Clifford Antone, 56, the legendary music club owner, died Tuesday.
He died of an apparent heart attack, his sister said.
His tale begins when a man from Port Arthur named Clifford Antone came to Austin in 1975. In 2005, Antone's club celebrated its 30th anniversary. The club opened its original location on East Sixth Street as a small music venue on a street and neighborhood long ignored. It attracted famous blues acts from the Chicago and New York blues scenes. Among the players there were the likes of Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy and a very young Stevie Ray Vaughan. During the club's first year, B.B. King made an appearance.
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Clifford Antone
Antone's legendary club celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.
 
Reaction to Antone's death
Andy Langer talks with Broken Spoke owner James White and Margaret Moser of the Austin Chronicle about Antone’s death.
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The club is now in its third location.
That same club's success led to the birth of the now-famous East Sixth Street entertainment district, the heart and soul of Austin's multi-million dollar tourist trade and led to the city's nickname of "Live Music Capital of the World."
For Austin, it's the heart and soul of a multi-million dollar tourist industry.
In 2000, Antone went to prison on federal charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. He was released in 2003 after serving three years of a four-year sentence.
He had a change of tune later in life and turned his attention to helping kids. The club held benefits for at-risk youth.
His career and the club's history was captured in the documentary Antone's: Home of the Blues
"One of the primary reasons Austin is known as the Live Music Capital of the World is because of Clifford Antone. His devotion to the music spoke for itself. He was my friend and I will miss him dearly," Austin Mayor Will Wynn said. "I ask Austinites to join with me and remember the music giant this city has lost and the great things he brought to our community."
