Matt's Saloon, located on Prescott's famous Whiskey Row, is a dance hall featuring country music. But rock star Bruce Springsteen made it famous more than two decades ago.

On Oct. 1, 1989, Springsteen was traveling through Prescott on his motorcycle and stopped at the bar for a beer.

At that time in the afternoon, not many people were in the saloon, but it didn't take long for word to spread that "The Boss" was in town.

The saloon quickly filled up, Springsteen borrowed a guitar from a member of the house band and soon the place was rocking.

When Springsteen took a break, the crowd was so enthusiastic that a female bartender called "Bubbles" pulled him over the bar to safety.

To this day, the newspaper accounts hanging in Matt's tell the story of how a grateful Springsteen thanked the woman by paying off her $160,000 hospital bill.

That is the type of story that builds Matt's Saloon's legend.

What makes it famous, and perhaps one day a member of the Arizona Music Hall of Fame, is the caliber of country western stars that played the saloon during the 1960s and continue to drop in today.

Topping that list were County Music Hall of Fame members Waylon Jennings and Buck Owens, as well as singer/songwriter Lee Hazelwood. They all played at Matt's during the 1960s.

Hazelwood, who wrote, "These Boots are Made for Walking," just showed up at Matt's.

Matt Butitta, who owned Matt's Saloon from 1962-81 remembers that Owens was playing at the rodeo on the Fourth of July and he brought his band into the saloon and started playing.

Butitta's fondest memories are of Jennings, country's original "Outlaw." He names Jennings as the one performer he wished was still around to play again at Matt's. Jennings died in February 2002.

Butitta met Jennings when the two men were members of a friend's wedding party. At that time, the friend managed Jennings and he talked Butitta into bringing Jennings to Prescott one Fourth of July.

"The people went crazy. Waylon was pretty clean-cut at that time," Butitta told the Daily Courier.

Butitta said his friend wanted him to bring Jennings up for a week, but he was paying $275 and Jennings charged $300.

In the end, Jennings came for the Fourth and Butitta paid him $100 a day for his three-piece band plus rooms next door at the Hotel St. Michael.

Jennings played two sets, and in between the house band would play. Jennings did not have a drummer at that time, and the house band's drummer, Richie Albright, asked Butitta if he could sit in.

According to Butitta, a couple months after playing in Prescott, Jennings hired Albright.

Throughout 1964 and 1965, Jennings would return to Prescott and play at Matt's Saloon. The bar remained a place he would visit whenever he was in Arizona.

Looking back, it seems strange that a small saloon in Prescott could afford to book some country western stars. However, except for Jennings, it seems that most of them, like Owens, were in town to play at the rodeo and ended up at Matt's with the rest of the cowboys.

Some stars just stopped in for a drink.

Current bar co-owner Matt Brassard tells the story of County Music Hall of Fame member Merle Haggard stopping in for a beer.

"He tipped the bartender $5 and signed the bill. Then he walked across the road to the courthouse square and sat there for a couple hours," Brassard said. "He came back in for another beer and asked the bartender if he had gotten his tip. The bartender asked Haggard if he was really him. Haggard said yes, and he had just been sitting across the street writing a song."

Lining the walls of Matt's Saloon are photos of other country performers who either played or drank there, among them Joe Diffie, Asleep at the Wheel and Andy Griegs. Most recently, Vince Gill stopped in after playing a concert in Prescott Valley. Gill became a member of the County Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

Matt's was also the hangout for actors when they came to town to shoot a film.

A 13-year-old Brooke Shields spent one summer shooting her an early film in Prescott. Butatti was friends with her father, and Shields would stand outside the bar selling and autographing Matt's Saloon T-shirts.

"She sold a lot of T-shirts that summer," Butatti said.

Steve McQueen frequented Matt's while filming "Junior Bonner" in Prescott in the summer of 1971. Actor Ben Johnson and director Sam Peckinpah were among the other Hollywood notables that visited Matt's.

Boxing’s sweet as sugar champ says he was victimized sexually by a nameless coach. These revelations are expressed in Sugar Ray Leonard’s new book, The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring, which debuted Tuesday, June 6th. Spilling everything in this autobiography, the 55-year-old retired fight speaks candidely of his infidelities, drug problems and sexual abuse, Yahoo! Sports reports. Careful not to spill too much, such as the name of the coach who he alleges abused him, the gold medalist tells Yahoo! Sports, “I could state what happened to me without going further and naming names and creating more pain for anyone else.”

While Leonard doesn't name names, he does drop a clue in the book; the assault supposedly took place at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, where he was preparing for the title. The other clue is the person was a boxing coach.

Regarding his battle with drugs, Leonard is said to have not had even a drink in almost five years. It seems he dealt with his abuse by trying to escape using alcohol and drugs. However, with the release of his new book, the former fighter's hoping he can finally heal.