< PreviousCaring for Children The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) is in-network for most major insurance plans. utmbhealth.com/pediatrics Comprehensive Pediatric Care At UTMB Health, our commitment to the families of our community and beyond means care by your side– when and where you need it most. From routine well-child visits to advanced specialty treatments, our pediatric team is here to support your family’s health journey: •Board-Certified Pediatricians ready for preventive care and common childhood illnesses •Pediatric medical and surgical specialists in cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, ENT, GI, general, thoracic and more—offering the latest treatments close to home •Pediatric Emergency Rooms and Urgent Care Centers staffed by pediatric experts, open seven days a week for when the unexpected happens Schedule your child’s appointment today online at utmbhealth.com/pediatrics or call our 24/7 Access Center at (409) 266-KIDS.Diamond Beach, #6-PH3 2 BEDS • 2 BATHS • 1,200 SQ. FT. $755K 12840 E Camino Famoso 3 BEDS • 2.5 BATHS • 1,956 SQ. FT. $575K NEW CONSTRUCTION Tiara on the Beach, #609 2 BEDS • 2.5 BATHS • 2,377 SQ. FT. $2.314M 3119 Avenue L 2-3 BEDS • 2 BATHS • 765 SQ. FT. $409K UNDER CONTRACT 4717 Avenue Q 4 BEDS • 2 BATHS • 1,815 SQ. FT. $289K Diamond Beach, #704 3-4 BEDS • 3 BATHS • 1,772 SQ. FT. $1.15M 1619 Avenue M 3 BEDS • 2 BATHS • 1,415 SQ. FT. $249.9K 907 Winnie St 2 BEDS • 2.5 BATHS • 1,290 SQ. FT. $490K 10 Quintana Place 5 BEDS • 3.5 BATHS • 3,300 SQ. FT. $824.9K Diamond Beach, #511 3 BEDS • 2 BATHS • 1,235 SQ. FT. $699K 3128 Avenue L 5 BEDS • 3.5 BATHS • 2,754 SQ. FT. $899K 409.206.5800 NEW PRICE! NEW PRICE! NEW PRICE! ANASTASIA GAIDO 808.765.8765 anastasia.gaido@nanproperties.com ZULEIMA COSSIO 409.877.3692 zuleima.cossio@nanproperties.com JENNIFER DELANEY 832.677.0025 jennifer.delaney@nanproperties.com REDEFINING COASTAL LUXURY— ONE RESIDENCE AT A TIME PENDINGNEW PRICE! NEW PRICE! 1112 30th St INQUIRE FOR PRICING22 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuLY 2025 PHOTO: ALAMY/MEDIAP u NCH INC. COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuLY 2025 23 FEATURE ‘HOTBED FOR TALENT’ Texas City has produced a number of notable musicians and singers story by SHANNON CALDWELL T exas City is the birthplace for a jukebox full of world-class musical talent. From the blues and gospel to jazz, funk, disco and electronic music, the city has incubated an impressive number of pioneers and prize-winners. Notable musicians include Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Charles Brown, his second cousin Emry “ET” Thomas — an electronic music pioneer, renowned R&B singer Ruth “Silky” Waters, Texas Gospel Music Living Legend Herman Solomon and Pulitzer-Prize-nominee trumpet player and composer Hannibal Lokumbe. Although they were born in different decades and achieved in different music genres, their shared birthplace was an influence, Texas City Museum Curator Shelby Rod- well said. “Working-class towns can be a hotbed for talent,” Rodwell said. “Everybody struggles together and succeeds together. It can be a huge impetus to work hard.” The museum has a permanent display for legendary blues singer Charles Brown that includes a framed platinum record for selling more than 1 million copies of his album “A Very Special Christmas 2,” a velvet and gold performance jacket PHOTO: CO u RTESY TEXAS CITY M u SE u M (Opposite) Charles Brown was a blues singer and pianist from Texas City. He had several hit recordings, including “Driftin’ Blues” and “Merry Christmas Baby.” He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, the year he died. (Above) One of Charles Brown’s first bands was Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers. In this publicity shot, Brown is pictured first from the right.24 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuLY 2025 FEATURE and hats he wore in his R&B shows, photos, CD covers and more. During Black History Month in February this year, the museum had an exhibition highlighting the achieve- ments of Brown, Thomas and Waters. “Texas City is known as an oil and gas town, but we are more than an industrial center,” Rodwell said. “We have arts and culture, too, and I think people sometimes forget that. I’m hoping to inspire others by sharing these stories.” Brown was born in 1922 and began his music career playing piano and singing for the Greater Barbour’s Chapel Baptist Church, Rodwell said. Known for his rich singing voice and mel- low R&B hits, Brown first found fame in Cal- ifornia in the late 1940s with Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers. Highlights of his long career include writing and recording two hit Christ- mas songs, induction into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1996, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and receiving the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1997 — the highest honor in folk and traditional arts in the United States. Brown also had many lean years, even working as a janitor at one point. It was Grammy Award-winning singer Bonnie Raitt who helped rejuvenate his career asking him to open for her on a national tour and cam- paigning for his Hall of Fame induction. In an essay about Brown, Raitt said: “You can ask any of them — Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Allen Toussaint and progeny like Eric Clapton, Art Neville or Dr. John — and you’ll get the same response. ‘Charles Brown, now there was the cat.’ His influence and stature are undeniable.” Brown’s second cousin is Emry “ET” Thomas, a drummer, funk musician and pro- ducer who played with greats including Etta James. In the 1970s and ’80s, he was in the popular funk band Maxayn that pioneered early electronic music techniques. Also making her name in the 1970s, was Ruth “Silky” Waters, a talented singer known for her prowess singing blues, jazz, R&B and disco. She sang with jazz greats like Miles Davis and had two successful disco-in- FILE PHOTO: LESLIE PLAZA JOHNSON Herman Solomon plays the organ at First Union Baptist Church in Galveston. He received the Living Legend Award from the Texas Gospel Music Excellence Awards in February. COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuLY 2025 25 fused albums “Never Gonna Be The Same” and “Out In The Open” before leaving the industry. Rodwell tried unsuccessfully to trace Waters. “I was hoping she would see her headshot in the museum and tell us what she’d been up to lately,” she said. Herman Solomon is a music achiever who still lives and works in Galveston County. In February of this year, he was recognized with a Living Legends award at the Texas Gospel Music Excellence Awards in Houston. In December 2024, Hannibal Lokumbe returned to Texas City to be recognized for his nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography for his book, “Hannibal Lokum- be: Spiritual Soundscapes of Music, Life and Liberation.” He is an expert trumpeter and orchestral composer who has authored more than 150 works in his nearly six-decade career. FILE PHOTO: JENNIFER REYNOLDS PHOTOS: CO u RTESY TEXAS CITY M u SE u M (Clockwise from above) Ruth “Silky” Waters was popular in the 1970s for her R&B songs that incorpo- rated funk and disco; Emry “E.T.” Thomas was a funk pioneer who saw himself as the vanguard to elec- tronic music; composer and jazz trumpeter Hannibal Lokumbe has authored more than 150 works and was nominated in 2024 for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography.28 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuLY 2025 TREASURE TROVE AMERICAN ROYALTY In a downtown island loft, Elvis is still the king story by SHANNON CALDWELL | photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS I n a downtown Galveston loft, Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, reigns supreme. Islander Leah Moss has an impressive collection of Elvis memorabilia that includes photos, paintings, cush- ions, plates, glasses, dolls, PEZ dispensers, nutcrackers, refrigerator magnets and more. Some of the more unusual items include an Elvis garden gnome, a ceramic whiskey bottle in the shape of Elvis, Elvis Beanie Babies and a 40-year-old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup flavored with banana cream marketed as “The King” collec- tor’s edition. Moss has items displayed throughout her loft but the bulk of the collection is in one room. “My friends and family love to stay in this room,” she said. “They always ask can I spend the night in the Elvis room.” Her mother, Cherry, started the collection and Moss inher- ited it when she passed and added many more items. Both women shared a love of Elvis and while they never saw him live, they visited Graceland often. “When you go to Graceland, you meet people from all around the world, he was so loved by so many people,” she said. Each month, Coast Monthly highlights an intriguing relic or antique on the upper Texas coast. COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuLY 2025 29 (Opposite) Leah Moss stands in the Elvis room of her downtown loft in Galveston. Her mother, Cherry, was a huge fan of the “King of Rock and Roll” and amassed an extensive collection of memorabilia. (Clockwise, from top left) A photo of Moss and her husband, Chris, at their Las Vegas wedding wearing Elvis-style sunglasses sits next to a vintage Elvis bourbon decanter; a photo of Moss’ mother, Cherry, hangs above a porcelain Elvis guitar; Moss holds an Elvis collection of PEZ candy dispensers; Elvis memorabilia adorns the walls and a display case in the entry way. Moss has a tattoo of Elvis’ face in silhouette on her shoulder and she married her husband, Chris, in Las Vegas on the 40th anniversary of the Elvis’ death. An Elvis im- personator was the celebrant and Elvis and Priscilla dolls decorated their wedding cake. “Everything in my house is either Elvis themed, or has cherries on it for my mom, or it is leopard print,” she said. “My mom would say you always need a little leopard.” Next >