Behind the Music "The Palomino Club" North Hollywood

Behind the Music "The Palomino Club" North Hollywood

Originally a "rather tough beer bar," the Palomino, located at 6907 Lankershim Boulevard, was founded by Western swing bandleader Hank Penny and his business partner Amand Gautier, had originally opened the club around 1949-50 as the Palomino. Penny staged "jazz nights" there where West Coast jazz musicians could come to jam. It was leased in 1952 by the trio of Amos Emery ‘Pat’ Yeigh of Wyoming, who later murdered Darbi Winters,[4] his stepdaughter, and Bill and Tom Thomas of Indiana (who later bought the club).
By August 1956, shortly before Pat Yeigh sold his interest, it had become one of the Valley’s largest Western night clubs, with an area of 8,100 feet (2,500 m) with 1,400 square feet (130 m2) of dancing area,
featuring top-notch talent that had led to lead billing both on radio and television.

The club received a further boost in 1959 when the major country music showcase Riverside Rancho in the Silver Lake neighborhood shut down, leaving the various performers it had hosted available for the Palomino.
In the early 1970s, the club could seat 400 attendees. In addition to being the San Fernando Valley's premier night club, the Palomino Club was a neighborhood working class bar, opening at 6am with a happy hour
from 8am to 10am. The Palomino Club bar stayed open during afternoon sound checks so regular customers and the artists' fans could see the bands preparing and rehearsing the evening's show for free.
Often the artists showed appreciation for the fans by performing impromptu mini-concerts. The Palomino's dressing rooms and backstage areas were generally open to the public. Fans could ask if the artists were
receiving visitors and most artists welcomed them, gladly signing autographs, etc. During the 1950s and 1960s, almost every notable country and western artist played there, but in the early 1970s,
The Palomino began hosting performances by rock n' roll artists.