I was driving to the Albertson’s on 22nd and Wilmot the other day because they had something on sale that I probably could not live without. I entered the parking lot from off of Wilmot, and saw the empty lot where the Old Cowboy’s bar used to be and it got me thinking…

I lived in the neighborhood right off 22nd and Wilmot for years, and if I stood on my wall on a certain day of the week, I could see a line form at Cowboy’s that would almost wrap all the way around the building. I used to just stand on that wall and watch the ladies line up. They were lining up for ladies night as the male dancers prepared to woo the ladies through the night. Once in a while, I would go in after the line died down, but honestly, it was too much for me, and I would leave sort of snickering under my breath. I preferred some of the other night life in Tucson back in the 70s and 80s.

One boyfriend used to take me to the Hop Toad on 22nd because they weren’t always crowded and had some good bands. We would party with the bands and drink a few and dance until the bar closed. Though a small hole-in-the-wall dive, the music was generally good, until it wasn’t!

Sometimes we would go to Bobby McGee’s, eat a nice dinner and head to the lounge to drink and dance, while other times we would go to the Barons for dining and cover band dancing. Normally I would drink my brains out because I was too bored.

I was a young adult who could drink legally at 19, and I was not into wasting too much of my nightlife on top 40 cover bands. No more Somerset or The Embers! Take me to a place where I can get a nice cold beer, and a great rock and roll band!

Yep, I had had it with my boyfriend. I did not want the fancy dinners and boring dancing. Me and my gal pals would fill up, take some aspirin, so we would not be hung over, and head over to Choo-Choo’s Night Train on 4th Avenue and drink and dance the night away.

The nightclub Chances was always fun, but it burned down. I really enjoyed Dooley’s but it burnt to the ground too. Raffles was a great time, but sadly it shared the same fate as the others and ended up in embers also. These days, you just don’t find the kind of night life you did 30 years ago. It was a more carefree time. Bands rocked as you danced and drank till you dropped, then got back up and went out and did it again the next night.

I have been sober for 20 years, so I can’t say I still do that behavior and drink and dance the night away, but I suppose if there was a club cool enough and a band magical enough I would order me up an ice cold diet coke, and relive my younger days in those once upon a time nightclubs.

What about you? What clubs do you remember growing up in Tucson?