Stories
Six Frogs Over Tango, Part 1
Six Frogs Over Tango: Shannon Wynne
In the early 1980s, Shannon Wynne was looking to create something new in Dallas nightlife. “Video was still really new back then,” he recalled. “I wanted something different, so I built a club that had a room with 20–25 TVs in it. It was very innovative for the time.”
Tango wasn’t just his first nightclub—it became a destination. There was even a video DJ, or “VJ,” although, as Wynne admits, it was a far cry from today’s sophisticated setups. “They just played music videos that were MTV quality. They weren’t creating anything live. But David Bowie heard about it, and he came to see it.”
The old bank building that housed Tango shaped much of its character. Videos played in the vault room, adding a quirky layer to the atmosphere. But the club’s most iconic feature would be born out of a chance encounter in a friend’s studio.
Wynne had known the artist and Texas folk legend Bob “Daddy-O” Wade for some time, ever since helping him build the Texas Mobile Home Museum in 1976. He even had a hand in the creation of the giant ostrich-skin boots now standing in San Antonio, and later pitched in on Daddy-O’s Iguanomobile. By 1981, Wynne had already seen Daddy-O’s work on display in New York City, and while rummaging through his studio for inspiration, he spotted one of those curious stuffed frogs playing an instrument—an item often found in curio shops in Mexico.
The Iguanamobile, courtesy Bid.AustinAuction.com
“That would be cool,” Wynne thought aloud. Daddy-O agreed, and together they dreamed up “Six Frogs Over Tango,” (also known as “Six Frogs Over Greenville”), in deference to Shannon’s dad, Angus Wynne Jr., who came up with the world-renowned amusement park “Six Flags Over Texas.”
The frogs would be large, motorized, and ‘permanently’ perched atop Tango. Daddy-O set up a “frog factory” originally in an old warehouse on Lemmon Avenue owned by Monk White, then they were later moved to a warehouse on Greenville, gathering a crew to bring the vision to life. “Daddy-O didn’t really get himself dirty,” Wynne laughed. “He directed traffic.”
The final product—six massive amphibians, each eight or nine feet tall—cost around $20,000. Some were posed as if dancing, all set to canned music while their heads and bodies rotated above the street. The installation required a crane and a sign crew to hoist them onto the roof. The frogs even earned national attention, with mentions in Newsweek and People Magazine.
Shannon Wynne, Count Basie and Tony Bennett at Tango back in the day. Courtesy Shannon Wynne
And guess what? Dallas City Hall decided they were advertising, signage of a sort which was prohibited, and said to take them down. Shannon and his neighbors disagreed. Shannon took them to Frog court and got the ban overturned as they were considered art! It was lampooned in the Dallas Times-Herald.
Courtesy Dallas Times-Herald, drawn by Scott Willis, TH Editorial Cartoonist
When Tango eventually closed, everything was auctioned off. Wynne remembered the question hanging over the six rooftop giants: “What are you going to do with six giant frogs?” Monk White had the answer—he purchased them for $2,500 and moved them to Carl’s Corner, the quirky truck stop he co-owned with Carl Cornelius. (more on that in the Monk White interview in Part 2)
Before they departed Greenville Avenue, Wynne and friends threw the frogs a big goodbye party at the nearby Fast and Cool Club. Photographs from the day show Wynne, Cornelius, Daddy-O, and Monk White standing proudly on the flatbed truck hauling the green troupe toward their new life.
Today, Wynne is just happy they’ve survived. “I’m really glad they’re both on Greenville,” he said of their current separate locations. “I’m sorry they’re not in the same place, but at least they’re still there.” At one point, he even tried to reunite them all for one of his ‘Rodeo Goat’ restaurant locations in the Taco Cabana building that stood on top of the old Tango property, but the building’s owners opted for a Starbucks instead.
For Wynne, the Tango Frogs aren’t just an eccentric decoration—they’re a reminder of a creative era when a handful of visionaries could dream big, build wild, and leave something unforgettable in the Dallas skyline.
The Hopping History of the Tango Frogs: A Conversation with Lisa Wade
When it comes to Dallas icons, few are as instantly recognizable—or as beloved—as the Tango Frogs. Perched high above buildings for decades, these six giant amphibians have hopped across Texas and beyond, leaving a trail of memories, tall tales, and quirky art history in their wake.
To get the real story, I spoke with Lisa Wade, wife of the late artist Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, the man who birthed the frogs. Over the course of our conversation, we traced the frogs’ unlikely journey, shared stories about the Dallas club scene in the ’80s, and talked about the friends and characters who kept the legend alive.
Bob Wade riding one of his 40′ tall ‘ostrich’ cowboy boots. Courtesy Lisa Wade and “Daddy O’s Book of Big Ass Art”
From Stuffed Iguanas to Giant Frogs
Lisa explained that the idea for the frogs didn’t start with frogs at all—it began with a stuffed iguana.
“Our friend Monk White brought a stuffed iguana back from Puerto Vallarta,” she recalled. “That’s what kicked off the whole thing.” Then the sculpture at Artpark was moved to the Lone Star Cafe in 1978, the Boots in 1979, all before the Frogs looked over Greenville Ave. (a timeline for the Bob Wade and the Frogs is being completed for Part 2)
At the time, Bob Wade had already built a reputation for creating oversized, whimsical public art—giant cowboy boots, a saxophone sculpture, the famous Iguanamobile. The frogs came to life in 1982–83 at the “Frog Factory” across from the legendary Dallas club, Tango. They first appeared in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Greenville Avenue, mounted on the back of a flatbed truck.
Daddy O surveying what the Frogs were seeing, installing them on the top of Tango, Courtesy Lisa Wade and “Daddy O’s Book of Big Ass Art”
Life Above Tango
Once complete, the frogs took their place atop the Tango nightclub, becoming part of the city’s nightlife identity. The ’80s Dallas club scene was wild, and Lisa remembers it vividly—clubs like the Starck Club, the Rio Room, and the Nostromo were all part of the cultural background.
“It was the ’80s,” she laughed. “People talk about how there was ecstasy at the Starck Club, just sitting in bowls on the counter, like mints. It was a different time.”
Bob wasn’t a partier, but he was an observer, and he noticed everything. The frogs became more than decoration—they were conversation starters, landmarks, and eventually, symbols of a certain Dallas era.
The Great Frog Migration
By 1985, the frogs’ rooftop residency ended. After appearing at the Fast and Cool Club, all six were moved to Carl’s Corner, the famous truck stop founded by Willie Nelson’s friend Carl Cornelius and Monk White.
Three of the Frogs on top of the gas/diesel pumps at Carl’s Corner. Courtesy Dallas.culture.com, 2020 article
“They survived a fire there,” Lisa said. “Three were up over the gas pumps, three in back. The ones up front got their fingers a little charred, but that was it. We were lucky those gas pumps didn’t go up.”
From there, the frogs began their decades-long journey:
Mid-1980s – Three frogs remained at Carl’s Corner, while the others traveled in a Texas sculpture show.
1990 article courtesy TAMU Battalion and TAMU.edu, Frogs on the art tour around 1987
Early 2000s – Some ended up in front of a Taco Cabana in Dallas, then moved to the Truck Yard.
2013 – Three were moved from Chuy’s in Houston to Chuy’s in Nashville.
2024 – Thanks to the efforts of “Sweet Guy Scot” from Chuy’s and artist Faith (who had refurbished other Wade works and we interviewed in Part 2), the Nashville frogs were returned to Dallas and restored to glory at a new Chuy’s location—just blocks from their original home.
Friends, Characters, and the Legacy
Names like Monk White, Mike Young, and Shannon Wynne come up often when talking about the frogs’ history. Lisa spoke warmly about Monk, calling him “the best” and sharing that he had been the best man at her wedding.
She also recalled the endless network of friends, artists, and characters that surrounded Bob Wade’s work. “Once you started working with Bob, you were irrevocably part of his life,” she said.
Traveling Frogs, courtesy Lisa, Rachel and Daddy-O Wade
More Than Just Frogs
Lisa sees the frogs not only as art, but as living pieces of history. “You don’t own the sculptures anymore, but you’re tied to them for life. You just hope people take care of them.”
Bob Wade’s art—whether it was the frogs, the Iguanamobile, or giant cowboy boots—was never just about the object. It was about joy, humor, and the way people connected to them.
“They’ve hopped around for over 40 years,” Lisa said. “Through fires, moves, and even corporate buyouts, they’ve survived. People love them.”
Still Hopping
Today, three of the Tango Frogs sit proudly above Chuy’s in Dallas, their green bodies gleaming from a recent restoration. They’re a reminder of a wilder, more colorful Dallas—and of the artist who believed in making art fun and unforgettable. The other three sit around the corner at The Truck Yard, all six are within a couple of blocks of their original home.
As Willie Nelson said when he first saw them at Carl’s Corner: “What the hell is Carl on?”
Now, Lisa says, “He understands. He knows what a genius Daddy-O Wade really was.”
If you want to learn more about Bob Wade and his art, visit www.bobwade.com or check out his books, Daddy’s Book of Big Ass Art and Daddy’s Book of Iguana Heads and Texas Tales. And if you happen to drive past Chuy’s in Dallas, or the Truck Yard just around the corner, look up—you might just catch the Tango Frogs watching over the city, as they’ve done for decades.
Stay tuned for Part 2, very soon with the prime suspect, the instigator Monk White, the repairer, painter and overall Frog fixer Faith Shexnayder and also Scot Abuchon, the designer for Chuy’s for several decades.
Thanks to so many folks for helping out with this Tango Frogs project, including the fella that kicked it off, Shannon Wynne, his brother and MemInc Board Emeritus Angus Wynne III, editing by Mike Farris, the Memories Admins Mark Cheyne, Chris Doelle, all of our 20ish Moderators, Lisa Wade and the spirit of her hubby Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, Scot Aubuchon formerly of Chuy’s, Faith Shexnayder, fixer extraordinaire, Tom and Laura Garrison of the new Stoneleigh P and of course Monk White, without whom a lot of this wouldn’t have come together!
And of course, all the members of our Facebook Groups, Memories of Dallas, Memories of Texas and Memories of Texas Music who contributed greatly.
If you liked this project, please help us keep them coming. Donate We are a 501c3, Memories Inc, EIN 83-0566883