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A future UT Austin academic medical campus – which is set to include an MD Anderson Cancer Center location – was set to be built on the site of the now-demolished Frank Erwin Center. But now the Board of Regents is considering a new location near the Domain.
Cindy Walker might be the most successful Texas songwriter that most Texans have never heard of, with songs recorded by Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby and many others. A new tribute album celebrates Walker’s legacy and aims to help save her Mexia home.
Plus: We’re getting ready for Thanksgiving with things that Texas kiddos are thankful for.
And click this link to sign up in time for KUT’s Thanksgiving Newsletter!
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:09] A future UT Austin academic medical campus could be changing its location here in town. The campus was set to be built on the site of the now-demolished Frank Irwin Center, but now the University of Texas Board of Regents is considering a new location for the development. More about the possible changes coming up. Plus, she just might be the most successful Texas songwriter that most Texans have never heard of, with songs recorded by Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby, and Elvis Presley, among many others. A new tribute album celebrating the music of Cindy Walker. Come hear more about her.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:44] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:49] And we’ve got some Thanksgiving flavor for ya from questionable old Austin recipes to things that Texas kiddos are thankful for. That’s next on Austin Signal. Howdy out there. Thank you for listening to Austin Signal. This is listener powered public radio. KUT news 90.5. You can tune in and hear us on the KUT app and online at KUT.org. It is Tuesday, November 25th, inching closer to the Thanksgiving holiday. We’re glad you’re making us part of your day. The Texas volleyball team is going to face Kentucky tonight for the SEC Tournament Championship. The Longhorns have only lost a pair of games this season. To Texas A&M and Kentucky. The Horns got their revenge over the Aggies last night, and they’ll look to do the same tonight against the Wildcats. Game time is at six o’clock. Thank you for being here. This is Austin Signal. The University of Texas Board of Regents is considering changing the site for the future UT Austin Academic Medical Campus. UT leadership had previously announced that the development would be built at the site of the former Frank Irwin Center off of I-35 in downtown Austin. Here to tell us more about the possible changes is KUT’s healthcare reporter Olivia Aldridge. Howdy Olivia, how are you?
Olivia Aldridge [00:02:13] Hi, I’m good.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:14] I’m glad you’re here with us. So I just announced that news or the news that you reported really recently. Rewind us a little bit, take us back. What is this medical campus plan that we’re talking about?
Olivia Aldridge [00:02:27] Yeah, this is a plan for a new UT Academic Medical Center. It was first announced back in 2023, and it’s set to include an Austin location of MD Anderson Cancer Center, along with a second hospital tower that would be a specialty university hospital.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:43] And I was wondering how big of a deal is it to have an M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as well as the medical tower? What exactly does it mean and how important could those be to Austin?
Olivia Aldridge [00:02:54] Well, MD Anderson in Houston has been ranked the top cancer center in the US by US News and World Report and other sources over the past decade, really. So it’s absolutely a heavyweight for cancer care. And the president of MD Anderson said back in 2023 that around 5,000 Austin residents travel to Houston every year for cancer here. So having some of those resources right here in town is a big deal for residents. And I’d say that between these two hospitals, we’re looking at adding a lot of new doctors, a lot new care options for local people, and maybe even making Austin more of a destination for people seeking certain kinds of care. And also these university affiliated facilities are going to grow the education opportunities for students at Dell Medical School at UT. And UT officials kind of celebrated this plan as something that would advance Austin’s reputation as a hub for medical innovation.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:51] So I was wondering how did the idea of building it at the former Irwin Center location, how did that come about? Was that always the plan? I know there is a hospital already nearby there in that area.
Olivia Aldridge [00:04:02] Yeah, this specific plan we only found out about in 2023, but there’s been discussions about tearing down the Irwin Center and using that space for something related to potentially the expansion of Dell Medical School or kind of a so-called medical district for more than a decade, you know, really since Dell Medical school came about. Dell Seton Medical Center and some buildings associated with the medical school and the school of nursing are actually, yeah, neighbors to the site.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:29] But now it sounds as though the UT Regents board, they might be having second thoughts about that location.
Olivia Aldridge [00:04:36] It seems like it. Chairman Kevin Altieff said last week that they’re looking at a larger site to see if that makes more sense. He said that this isn’t just an academic medical center, it’s quote, a district for the future. So he didn’t say much else, but reading between the lines there, maybe it would seem to imply that they possibly want some options for future growth. But that said, UT is emphasizing that the Irwin Center site is still under consideration. So nothing’s been decided.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:03] Okay yeah, nothing has been decided, but is there an alternate site that they have in mind? Possibly, I know you mentioned a few of those there, but, is there any in particular that stand out?
Olivia Aldridge [00:05:13] They do have another site in mind that they’re looking at, although they aren’t being specific about it yet. LTV said it’s north of campus, near the domain, UT reps kind of told me it’s an undeveloped site already owned by UT, so you know, we’re not talking about like the Pickle campus. Travis County property records do show a 59-acre undevelop property that UT has for decades in that general area, so that would seem to be a fit, potentially. But UT wouldn’t confirm that that is the site they’re looking at or any other site. So there could be other possibilities.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:47] Yeah, there’s still the decision to be made. You mentioned that this plan, at least for the Irwin Center, was announced in 2023. What is the timeline like moving forward for this project?
Olivia Aldridge [00:05:59] They’re saying that the timeline hasn’t changed from what was announced in 2023. So that means dirt could be turning, um, somewhere by next year. And these hospitals could be opening by 2029 or 2030.
Jerry Quijano [00:06:13] Well, that is Olivia Aldridge. She is the healthcare reporter for KUT News. You can read more about this story over at KUT.org. Olivia, thank you for taking the time with us today. Alright, well you know with Thanksgiving just a few days away, we are thankful here at Austin Signal for a lot of things, and one of those is the people that we get to work with every day with KUT, with KU-TX, and of course over at Texas Standard, which is produced here at KUT every single day, and this year they are celebrating 10 years of making the show, so we dug back into the Texas Standard archives to bring you this little moment of thanks.
Fausto Hidalgo Diaz [00:07:02] My name is Fausto Hidalgo Diaz, and I am seven years old. And I am thankful for volcanoes, technology, toys, water, and tigers, and…
Sunny Juliet Parson [00:07:20] Chicken, oh and toys. Hi, my name is Sunny Juliet Parson and I’m almost seven. I’m thankful for my friends and my family. I’m also thankful for others and people that need help if they’re hurt.
Sean [00:07:43] My name is Sean and I’m about to be eight years old. I’m thankful for my family and how they treat me. Because if I act good, they give me good stuff. Motor control cars and video games. It’s called Mario. My…
Farah [00:08:05] My name is Farrah and I am five years old and I live in Marfa, Texas and I am grateful for vacation.
Jaden Long [00:08:30] My name is Jaden Long and I’m five years old. I’m in kindergarten and I am grateful for school and science and playground and lunch.
Kenley Oliver [00:08:46] My name is Kenley Oliver and I am five years old. I am thankful for my family and my dad in the military. I’m thankful for friends, cousins, and ice cream. Okay, that’s it.
Red [00:09:11] Hi, my name is Red and I’m six years old from Dallas, Texas. So, I’m thankful for my friends and my family. And I like school a lot, and that’s all that I’m grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:35] Lots to be thankful for. That collection of voices was recorded back in 2017 so we know those kids now growing up a little bit I’m sure they have lots more to be thankful for and we are thankful you’re tuning here to Austin Signal. Thank you for spending part of your Tuesday here with us. Well right now it’s 1 15 in the afternoon as we’re recording this live which means I’m about 48 hours from enjoying a plate or two of Some of my favorite sides, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, and gravy. You know how it goes. And if you’re listening later on the podcast, we’re even closer to tea day, so that’s a good thing. That’s gonna be part of my eat-ins for Thanksgiving 2025, more than 400 years on from that first gathering back in 1621. You know, the Mayflower Pilgrims and such. But there are some folks that say that the real first Thanksgiving Well that took place about two decades prior to that, and it happened, they say, near present-day El Paso when at least 400 Spaniards in an exploration led by Juan de Oñate feasted with the Manso tribe. Still, that’s not even the only claim to the first Thanksgiving here in Texas, according to the Texas Almanac. A historical marker outside of Canyon that’s up in the panhandle claimed Francisco Vazquez de Coronado celebrated the first thanksgiving. Near the Palo Ludo Canyon in 1541. Though there is some debate whether that was a true Thanksgiving or a celebration of the Feast of the Ascension, which falls in the spring. And the first official Thanksgiving in Texas was declared by Governor George Wood, who set the date for the first Thursday in December. Now you’re probably wondering, how do I possibly know all of this? Well, that is because of one Andrew Weber, government accountability reporter and internet human here at the KUT Newsroom. He put together a piece for KUT a few thanksgivings back. He’s also written about some of Austin’s questionable holiday sides to go along with your main entree. Recipes shared in vintage Austin American Statesmen editions from the 40s to the 70s for delights like cauliflower with celery sauce, lima beans and sour cream, and something called a winter orange salad. I don’t know. We’re going to be sharing those old stories. And the recipes if you’d like them in Thursday’s edition of the KUT Newsletter. It is a Monday to Friday update of the news that you need to know about Austin and our community. You can sign up at newsletter.kut.org. Well, one thing I’m thankful for this year is Austin’s signal and all of our listeners out there. Again, you can tune into the show Monday through Friday, one to 1.30. Here on KUT News 90.5, on the KUT app, and online at KUT.org. And don’t forget, you can find more about the show at Kut.org slash Signal. Coming up, we’re going to talk about one of Texas’s most famous songwriters that perhaps you’ve never even heard of, but you’ve heard her music. Come find out more. That’s after the break. This is Austin Signal. This is Austin Signal, welcome back. Her songs were recorded by the likes of Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, heck even the birds, yet she just might be the most successful Texas songwriter that most Texans have never heard of. Now though, things seem to be changin’. There’s a new tribute album celebrating the life of Cindy Walker, and as the Texas standards Leah Scarpelli found visiting Walker’s hometown of Mejia, east of Waco. The album’s not the only undertaking trying to bring Walker’s story back into the spotlight.
Leah Scarpelli [00:13:34] On a quiet street on the outskirts of Mejia sits a modest two-story white house. It’s an obvious need of repair. The paint is chipping, the eaves are collapsing.
Lindsey Lipman [00:13:43] It’s a miracle this place hasn’t fallen down.
Leah Scarpelli [00:13:46] Lindsay Lipman meets me to take a tour. She’s a longtime journalist originally from Mejia who helped start a foundation to preserve the story of the town’s most prominent musical celebrity. 70 years ago, as Cindy Walker’s star was at its peak in California, her brother suggested she and their mother come back to Texas to be closer to him and his family. She bought the house while they were still out in Hollywood and then got here in the 1950s and then stayed here all that time. For over half a century, from age 36 until the end of her life at 88. Littman says Walker didn’t come back to Mejia to retire, however. This is where she spent her most prolific years as a writer.
Lindsey Lipman [00:14:25] Where we’re standing is where Willie Nelson would visit her. Ernest Tubb, Bob Wills, they pull up on their big busses and stop by and talk to Cindy. So you wanna go in? Making sure there’s no raccoons or cats or anything like that, okay.
Leah Scarpelli [00:14:42] In the first room we enter, the floor is caving in from water damage.
Lindsey Lipman [00:14:45] Yeah, be very careful.
Leah Scarpelli [00:14:48] Lipman takes me around downstairs, then up, where Walker’s writing room sits in the far back corner.
Lindsey Lipman [00:14:53] And so there was a record player here in her couch.
Leah Scarpelli [00:14:57] Cindy would write and cut demos with her mother, Ori, often playing with her on a baby grand piano, helping to put form to the song.
Lindsey Lipman [00:15:04] She would basically almost like clock in, start working. Her nieces were told like, don’t bother Aunt Cindy when she’s in this room.
Leah Scarpelli [00:15:12] Soon, a Texas historical marker will sit outside. There’s also an application in to put the house on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lindsey Lipman [00:15:20] And we’re just a small group of people who care a lot about what Cindy gave, not just to the Mejia community, but to Texas and to America in general.
Singer [00:15:38] I can’t see no
Leah Scarpelli [00:15:41] It’s impossible to cover all the hundreds of songs that Cindy Walker wrote in her lifetime, but here she is performing one of her earliest, Dusty Skies. She was born Lucille Walker in 1917 and came from a musical background. Her grandfather, Franklin, wrote spiritual songs, hymns, and even published hymnals. Cindy never met him, but as the child of a cotton broker, she moved around a lot. As they traveled, her mother, Ori, began operating song and dance studios.
Gregory Smith [00:16:10] Have one newspaper clipping from her performing at three years old.
Leah Scarpelli [00:16:14] Gregory Smith is a professional historian and board member of the Cindy Walker Foundation. He’s also working on her biography.
Gregory Smith [00:16:21] She started performing on stages. This included movie theaters, wherever they happened to live, on the radio when that was possible.
Leah Scarpelli [00:16:33] Smith says that in 1940, the family traveled to Hollywood, presumably for her father to sell cotton.
Gregory Smith [00:16:40] Think they were going on this trip to sell Cyndiwok.
Leah Scarpelli [00:16:43] The story goes that as they were driving down Sunset Boulevard, Cindy saw the Crosby building.
Gregory Smith [00:16:48] And says, oh, Papa stopped the car, Bing Crosby’s in there.
Leah Scarpelli [00:16:52] But it was actually Crosby’s brother and business manager, Larry. Cindy brought her mother in to play piano as she sang Lone Star Trail.
Gregory Smith [00:17:00] Larry Crosby, soon thereafter, introduced her to Bing Crosbie.
Leah Scarpelli [00:17:11] It was Walker’s first published song.
Gregory Smith [00:17:16] Lots of things happened in Hollywood very quickly.
Leah Scarpelli [00:17:19] Walker appeared in films, released singles for Decker Records, and became a well-known figure in soundies, video jukeboxes found in bars and other public places that cost a dime to watch.
Singer [00:17:30] I’m a born ballerina, regardless of what they say
Leah Scarpelli [00:17:37] Around this time, Walker pitched her songs to Texas’s most famous bandleader at the time, Bob Wills. He would go on to record over 50 of her compositions.
Singer [00:17:47] It’s grand that you’re from Texas, Cause I’m from Texas too.
Leah Scarpelli [00:17:54] By the time Walker was lowered back to Texas in 1953, she had stopped performing and was a full-time, well-established songwriter. In 1955, Eddie Arnold gave her a challenge. Write a song called You Don’t Know Me about a man with a secret love. Walker did just that. It became a hit for Eddie Arnold in 1956 and was recorded by several other artists, including Ray Charles in 1962.
Speaker 16 [00:18:23] Anyone can tell You think you know me well But you don’t know me
Leah Scarpelli [00:18:32] That same year, Roy Orbison had a top five hit with Walker’s song, Dream Baby.
Singer [00:18:37] Dream baby, make me stop my dreamin’ You can make my dreams come true
Leah Scarpelli [00:18:43] Cindy Walker would go on to write over 650 songs.
Lindsey Lipman [00:18:48] Said, well, I can write these songs in Hollywood or I can ride them in Texas.
Leah Scarpelli [00:18:52] Back at Cindy Walker’s home, Lindsay Lipman envisions what the foundation hopes to do with the house and the six city lots it sits on.
Lindsey Lipman [00:18:59] The bigger picture is to have the home restored as a community art and music center, and then to have the upstairs space where her writing studio was to be more of an exhibit space.
Leah Scarpelli [00:19:12] Restoration will take a lot of effort and money likely exceeding tens of thousands of dollars The foundation has been holding fundraisers for the last few years and started Cindy Walker days a festival in Mejia Held each year around Walker’s birthday in July and now a new album. It’s all her fault a tribute to Cindy Walker
Gray Delisle [00:19:33] They did a little post on the Cindy Walker Foundation page saying we’re trying to raise money for her house and
Leah Scarpelli [00:19:38] Gray Delisle is a voice actress, comedian, and singer-songwriter who put the tribute together. She also performs a duet on the album.
Gray Delisle [00:19:45] And I thought gosh if this was like Hank Williams house or something I mean people would pay attention and and he didn’t have as many hits as she had
Singer [00:19:52] Oh, it’s all your fault that I’m not sleeping, I live in dreams, instead of eating I’m just a Take me in your arms and hold me
Gray Delisle [00:20:06] I don’t I don’t care if I’m not
Gray Delisle [00:20:12] I also made it an all-female record because so many men had hits she wrote so well for men and you don’t hear a lot of women singing her songs.
Leah Scarpelli [00:20:19] Delisle had met a lot of the women who sing on the album when Asleep at the Wheels’ Ray Benson invited her to perform alongside him at a show in Fort Worth.
Ray Benson [00:20:27] She is one of the most important songwriters along with Gershwin, Willie Nelson, these kind of names.
Leah Scarpelli [00:20:34] Benson says Cyndi Walker’s name might not be as famous as some, but as far as being a woman in the music industry, Walker was simply known and respected as a great songwriter.
Ray Benson [00:20:44] I think that when you have the kind of talent that she had and the kind of successes she had, she, she sort of transcended all of that.
Leah Scarpelli [00:20:54] Upon Cindy’s death in 2006, the home went to Walker’s housekeeper. The foundation bought the house in 2022 and discovered dozens of unreleased songs, including this one called Tennessee Rain.
Singer [00:21:05] I woke up to the sound of Tennessee rain With the Texas woman by my side
Leah Scarpelli [00:21:16] For Littman, her passion for letting others know about Cindy Walker goes beyond her appreciation of the music. It’s about giving back to their town and helping to rekindle interest in a songwriter who left an indelible mark, not just on Texas music, but the great American songbook as well. It’s all her fault a tribute to Cindy Walker is out now, with proceeds going towards restoring Walker’s home in Mejia. For the Texas Standard, I’m Leah Scarpelli.
Singer [00:21:44] You’ll never, never know The one who loves you so
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:21:52] You don’t know me
Jerry Quijano [00:22:05] And that is it for today’s edition of Austin Signal. Thank you for spending part of your day here with us. As a reminder, you can catch up on our previous shows over at kut.org slash signal. Kristen Cabaretta is our managing producer. Rayna Sevilla is our technical director. And one thing that we are thankful for this year is Jimmy Mass. He is our show runner. We are here every single day, every single weekday from 1 to 1.30 on KUT News 90.5, on the KUT app, and online at KUT.org. We’ll be back at the same time tomorrow. I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. We’ll talk to you then.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
