Everything about Apollo Theater totally explained
The
Apollo Theater in
New York City is one of the most famous clubs for popular music in the
United States, and certainly the most famous club associated almost exclusively with
African-American performers.
History
An Apollo Hall was founded in NY in the mid-1860s by former
Civil War General
Edward Ferrero as a dance hall and ballroom. Upon the expiration of his lease in 1872, the building was converted to a theater, which closed shortly before the turn of the century. However, the name "Apollo Theater" lived on. The Apollo was designed by the architect George M. Kaiser, who also patterned the
First Baptist Church in the City of New York at 79th Street and
Broadway.
Founded in 1913 in a different location, the new Apollo Theater was owned =by various Jewish families up until
World War II. When the Apollo first opened, it was one of
New York City’s leading burlesque venues, opened and operated by two of the city’s most influential
burlesque operators —
Jules Hurtig and
Harry Seamon. Open to white-only viewers, the Hurtig and Seamon’s (New) Burlesque Theater would remain in operation until 1928 when
Bill Minsky took over and transformed it into the 125th Street Apollo Theater.
Sidney S. Cohen, a powerful theatrical landlord, purchased the Apollo in 1932 upon Minsky’s untimely death. The Apollo Theater finally opened its doors to African American patrons in 1934, 20 years after the building's original opening, showcasing "a colored review" entitled
Jazz a la Carte.
Ella Fitzgerald made her singing debut at seventeen on
November 21,
1934 at the Apollo. Fitzgerald's name pulled in a weekly audience at the Apollo and she won the opportunity to compete in one of the earliest of its famous "Amateur Nights." She had originally intended to go on stage and dance, but intimidated by the Edwards Sisters, a local dance duo, she opted to sing instead, in the style of Connie Boswell. She sang
Hoagy Carmichael's "Judy" and "The Object of My Affection", a song recorded by the
Boswell Sisters, and won the first prize of
US$25.00.
One unique feature of the Apollo was "the executioner," a man with a broom who would sweep performers off the stage if the highly vocal and opinionated audiences began to call for their removal.
Transformation and renovation
The theater is located at 253 W.
125th Street in
Harlem in what is now one of the best-known
black neighborhoods in
New York City and probably in all of the United States. When the Apollo re-opened in 1934 the area around 125th Street was a transitional neighborhood. In the decades before the Apollo, the theater had catered to white audiences with white shows featuring burlesque. When
Sydney S. Cohen and his partner, Morris Sussman, reopened the Apollo on January 26, 1934, they published an ad in the
New York Age which referred to the Apollo as "the finest theater in Harlem". The first show was called "Jazz a la Carte". All the proceeds of this show were donated to the Harlem Children's Fresh Air Fund. After
Sydney S. Cohen's death, Morris Sussman and Frank Schiffman got together. Schiffman ran the Harlem Opera House and a merger between the two theaters was formed.
The song
I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful) by Harry Sullivan and Harry Ruskin, written in 1929, became the theme song of the theatre.
The Apollo grew to prominence during the
Harlem Renaissance of the pre-
World War II years. In 1934, it introduced its regular Amateur Night shows. Billing itself as a place "where stars are born and legends are made," the Apollo became famous for launching the careers of artists such as
Ella Fitzgerald,
Billie Holiday,
James Brown,
Diana Ross &
The Supremes,
Gladys Knight & The Pips,
The Jackson 5,
Patti LaBelle,
Marvin Gaye,
Luther Vandross,
Stevie Wonder,
Aretha Franklin,
Ben E. King,
Mariah Carey,
The Isley Brothers,
Lauryn Hill, and
Sarah Vaughan. The Apollo also featured the performances of old-time
vaudeville favorites like
Tim Moore,
Stepin Fetchit,
Godfrey Cambridge,
Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham,
Moms Mabley,
Marshall "Garbage" Rogers, and
Johnny Lee.
The club fell into decline in the 1960s and 1970s, but was revived in 1983, when it obtained federal, state, and city landmark status. It fully reopened in 1985, and was bought by the
State of New York in 1991. It is now run by a nonprofit organization, the Apollo Theater Foundation Inc., and draws an estimated 1.3 million visitors annually. In 2005,
Ben Harper and
The Blind Boys of Alabama released an album
Live at the Apollo in honor of the Harlem music scene.
It is the home of
Showtime at the Apollo, a nationally syndicated variety show consisting of new talent.
On
December 15,
2005, the Apollo Theater launched the first phase of its refurbishment, costing estimated $65 million. The first phase included the facade and the new
light-emitting diode (LED) marquee. Attendees and speakers at the launch event included President
Bill Clinton, New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg and
Time Warner CEO
Richard Parsons.
To date, the Apollo renovation is America's most expensive and advanced refurbishment of a landmark theater.
On
December 28,
2006, the body of
James Brown ("Soul Brother #1"), who had died a few days before, was displayed at the Apollo Theater as a memorial to his life and career. The memorial was covered heavily by both television and print media. This tribute to Brown once again brought the legendary Harlem theater back into the public spotlight.
Buddy Holly was allegedly the first white rock and roll performer to play at the Apollo on August 16, 1957, but that claim is challenged by
Jimmy Cavallo and the House Rockers who say they performed there in December 1956 and
Dale Hawkins who says he performed there in July 1957 about a month before Holly . Daryl Hall & John Oates played the grand re-opening in 1987, which was released on an album that year. Other rock groups that have played at the Apollo include
Korn in 1999 premiering their album
Issues,
The Strokes in 2001, Damon Albarn's project
Gorillaz in April 2006,
Björk in May 2007 and
Spiritualized when they performed their Acoustic Mainlines gig at the venue in November 2007.
In popular culture
- Lou Reed makes a reference to the Apollo in his song "Walk On The Wild Side".
- Immortal Technique references the theatre in his songs, "Crossing the Boundary," and "You Never Know."
- The song "Without Love," from the Broadway musical Hairspray, contains the line, "Without love, life is Doris Day at The Apollo."
- In the Futurama episode, Anthology of Interest, crustacean Dr. Zoidberg is grown to giant size and wreaks vengeful havoc on New New York. When he reaches the "famed Apollo Theatre" (his words), Zoidberg angrily yells, "Boo me off stage on Open Mic night, huh? I'll show you!!" and then kicks it to pieces.
- Substantial parts of the film Down to Earth featuring Chris Rock take place at the Apollo.
- In one The Simpsons episode, Krusty the Klown, who on his show usually changes "C's" to "K's" held his unfortunately titled Krusty Komedy Klassic (KKK) at the Apollo Theater.
- Robot Chicken did a segment setting a spelling bee at the Apollo.
- Jimi Hendrix won the first place prize in an amateur musician contest here in 1964.
- In an episode of the television show Family Guy titled "" Peter goes to the Apollo Theater to see an amateur comic where he embarrasses himself and racially says "Well time to hit the old Dusty Trail"
- A battle between the Hulk and the Abomination in the upcoming The Incredible Hulk takes place outside the theater.
- The band Cobra Starship has a song on their album While The City Sleeps, We Rule The Streets entitled "It's Amateur Night at the Apollo Creed"
- Comedian Paul Mooney claimed the one of the only ways he'd forgive Michael Richards for his rascist diatribe was if Richards were to take said rascist act to the Apollo. Others included adopting a black baby and hosting the BET awards.
Sources
Further Information
Get more info on 'Apollo Theater'.
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