Billy, Willie, Elvis, and John
In Fort Worth, Texas-size stars play a Texas-size dance hall known as Billy Bob's Texas. Covering more than 127,000 square feet (roughly 3 acres), Billy Bob's offers plenty of room for dancing, live music, and professional bull riding.

Ever since it opened 26 years ago, the club has served as the setting for television shows, movies, and performances by such stars as LeAnn Rimes, Merle Haggard, and Garth Brooks.

Next to Billy Bob, perhaps the most famous name in dance hall lore is John T. Floore. Sixty years ago the manager of San Antonio's Majestic Theater bought some land just outside of town in the Helotes community and opened John T. Floore Country Store.

Within a few years the store was featuring performances by Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, and B.B. King.

A group of investors bought John T.'s store after his death and spent more than a quarter of a million dollars fixing up the place. These days music fans flock to Floore's to see stars such as Steve Earle; sample the cafe's famous tamales; and read the hundreds of signs, slogans, and sayings that adorn the walls. One of John T's favorite signs best sums up the way he, and thousands of other Texans, feel about their dance halls--"eat, drink, and be merry."

"Soul of the South" is from the April 2007 issue of Southern Living.