From H. Kent Craig:
Jim Thornton, "The Barefoot Boy From Broadslab", started in the nightclub business at a location just down the street from Club 15 where S. Saunders merged with S. Wilmington St.

Correct, Jim Thornton's Dance Club, address was 2850 S. Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC. Torn down many years ago

Celebrated New Years at Thorton's 1964. Raleigh's own, The Embers played for the celebration.

Seems I remember Thortons as being a grocery store? I was born in 1962 and grew up in Carolina Pines right off Lake Wheeler on one side and South Saunders on other side.

Jim Thornton was my grandfather. He owned a grocery store on Main Street in Benson, NC and later owned Jim Thornton's Dance Club on Wilmington Street. The Yellow Rose dog food that he ate was actually a can of corned beef hash that they had switched the label for one from Yellow Rose.

Jim Thornton was my grandfather. He owned a grocery store on Main Street in Benson, NC and later owned Jim Thornton's Dance Club on Wilmington Street. The Yellow Rose dog food that he ate was actually a can of corned beef hash that they had switched the label for one from Yellow Rose.

I have a 1961 Ford Starliner that Billy West raced in that area. I was told that the car was sponsored by Jim Thornton and appeared on his TV show. Is there any information or footage of the TV show?

Thanks!
Charlie Hamilton

Wow I ask people from time to time about Saturday night country style no one has a clue
Finding this brings back memories as a child my grand parents worked and lived close to there

Gary, my dad played saxophone in Jim’s band on Saturday Night Country Style 1957 - 1958, WTVD, Channel 11, several years before the club in Raleigh got started. Jim wore shoes back then, did not eat dog food ( or corn beef hash) and led a legit rockabilly band that did rock.

I was born in 1951 in Raleigh and I remember bits and pieces as I grew up.
Remember seeing it on TV and my dad parents lived in Carleigh here on South Sanders Street.
I remember when some of my family members went there.
I am almost 70 now and was just thinking about that place and just lucky me I found it here on the web.
A lot has changed here in Raleigh since then.

i remember going there with my dad who played with jim many years.

My wife,well before she was my wife danced as an employee at Jim Thornton`s Dance Club.Is there any chance that there are any photo`s of her dancing there? Her first name was Carolyn.

Hi James,
Our collection is purely aerial photography.

My uncle was Kidd Brewer. He arranged for my band the Rock-A-Tones to play on Thornton's Barn Dance TV program in the early 1960's. We were a rock-n-roll band that played county slow tunes for belly rubbin' dances. When Thornton saw our drums, he balked. We said the drummer will use brushes. He still wouldn't allow that heresy on a country show. How times have changed. They've put drums and orchestras in "country music".

Thanks for sharing that great story, Daryl! It sounds like you had some memorable experiences in Wake County. Does this photo bring back any other memories from that time period? We always love hearing stories from our users about how times have changed since Vintage Aerial's photos were taken.

James R Seabolt- I subscribed to the News & Observer archives and found ads for Jim Thornton’s Dance club. There were dancers pictured on some of the ads. I have copies of some of them.

Born in 1951 and grew up on Carolina Pines Blvd. We attended Carolina Pines Baptist Church on South Saunders Street maybe four lots away from the dance hall. As is usually the case a lot of church goers condemned the dance hall until one Saturday night our pastor at that time was invited and went there. The following morning from the pulpit he proclaimed the dance hall to be a nice place to go and enjoy dancing 😊 Yes we Baptist did and do dance 👍😂