Crockett given key to City

I’m from San Benito, Texas, Down a dirty dusty road. There was sugarcane and cotton, How I used to watch it grow.” – Charley Crockett, “The Valley”

By RAY QUIROGA
publisher@sbnewspaper.com

The City of San Benito honored one of its favorite sons, burgeoning country star Charley Crockett, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in a morning ceremony held at the community’s Cultural Heritage Museum on E. Heywood St.

The event, which was held hours before Crockett’s evening headlining concert at Hidalgo’s Payne Arena, saw city officials proclaim Sept. 7, 2024, as Charley Crockett Day in the Resaca City and he was given the Key to the City. After some words from Crockett and city officials, a formal presentation, and his graciously taking time to sign autographs and take photos with fans, Crockett’s caravan, led by his impressive tour bus and a police escort, made its way to the Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum, located in San Benito Historic Robertson St. District. Crockett took the time to tour the facility and pose for more photos.

As previously reported in the NEWS in a 2019 article, Crockett, 40, was born at the now-defunct Dolly Vinsant Memorial Hospital in San Benito as Matthew Charles Crockett, and was raised in a small trailer with his mom and grandmother between Los Fresnos and Bayview until the age of ten, when he moved to Dallas.
Then, upon his 17th birthday, Crockett was gifted a Hohner acoustic guitar by his mother. Initially, he was influenced by hip-hop before exploring the sounds of blues and jazz.

“I picked up the guitar and started messing with chord positions, often feeling more comfortable with what I later came to know were jazz chords,” he said in the 2019 interview. “I learned it all independently.”

By the time he entered his early 20s, he was living the life of a vagabond, sleeping on sidewalks and farms across the country, playing music wherever and however he could.

“I started traveling and staying with people – anyone who’d offer a couch. I didn’t want to deal with a normal nine to five job; I just wanted to play music,” Crockett said.

Among his influences are Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and even San Benito’s musical legend Freddy Fender.

“I don’t think people give Freddy Fender enough credit,” said Crockett. “He was really originating something unique. He had the synthesizers and the Tejano with the drops of rock and roll – it was something different.”

According to his Wikipedia page, he has released twelve studio albums since 2015, with “Lil G.L.’s Blue Bonanza” peaking at number 11 on the US Billboard Blues Albums chart, and “The Man from Waco” breaking into the US Billboard 200. In September 2023, Crockett was nominated for Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year at the 2023 Americana Music Honors & Awards.

On Saturday, San Benito City Manager Fred Sandoval said that when the idea of presenting Crockett with an official proclamation germinated, he contacted Roy Garcia, the concert promoter utilized by the City to organize and promote its concert events.

“He works miracles all the time. I said, ‘Do me the favor, get with Charley’s folks, and we’ll see if we can have an event for him. We’ll give him the key to the City, do a proclamation, that kind of thing.’ So he sends out the email, and I kind of forgot about it. The next thing you know, he says, ‘Hey, did you see the email? Charley’s team is in! He’s excited and wants to come!,’” Sandoval remarked.

San Benito Mayor Pro Tem Pedro “Pete” Galvan has been a longtime fan of Crockett, having seen him live at Steamboat Springs, Co., Mercedes and later that evening. Galvan said that he long promised Crockett after one of those shows that he would, “bring him back home to San Benito” to acknowledge his efforts and always promoting San Benito.

“We’re not always found on a map, but we’re found in his heart,” Galvan said. “He’s very humble and he’s proud of his roots. His roots are strong, and they’re here in the Valley. He represents us well. He represents the Valley, and he claims San Benito, just like Freddy Fender. He’s never forgotten about us, and I appreciate that.”