Rockwood Club

The Rockwood Club at 380 South 24th Street in Fayetteville (Washington County) provided a footing for Americana, rockabilly, and rock and roll music in Arkansas and beyond. Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Arkansas natives Ronnie Hawkins and Roy Buchanan all performed at the Rockwood Club early in their careers.

George Lee Lenox opened the Rockwood Supper Club in 1947 as a place for dancing, drinking, and good music. Rockwood stood just outside of the city limits at that time, meaning that local town ordinances regarding the sale of liquor within concert halls and dancing establishments did not apply. While George Lenox served in the Merchant Marines, his mother along with his wife Betty ran the Rockwood. The Rockwood attracted musicians to the Fayetteville area throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

In the late 1950s, the Rockwood was managed by a business partner of Ronnie Hawkins, Dayton Stratton, who created Stratton Entertainment Group. Notable performances during this period included Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Buchanan. Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks later created the famous musical group the Band, consisting of Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, and Rick Danko. Most of the Band hailed from Canada, where Hawkins would establish a Canadian-American music circuit, bringing various musicians back to the Rockwood. John Tolleson, hailing from Greenwood (Sebastian County), would make his way to the Rockwood in the fall of 1954. Tolleson and his band would join Hawkins and fellow Arkansan Conway Twitty on their travels throughout Canada and the rest of the Southern music circuit established by Hawkins. Other popular musicians who performed at the Rockwood include the Cate Brothers and Wanda Jackson.

Hawkins was not only a performer but also ran the club and booked shows for several years. He sold it in 1964. The club would be turned into various other musical venues, such as the R&S Rockwood, Frank and Edna’s Rockwood Club, and the Flaming Arrow. After Hawkins left, the Hawks continued to play as the headliner of the Rockwood under a new name, Levon and the Hawks. From 1976 to the 1980s, the club was St. Michael’s Disco Alley, serving as a hangout for University of Arkansas (UA) students. This was the last of the musical uses for the Rockwood.

Mark Risk of Fayetteville bought the Rockwood in 2018, hoping to turn the building into both a music venue and museum to highlight the history of rockabilly in Arkansas. Risk worked at St. Michael’s Disco Alley when he was in college. Helping with the efforts are twins Earl and Ernie Cate of Springdale (Washington and Benton counties), who make the Cate Brothers Band.

For additional information:
Bowden, Bill. “Rockwood Club Due a Comeback.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, December 9, 2018, pp. 1B, 7B. Online at https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/dec/09/rockwood-club-due-a-comeback-20181209/ (accessed December 6, 2024).

Kelton, Jim. “Farther on up the Road.” Arkansas Times, January 27, 2006. https://arktimes.com/general/top-stories/2006/01/27/farther-on-up-the-road (accessed December 6, 2024).

Kinder, Kevin. “Legendary Rockwood Club Music Venue to Reopen in Fayetteville.” Only In Arkansas. December 10, 2018. https://onlyinark.com/culture/rockwood-club-fayetteville/ (accessed December 6, 2024).

Koch, Stephen. “‘The Weight.’” Arkansas Times, March 24, 2005. https://arktimes.com/entertainment/arkansongs/2005/03/24/the-weight (accessed December 6, 2024).

Smittle, Stephanie. “Reviving the Rockwood: A Q&A with Mark Risk.” Arkansas Times, July 25, 2019. https://arktimes.com/entertainment/2019/07/25/reviving-the-rockwood-a-qa-with-mark-risk (accessed December 6, 2024).

Wright, Bill. “The Rock ’N Roll Pioneers of Northwest Arkansas.” Free Weekly, October 31, 2007. https://freeweekly.com/2007/10/31/the-rock-n-roll-pioneers-of-northwest-arkanas/ (accessed December 6, 2024).

Kimber Campbell
University of Arkansas at Fort Smith