burn records just because I did not like the music.  But try as I might, I just could not force myself to like Twang and Outlaw music.

Joanne's idea of a good dance song was 'Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mutha'.  During our lessons, she played this song incessantly.  At least five times an hour she reminded me to listen carefully so I could catch the beat.  Considering she knew darn well how much I disliked this song, I think Joanne kept playing it to punish me for having such a bad attitude towards Country.  But with music like that, who could blame me?  I won't deny it.  I was a country music bigot.  

But here's the funny thing.  I liked the C&W music they played at Cowboy just fine.  It was not until our May visit to Gilley's that I realized there was something sneaky going on with country music.  During the Western Era, there were all sorts of mysteries.  Now I had uncovered another one. 

There was only one kind of Disco music, so why were there two kinds of Western music?  As usual with these mysteries, it was not till I began writing my book 40 years later that the Internet gave me my answer. 

Although Clay Felker may have had a hand in this music mystery, the best answer lay with two men: Irving Azoff, music impresario, and Lance McFaddin, owner of Cowboy.  

FLASHBACK TO FRIGHT NIGHT

PEACEFUL EASY FEELING

"Although I was a nervous wreck, Fright Night had opened my eyes in so many ways.  Apparently it had opened my ears as well.

Totally by accident, the combination of four beers and lots of practice had allowed my mind to become more receptive to the music.  I noticed how my feet were moving to the beat of the music.  Technically speaking, I knew all along how the music was supposed to fit the steps, but I had never 'felt it' before.  It was so much easier to dance now that the rhythm of the music guided me. 

Lap after lap, Sally and I floated around the floor.  Some of this music was really pretty!  I started to grin.  I could not believe I was actually enjoying listening to Western music.  To my surprise, the music at Cowboy was a lot better than I had expected.  I didn't like every song, but in general I liked the music a lot.  I even caught myself humming to some of the songs. 

Late in the evening I was shocked to hear the familiar strains of 'Peaceful Easy Feeling', a classic Eagles song from their first album in 1972.  I had seen the Eagles perform a free concert in Denver during my time at Colorado State University.  It was love at first sight.  Or maybe 'first listen' would be more accurate.  I played the Eagles' first album non-stop throughout my year of Vanessa-Fujimoto misery.  I loved 'Witchy Woman' and of course 'Take it Easy' became one of my all-time favorite songs. 

I noticed that Peaceful Easy Feeling was the perfect speed for the Texas Twostep.  Good grief, I had no idea some of my favorite songs were actually Country-Western music in disguise.  I was delighted at my discovery.  Maybe Country-Western music isn't so bad after all."
 

THE MAN WHO CHANGED COUNTRY MUSIC

Excerpts from 'Urban Cowboy Turns 35',
-- written by John Spong, Texas Monthly, June 2015,

"The rights to produce the movie were won by Irving Azoff for an astounding $200,000.  Azoff quickly partnered with Paramount Pictures.  Azoff was a music guy, an L.A.-based manager who oversaw the careers of huge acts like the Eagles and Steely Dan." 

Irving Azoff got his start as manager of the Eagles.  Branching out, he began to represent other music clients as well. 

In 1978 Azoff purchased the right to produce Urban Cowboy.  That allowed him to pick the music for the soundtrack.  The next thing he did was fill the soundtrack with music recorded by the clients he represented.

Irving Azoff was the man who singlehandedly changed the direction of Country-Western music.
 

IRVING AZOFF

In 1998 the Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Don Henley immediately pointed to Irving Azoff in the audience, then said, "Without Irving, we wouldn't be standing here today!"

Glenn Frey, standing next to Henley on stage, quipped, "Well, Don, we might have made it here on our own, but we wouldn't have made nearly as much money."

Henley laughed, then added, “You're right, Glenn.  Irving may be Satan, but he’s our Satan!”  Legend has it that Azoff smiled.

The Eagles were unanimous.  They knew their big break was getting Azoff to manage them.  One can imagine Irving Azoff felt the same thing about the Eagles.  Irving Azoff was the same age as the members of the band.  Considering them his buddies in addition to his clients, Azoff developed a fierce loyalty.  Under his tutelage, the Eagles became the best-selling band in America during the Seventies.  Five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards. 

Something of a straight arrow, Azoff never took to drugs.  He preferred to keep his wild child wunderkinds under control.  “Artists,” Azoff said, “like to know the guy flying the plane is sober.”  Not only that, Azoff had the Svengali touch.  He made his clients rich with a ruthless negotiation style. 

Azoff had gotten his start as the hotshot manager of the Eagles.  After turning them into the hottest band in the country, Azoff added to his stable with Seventies artists such as REO Speedwagon, Steely Dan and Dan Fogelberg.

Prior to Urban Cowboy, Azoff had already noticed a new trend taking place in country music.  Although Saturday Night Fever Disco tunes dominated the airwaves in 1978, behind the scenes in the world of Country music, Azoff sensed a potential revolution.  An emerging sound best described as 'Country Rock' was going head to head with the hard-edged Willie and Waylon 'Outlaw' music.

The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, plus Crosby, Stills and Nash were the forerunners.  Emerging artists such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Pure Prairie League, Creedence Clearwater and the Grateful Dead also tied their fortunes to 'Country Rock'.  However, no one dared whisper that these so-called rock bands were actually playing country music.  It was a taboo subject.

I had no idea I was listening to covert country music.  Considering how prejudiced I was against Twang and Outlaw, it was probably just as well I did not know many of my favorite songs were secretly Country.  Neil Young's Heart of Gold, Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay and Pure Prairie League's Amie came dangerously close to crossing the forbidden line. 

John Denver was another trailblazer.  I loved his song Country Roads.  Looking back, the title even had the word 'Country' in it, but I was too stupid to know this song had started as a C&W hit before crossing over to mainstream popular music.  Nor did I know that Denver was considered a traitor by the purists. 

The winds of change were apparent at the 1975 CMA Awards.  This was the year John Denver beat out Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Ronnie Milsap, and Conway Twitty as the Country Music Association 'Entertainer of the Year'.  The presenter, Charlie Rich, was so disgusted by Denver's victory he burned the piece of paper announcing Denver as the winner on the stage.  Right or wrong, the incident was seen as a protest in defense of traditional country music against pop usurpers.

The Eagles were pioneers in the formation of this new 'Country Rock' style of country music.  With songs like Peaceful Easy Feeling, the Eagles crafted a sound that synthesized elements of country music and rock.  The Eagles were gifted song writers.  Indeed, many of their songs  told a complex story.  As opposed to Disco music and Rock music with their inane, repetitive lyrics, the Eagles found that country-style ballads such as Lyin' Eyes and Tequila Sunrise worked better to country music formats. 

At the same time the Eagles were rockers at heart.  They found a way to make country-style vocal harmonies blend to a rock beat in songs like Bitter Creek and Outlaw Man.  Their music found a wide, appreciative audience (including me).  Although Desperado, the Eagles' second album, was at best a so-so commercial success in 1973, I adored this album.  Little did I know the deliberate Western theme of Desperado was paving the way for a music revolution. 

Irving Azoff parlayed his triumph with the Eagles into managing a veritable Who's Who list of American recording artists during the '70s.  However, the Eagles were always closest to his heart.  Azoff was to the Eagles as Robert Stigwood had been to the Bee Gees.  Although Azoff did not care much for Disco music, he noticed how Stigwood had used the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack to turn the Bee Gees into superstars. 

I do not know this for a fact, but I have a strong hunch Clay Felker phoned Azoff. 

"Listen, Irving, I've got this C&W dance movie starring John Travolta.  I bet you could do for the Eagles what Robert Stigwood did for the Bee Gees." 

Clay Felker had created Urban Cowboy by copying Robert Stigwood's playbook.  Now it was Azoff's turn. Thanks in large part to the Eagle's success during the Seventies, Azoff had the money necessary to win the 1978 bidding contest to produce Urban Cowboy.  Azoff put up the big bucks because he knew a rare opportunity had crossed his path.  He bought the movie rights specifically to showcase his talented stable of music artists including the Eagles.  In so doing, Azoff would personally change the direction of country music. 

Azoff believed that Disco music would soon run its course.  The soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever had brought in millions.  Why not give Country music a similar chance?  Azoff knew what he was doing.  By securing the rights to Urban Cowboy, Azoff bet the farm he could do for the Eagles what Stigwood had done for the Bee Gees by using their music on the movie soundtrack.  

This bold, strategic move came at the perfect time in Azoff's spectacular career.  Having witnessed first-hand the widespread acceptance of the emerging California soft rock sound... Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt... it was Azoff's good fortune that Urban Cowboy came along at just the right time.  This was the opportunity Azoff needed to take his preferred country rock sound to the next level. 

It was a shrewd gamble.  Azoff packed his Urban Cowboy soundtrack with many of his own artists such as Boz Scaggs, Dan Fogelberg, Jimmy Buffett, Linda Ronstadt and of course the Eagles.  Then Azoff took a page from Robert Stigwood and released the album well in advance of the movie.  The soundtrack sold like hotcakes, but not without controversy.  Immediately there were howls of protest.  Where's Willie Nelson?  Where's Waylon Jennings?  The answer should have been obvious... Irving Azoff was deliberately steering the direction of country music towards the new California sound.

Azoff did not stop there.  Following the Stigwood playbook to the letter, Azoff understood the movie could impact the way people dressed, danced, and listened.  The potential for tie-ins was phenomenal.  There is ample circumstantial evidence to suggest Irving Azoff and Clay Felker contacted the fashion industry.  What other explanation could there be for the Western fashions that flooded Houston well over a year in advance of the debut?

It is my theory that Clay Felker and Irving Azoff worked hand in hand with Lance McFaddin, proud owner of élan, Houston's swankiest nightclub.  In addition to élan, the crown jewel, McFaddin-Kendrick operated a series of posh Houston nightclubs in the Seventies and Eighties.  Confetti, Ocean Club, Todd's, Rialto, Studebakers, Foxhunter, Acapulco Bar, Rodeo and Cowboy were extremely popular McFaddin-Kendrick properties.  Each place was lavishly decorated each was located in the high-rent Galleria area frequented by affluent professionals. 

Both Felker and Azoff spent an inordinate amount of time in the Houston area during the planning stage of Urban Cowboy.  What better place to hang out at night than the luxurious elan?  I doubt it was a coincidence that McFaddin's elan was prominently featured in the movie.  Given that Lance McFaddin spent three million dollars on his ground-breaking western club Cowboy and a similar amount on Rodeo, it is obvious someone tipped him off in advance.  Given the magnitude of the risk in McFaddin's Cowboy gamble, I am sure Felker was involved.

Why was the country music at Cowboy totally different than the music at Gilley's?  For this I credit Irving Azoff.  I have a strong hunch Azoff explained his decision regarding the new direction of country music to McFaddin. 

"Lance, you are in the nightclub business.  I am in the music business.  My gut tells me Country Music is ready to head in a different direction.  I know that Clay (Felker) has already persuaded you to invest in Cowboy to take full advantage of the coming western trend.  Now it's my turn.  I suggest you consider playing the kind of C&W music I will feature on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack."

One reason why I believe Azoff and McFaddin had a serious talk was McFaddin's obsessive attention to detail.

"During the Disco Era of the Seventies, McFaddin Ventures in Houston, Texas, commissioned a study on the stimulation of males and females during the playing of music. They accordingly custom-tuned their speakers to make their numerous properties more exciting. Karin Cook, their music programmer and head disc jockey, trained other McFaddin Ventures disc jockeys to work the music format - 6 up, 3 down - as a way to sell more drinks."  (Wikipedia)

In other words, Lance McFaddin made it his business to pay attention to music trends, even down to which Disco format sold the most drinks.  For this reason I imagine Azoff's insider tip convinced McFaddin to commission similar research regarding what kind of C&W music would be most acceptable to his professional clientele at Cowboy.  No doubt the research revealed the emerging country-rock sound characteristic of the Eagles was definitely the direction to go. 

The craziest part of McFaddin's decision was to include Disco music in the format.  That was unheard of.  If someone had played a Disco song at Gilley's, there would have been a brawl.  But McFaddin instinctively realized the majority of his customers liked Disco music just as much as they enjoyed Azoff's emerging  style of Western music.  Why not play both?

Ah, the winds of change.  Cowboy was so successful that other Houston night clubs quickly jumped on the C&W bandwagon.  In so doing, Houston's Western Transformation destroyed every Disco in the city.  Following its success with Cowboy, McFaddin-Kendrick launched a national chain of 40 western clubs that mixed country music with disco.  All because Clay Felker waved his magic wand and said, "Let there be Western." 

IRVING AZOFF IN ACTION

Filming on Urban Cowboy was scheduled to begin at Gilley’s in May 1979.  One night country singer Johnny Lee was on break when a stranger approached him.  The newcomer was a short, pudgy Jewish guy.  Wearing the wrong kind of clothes and thick glasses bigger than his face, this little guy stuck out like a sore thumb at the rough and tumble honky-tonk. 

At first glance, Johnny Lee was not impressed.  But he also noticed the man was quite sure of himself.  Identifying himself as the Urban Cowboy producer, Irving Azoff wasted no time making his pitch.  "Would you be interested in singing in a movie?"

Accustomed to being courted by would-be 'managers' and 'I’m-going-to-make-you-a-rock star' hustlers, Lee decided to humor the guy.  Rolling his eyes, Lee replied, “Yeah, buddy, sure, whatever, let me know when, I'll sing in your movie.”

Johnny Lee's recording of Lookin’ for Love was released in June 1980, the same date as the movie's premiere.  The song quickly became the breakout hit on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack.  Lookin’ for Love stayed on the charts for 37 weeks.  The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and No. 5 on the pop charts.  A country-western song high on the pop charts?  Virtually unheard of.  What was going on here?

Country music would never be the same.

Johnny Lee would later reminisce.

“You have to understand, people were coming in all the time promising this, saying that.  Azoff came out one night and heard me do “Cherokee Fiddle” which was a big hit for me in Houston.  He said, “You want to sing it in a movie?”  Well, people were bullshitting me all the time.  So I said, “Yeah, sure, just as soon as I finish this watermelon.  You bet.”

I thought Azoff was just somebody feeding me a line of baloney.  I blew him off and went on drinking my beer.  So when it actually happened, it freaked me out.

That movie broadened the audience that listened to country music.  A lot of people started listening to country music and going to country dance halls that never did before.  It gave country music a shot in the arm.  It was a fun time, and it absolutely was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life."

Frankly speaking, much of the 'Outlaw Sound' was tough to listen to for everyone but hard core country types raised on twang and rockabilly.  While there are many purists who will disagree ('Urban Cowboy ruined country music!'), Azoff guessed correctly that Country Rock with its harmonies and intricate lyrics would appeal to a wider audience.  What most people don't know is that Irving Azoff bet the farm on his instinct.  There was no guarantee his gamble would pay off, but Azoff foresaw Robert Stigwood's soundtrack maneuver with Disco could be replicated with Country.  The Urban Cowboy soundtrack became the fourth best-selling album of all time. 

I give Irving Azoff a lot of credit.  Today Urban Cowboy is credited with popularizing a pop-influenced style of country music known as 'Country Rock'.  This subgenre featured melodic tunes with a soft rock sensibility.  The soundtrack spawned several hit singles that achieved crossover success on both the country and pop charts.  By shifting away the harder-edged Outlaw country sound,  Country Rock moved towards an easier-listening style that was more palatable to mainstream tastes.

Wildly successful at virtually every stage of his career, in his later years Irving Azoff would emerge as the most powerful man in the music industry.  Azoff would often comment that his Urban Cowboy gamble was the move that sent his career into the stratosphere. 

THE REDEMPTION OF CLAY FELKER

Throughout the early part of 1979, my head was swirling with the impending Western takeover of Houston.  I was as lost as a boy can be.  As one Disco dance club after another folded and the new western fashions began to appear, I knew someone had to be responsible.  But who, I asked, had the influence necessary to orchestrate such dramatic changes? 

No matter how hard I studied the changes, I remained clueless about the reasons.  With my career in jeopardy, my questions went unanswered.  As it turned out, Clay Felker's manipulations would remain a mystery to me for thirty more years.  Fortunately the Internet came along to put me out of my misery. 

Rumor has it that New York sets the pace for the rest of the country.  After all, New York is the epicenter of seven glamour industries - finance, news media, advertising, book publishing, theater, fashion, and fine arts.  New York has serious players in TV, music, and movies as well.  No doubt decisions made in these New York industries affect us on a daily basis, but rarely are we told what goes on behind the scenes. 

The story of Clay Felker demonstrates how the ultimate New York insider was able to singlehandedly create a Western trend that swept the nation.  The story of his involvement in Urban Cowboy serves as the perfect example of how a New York power broker can make decisions that influence the lives of many people.

Clay Felker used the experience he gained at his former magazine to know how the power game is played.  It is obvious that Felker knew someone important in every single one of those power industries.  Like a modern day Wizard of Oz, Felker lined up his contacts and brought them to the table to support his effort.  In the case of Urban Cowboy, four different industries got rich - the movie industry, the country music industry, the fashion industry with its western wear, and Houston's local nightclubs. 

Thanks to the coordinated effort by the fashion industry, the music industry, and the movie industry, America's preoccupation with Urban Cowboy started long before the movie made its debut.  Indeed, businessmen in several different industries were so sure Urban Cowboy would be a success that they rushed to get in on the ground floor.  Their advance knowledge of this project was license to print money.  Lance McFaddin is a good example.

Inside knowledge is a powerful thing.  What else would explain why the new Western fashions began flooding the marketplace well in advance of the actual movie itself?  The music was changing as well.

Once the filming started in the summer of 1979, not a day went by without some breathless press release on John Travolta's latest escapade.  With Houston gaga over Travolta, I have no doubt the amazing cultural trend towards all things Western here in my hometown was manipulated by Clay Felker's unseen hands from start to finish.  Clay Felker and his media machine were pushing our buttons before we ever knew what hit us.

In the March 2009 issue of Texas Monthly, writer Christopher Kelly pointed out that Urban Cowboy was a success to the tune of $47 million dollars.  Author Kelly called the success of the movie an "unlikely feat" and attributed its "unexpected success" to the movie's "exquisite timing".

I believe Christopher Kelly was referring to the uncanny good fortune of finding a story that could capitalize on the energy of John Travolta and the Saturday Night Fever so quickly.  As the saying goes, 'strike the anvil while the iron's hot'.  We now know the 'exquisite timing' of Urban Cowboy was no accident, but rather Clay Felker's clever exploitation of a unique opening.    

By publishing Aaron Latham's Gilley's story in Esquire, Clay Felker was deliberately following the same path that Nik Cohn had laid out two years earlier for Saturday Night Fever.  So what if Felker was a copycat?  He didn't care.  Clay Felker was in a cynical mood.  He was bound and determined to create a 'disguised sequel' to Saturday Night Fever to make it easier to sell the movie rights.   

Clay Felker couldn't come right out and say 'Sequel', but he found an effective way to convey the message nonetheless.  The subtitle to Aaron Latham's Esquire story said it all:

'Saturday Night Fever, Country-Western Style'

Clay Felker wasn't interested in subtlety.  Felker intended to link this story to Saturday Night Fever from the start.  He was going to make sure every reader of the Urban Cowboy tale had the 'Sequel' concept firmly implanted in their brain. 

So what happened after the movie rights were sold to Paramount?  Unfortunately, since Urban Cowboy took place long before the Internet, I could not find any stories that tracked his activities from the publication of the Esquire article in September 1978 to the movie premiere in June 1980.  There are snippets, but they are thin at best.  Here is what little I know.  Clay Felker was unable to restore Esquire to prominence.  He left Esquire shortly after the Aaron Latham story.  In 1980-1981 Felker served as editor for the New York Daily News.  That was a short stay at best.  Felker may have also worked for the Baltimore Sun, but I am not sure about that. 

After the premiere, Felker held a position in Hollywood as a consultant and producer to 20th Century Fox.  However, from what I gather, Felker accomplished very little. After that, little of note.

Another mystery is what Mr. Felker's cut might have been from the Urban Cowboy project.  My guess is that Felker and Aaron Latham had an understanding.  Felker would work behind the scenes while Latham would act as front man.  Indeed Latham stayed on board as script writer and right hand man of director Jim Bridges.  

What was Felker doing?  One can assume he pulled strings behind an invisible curtain, but when, where, and how is strictly conjecture.  Given that Felker's contributions are left to the imagination, my guess is that Felker wanted it this way.  If asked to speculate, I think Felker was in charge of publicity.  I imagine he worked the phones day and night.  Calls to Hollywood, calls to Houston TV stations, calls to Houston newspapers, calls to national magazines, calls to influential media moguls.  

Clay Felker's exact role may never be known, but give the man credit.  The entire scenario was meticulously laid out two years in advance of its June 1980 debut.  What Felker accomplished was a master stroke indeed.  My guess is that Clay Felker worked for a percentage of the profits.  Clay Felker turned his fantasy into $47 million dollars.  Given whatever his percentage was, Felker may have walked away as a millionaire.

If so, he deserved every penny.  Gilley's was no prom queen, believe me.  Felker took an ugly, smelly dump and persuaded the planet that this run-down joint was somehow special.  The number one tourist attraction in America?  It boggles the mind.  This was the equivalent of putting a tutu on a hippopotamus and convincing audiences they are witnessing a prima ballerina.  That might work for Fantasia, but only Clay Felker could do the same for Urban Cowboy. 

I found Clay Felker's personal story to be very compelling.  For one thing, his talent was undeniable.  However, it isn't always talent that turns into success.  In Felker's case, he also had the toughness to thrive in a highly competitive atmosphere.  Felker got knocked down more times than most people.  Each time he was down, he got back up, dusted himself off, and successfully climbed back on top. 

Let's face it, Clay Felker was badly burned on Saturday Night Fever.  After Nik Cohn played him, Felker had to be appalled to see Cohn's dubious Disco story strike it rich.  One can only imagine what went through Felker's mind as a conman turned a hack article into one of the most famous movie of the 70's right up there with the Exorcist and Godfather.  In a sense, perhaps Felker deserved this embarrassment due to his negligence.  No doubt Felker was distracted with his financial problems at the magazine.  We all make mistakes, yes?  But how many of us are clever enough to find a silver lining in our mistake?  Clay Felker didn't get mad, he got even.

My favorite part of the Clay Felker saga was how he carefully exploited the Robert Stigwood playbook.  Felker had the sense to learn from his mistake in a very unique way.  Which leads me to a question.  Would I have had the foresight to do the same?  Probably not.  Clay Felker could see things that other people couldn't.  Here is an article from Texas Monthly which proves my point.

Looking for Love: The Urban Cowboy Rides Again
  -- written by Gregory Curtis, editor of Texas Monthly, Nov. 1998

"Clay Felker was the editor of Esquire.  Our publisher Mike Levy and Bill Broyles, my predecessor as editor, invited Felker to Houston that summer to speak at the Rice University Publishing Program.  Instead of an honorarium, Felker wanted to be shown around the famous boomtown.  So they ended up at Gilley’s late one night.

Felker saw the mechanical bull and the cowboys dancing with a beer bottle in their back pockets and their girlfriend’s thumbs hooked in their belt loops.  He was so struck by the place that back in his hotel room late that night, he called writer Aaron Latham.  Felker told him to get out of bed and catch the first airplane to Houston.  The rest is history.

Here at Texas Monthly, we had discussed writing about Gilley’s but hadn’t done it yet.  One of the aggravations of journalism is that you can be so familiar with something that you miss a story that is right in front of your face. That was what we did with Gilley’s. 

Felker saw it and we didn't."
 

The story of Urban Cowboy offers a close look at how a powerful man can affect an entire country with his magic wand.  Clay Felker created a mythology that Gilley's was some sort of country-western paradise and somehow got an entire country to believe him.  Felker parlayed something close to thin air into the score of a lifetime.  Who else besides Clay Felker could have pulled this off?  I tip my hat to the Wizard.

Unfortunately there is not much to explain what happened to Clay Felker after the movie premiere.  In 1984 Felker married Gail Sheehy, the talented writer who was the love of his life.  My guess is they lived handsomely on earnings from Urban Cowboy.

Clay Felker passed away in 2008.  He was survived by Ms. Sheehy. 

Clay Felker had been reduced to a mere footnote during the Saturday Night Fever glory ride.  Over the next year, Felker kicked himself every day for letting Stigwood profit off a story that slipped right under his nose.  Considering he was known for seeing things that others missed, no doubt Felker had been badly humbled.  However Felker learned a valuable lesson during his downfall.  During his career at New York magazine, Felker had made some money for himself, but mostly for other people.  The time had come to put his unique experience and extraordinary talent to good use.  Felker had one other advantage.  Sometimes it isn't what you know, but who you know.  Felker was gratified when some of America's most influential people were more than happy to take his phone call.  This was the Redemption of Clay Felker.  Urban Cowboy stands as the supreme validation of his prodigious ability.