Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh, one of the most prominent songwriting teams of the era, and Harold Arlen wrote the songs for the revues, one of which, Blackbirds of 1928, starring Adelaide Hall, featured the songs "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "Diga Diga Doo," produced by Lew Leslie on Broadway.[2]. Francis Ford Coppola's 1984 film The Cotton Club offers a history of the club in the context of race relations in the 1930s and the conflicts between Madden, Dutch Schultz, Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, Lucky Luciano, and Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson. The Cotton Club | PureHistory [11] Entrance was expensive for customers, and it included a two dollar minimum cover fee on weekdays for food and drink, so the performers were well-compensated. For teaching materials covering this and other 1920s topics, cl. A Chicago branch of the Cotton Club was run by Ralph Capone, and a California branch was located in Culver City during the late 1920s and early 1930s, featuring performers from the original Cotton Club such as Armstrong, Calloway, and Ellington. Jazz Age Facts & History | What Was the Jazz Age? The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. In 1934, Adelaide Hall starred in the "Cotton Club Parade," the highest-grossing show the club ever had. In addition, the trip uptown to a non-white area in order to have an illicit drink was alluring for the upperclass, white clientele he was seeking. The club's history is complicated and offers valuable insights regarding racial tensions and Black cultural change in the early 20th century. The Cotton Club was a whites-only establishment with rare exceptions for black celebrities such as Ethel Waters and Bill Robinson. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: If there was a staple of Harlem nightlife in the 1920s and 30s, it was the Cotton Club. The club also drew from white popular culture. Madden spent lots of cash renovating his new business venture, which he used as a vehicle to sell his "No. Tap dancers Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Sammy Davis Jr. (as part of the Will Mastin Trio), and the Nicholas Brothers performed at the club as well. Billy Rose, who runs the Casa Manana, pictured at the Cotton Club opening with Eleanor Holm, left, and film star Estelle Taylor, right, 1938. ", meaning he wanted young women who were Black but with very light skin. Public Domain Image, Courtesy New York Public Library (psnypl_scg_714), African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Racial Conflict - Segregation/Integration, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. The entertainment at the club was considered "Black," meaning that Black performers were expected to embody stereotypes of Black identities and cultures for the enjoyment of white patrons. Stanford music scholar redefines the jazz and cabaret culture of 1920s Acrobatic dancers performing onstage at the Cotton Club. The overall entertainment consisted of musical revues, singing, dancing, comedy, variety acts, as well as the famed house band. It relocated to another New York . From High Society Dames to Floozy Flappers, Ladies & Gentlemen's Period Attire, Shoes, Suits, Ties, Suspenders, Furs, Jewelry, Wigs, Boas & Unlimited Costume Ideas In Stock In Abundance! The original Cotton Club, was at 644 Lenox Avenue, in New York (at West 142nd Street and Lenox Ave.). History In 1920, heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson rented the upper floor of the building on the corner of 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue in the heart of Harlem and opened an intimate supper club called the Club Deluxe. Cotton Club marquee and front entrance, Harlem, New York, ca. "I'll never forget, some guy would be juiced, and talking, and the waiter would come roundand then the next thing, the guy would just disappear!". Madden, who was white, made the space a heavily segregated, "plantation-themed" cabaret. Taxis line up outside of the Cotton Club at Broadway and 48th Street, circa 1937 in New York City, New York. The Cotton Club Gala that featured some of the clubs original dancers, was produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club twice in 1975 and again in 1985. The club did pay its performers extremely well, which could be the explanation for why so many talented black performers worked for the racist and anti-integrationist establishment. Both a Chinese and American menu were offered at the Cotton Club. This post was written by Maureen Maryanski, Reference Librarian for Printed Collections. That night, a riot broke out, beginning at the white-owned store where Rivera's arrest had occurred, but continuing on to other white-owned businesses in the area. It took a very specific type of girl to become a dancer at the Cotton Club. I learned from Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, the Nicholas Brothers, the whole thing, the whole schmear. "The Cotton Club Comes To Broadway," in, This page was last edited on 8 July 2023, at 17:50. The Cotton Club was first owned by Black prize fighter Jack Johnson, then by mob boss Owney Madden. America in the 1920s: Jazz age & roaring 20s (article) - Khan Academy Dancers at the Cotton Club were held to strict standards; they had to be at least 56 tall, light skinned with only a slight tan, and under twenty-one years of age. The Harlem Renaissance was an African American cultural movement that flourished in the 1920s and had Harlem in New York City as its symbolic capital. Ellington recorded over 100 compositions during this time and his musical talents ascended him to the top of the Jazz Age. 5 out of 5 stars (168) $ 12.00. It had been opened by Jack Johnson, the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion,as the Club Deluxe (or Club De Luxe) in 1920. Since then the Cotton Club name has been appropriated by nightclubs around the world, including a re-creation of the original club in Harlem that opened in 1978. [24], In June 1935, the Cotton Club opened its doors to black patrons. ", 11 chapters | Mood Indigo, Black and Tan Fantasy, Creole Love Call, and Rockin in Rhythm were among the Ellington classics first performed by the band during its Cotton Club years. Add to Favorites Night Club Map Harlem Framed Canvas Print - Harlem Renaissance Jazz Music Dance Entertainment Swing Lindy Hop 18x12 24x16 30x20 36x24 (158) 858.53 NOK. See more from ourVintage Photography column. The windowless block of a building has a less dramatic display out front but seems to be popular with tourists for Sunday jazz brunches."[32]. [23] Stark paid Bill "Bojangles" Robinson $3,500 a week, the highest salary ever paid to a black entertainer in a Broadway production and a higher salary than had ever been paid to any nightclub entertainer. In Luke Cage, Cottonmouth refers to his nightclub, Harlems Paradise, as the new Cotton Club. Cotton Club Harlem - Etsy The Cotton Club was speakeasy, or venue that offered alcohol and entertainment during prohibition, during the 1920s and 30s. Famous figures who performed at the Cotton Club included: Jazz, blues, and show tunes were all performed at the club. The windowless block of a building has a less dramatic display out front but seems to be popular with tourists for Sunday jazz brunches.. Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images. [7] It reproduced the racist imagery of the era, often depicting black people as savages in exotic jungles or as "darkies" in the plantation South. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 Black people could not initially patronize the Cotton Club, but the venue featured many of the most popular black entertainers of the era, including musicians Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Willie Bryant; vocalists Adelaide Hall, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Aida Ward, Avon Long, the Dandridge Sisters, the Will Vodery Choir, The Mills Brothers, Nina Mae McKinney, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and dancers such as Katherine Dunham, Bill Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers, Charles Honi Coles, Leonard Reed, Stepin Fetchit, the Berry Brothers, The Four Step Brothers, Jeni Le Gon and Earl Snakehips Tucker. Madden would relaunch the venue downtown in Times Square in 1936, but it would never reach its former heights. 1,898 Cotton Club Photos & High Res Pictures - Getty Images The Cotton Club, at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, was one . Laura is a freelance musician and has taught college Music courses and holds a D.M.A. Add to Favorites . It is believed that these tensions boiled over on March 19, 1935, in response to the arrest of a ten-year-old, dark-skinned Latino boy-Lino Riverafor alleged shoplifting. The Cotton Club became famous for its unique productions, and then became even more so when radio station WHN began recording and broadcasting performances from the venue. In 1934, Hall starred in the "Cotton Club Parade 1934," the highest-grossing show ever to appear at the club. [9] The male dancers', the Cotton Club Boys, skin colors were more varied. Other prominent entertainers, including Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, Bill (Bojangles) Robinson, and the Nicholas Brothers also contributed greatly to the clubs success. Cab Calloway and his orchestra took over as house band in 1931; they too had a long and successful run at the club. The Latin Quarter nightclub opened in its space and the building was torn down in 1989 to build a hotel. During the Harlem Renaissance The Cotton Club was one of the most famous nightclubs in history. The original Cotton Club was at the height of its popularity from 1922 to 1935 but with the outbreak of the Harlem riots in 1935, the club never truly recovered. Browse 913 cotton club harlem photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. Duke Ellington led that band from 1927 to 1930, and sporadically throughout the next eight years. The tale of the Cotton Club: "The Aristocrat of Harlem" The Cotton Club reopened later that year at Broadway and 48th. Cotton Club Menu. Jack Johnson, the first African American heavyweight boxing champion, opened the Club Deluxe, a 400-seat nightclub at the corner of 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue, in 1920. The club also enabled him to develop his repertoire while composing dance tunes for the shows as well overtures, transitions, accompaniments, and jungle effects, giving him a freedom to experiment with orchestral arrangements that touring bands rarely experienced. A 1937 New York Times article states, The Cotton Club has climbed aboard the Broadway bandwagon, with a show that is calculated to give the customers their moneys worth of sound and color and it does.. The Cotton Club Gala, which featured some of the club's original dancers, was produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club twice in 1975[39][40] and again in 1985. Exceptions to this restriction were made in the case of prominent white entertainment guest stars and the dancers. The Cotton Club was built during the Harlem Renaissance, which, as History reports, saw an unprecedented blossoming of African-American art and culture, and an assertion of confidence and independence from white patriarchy. The careers of dancers, singers, and musicians, including Bill Bojangles Robinson(1878-1949), Adelaide Hall(1901-1993), Lena Horne(1917-2010), the Nicholas Brothers(Fayard 1914-2006 and Harold 1921-2000), and the bands of Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and Cab Calloway (1907-1994), were launched at the Cotton Club where regular radio broadcasts by the Columbia Broadcasting System introduced them to the rest of the United States. James Haskins, the Cotton Club (New York: Hippocrene Books: New York, 1994); http://www.cottonclub-newyork.com/. Lena Horne was one of the club's dancers. The Cotton Club at first excluded all but white patrons although the entertainers and most of staff were African American. "The show was generally built around types: the band, an eccentric dancer, a comedian - whoever we had who was also a starAnd we'd have a special singer who gave the customers the expected adult song in Harlem. During Prohibition, Harlem Night Clubs Kept the Party Going Cotton Club Menu. The show opened on March 11, 1934, and ran for six months, attracting over 600,000 paying customers. It ran for eight months, brought in 600,000 customers, and marked the first time that dry ice was used onstage as a fog effect. 1920s. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. They have a Bachelor's degree in the humanities, specializing in American Indian studies and radical pedagogy from Michigan State University, and are currently earning an MEd from the University of Toronto in Indigenous knowledge and decolonizing education. [15], The first revue that Ellington's orchestra performed was called "Rhythmania" and featured Adelaide Hall. From 1926 to 1935, the Cotton Club was the hottest jazz hub in New York City's vibrant Harlem neighborhood. Jimmy Durante, abundant-nosed comedian, explains New York night life to Mayor and Mrs. George J. Zimmerman of Buffalo, N.Y., at the Cotton Club, 1936. White gangster and bootlegger Owney The Killer Madden bought and took over the club in 1923the same year he was released on parole from what would have been a twenty year-long imprisonment at Sing Sing. Herb Breuer/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. Floor show from the famous Harlem night club, "The Cotton Club", featuring leggy row of chorus girls. Untapped New York unearths New York Citys secrets and hidden gems. In 1934, Hall starred in the Cotton Club Parade 1934, the highest-grossing show ever to appear at the club. The Cotton Club was opened under the name "Cafe DeLuxe" in 1920 by Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight boxing champion in American history. Earthas World: A Harlem Writer Shares Thoughts On Hollywood And The Writers Strike, NYC Marketing Consulting: Your Solution For Enhanced ROI, NYC Comptroller Lander Tackles Accessibility Issues From Harlem To Hollis In Disability Justice Roundtable, Enhancing Video Surveillance Systems With AI Upscaling: Improving Visibility And Clarity. Fletcher Henderson was the first bandleader, with Duke Ellington famously taking the helm in 1927. Harlem producer Leonard Harper directed the first two of three opening night floor-shows at the new venue. Owney Madden, a prominent bootlegger and gangster, took over the club in 1923 while imprisoned in Sing Sing and changed its name to the Cotton Club." Hoping to find records to prove that the club was a Capone business managed by Al's brother Ralph, they drilled open the safe. Former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson first opened the club in 1920 as the Club Deluxe. 3) Langston Hughes. He would use the venue, which he had renamed the Cotton Club, primarily as a means to sell bootlegged alcohol. Madden used the Cotton Club as an outlet to sell his #1 Beer to the prohibition crowd. What It Was Really Like At The Cotton Club - Grunge The club kept up its exclusionary practices for seventeenyears. Tapdancers performing onstage at the Cotton Club. The score was written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler and featured the classic song "Ill Wind." While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Eventually, responding to Ellington's request, the club slightly relaxed its policy of segregation.[17]. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. [4] The two arranged a deal that allowed Johnson to remain the club's manager. The Cotton Club | Legendary New York Jazz Club Featured Events About the Cotton Club Within a few years after Prohibition was enacted, a number of prosperous clubs had opened in Harlem. The Aristocrat of Harlem: The Cotton Club - NYHistory The original Cotton Club was at the height of its popularity from 1922 to 1935. Carl Van Vechten had vowed to boycott the club for having such racist policies as refusing entry to African Americans in place. | Definition & History. [12][13][6], Shows at the Cotton Club were musical revues, and several were called "Cotton Club Parade" followed by the year. After appearing at the Cotton Club the entire show starring Adelaide Hall was taken out on a road tour across America. Glamour, Gangsters, And Racism: 30 Photos Inside Harlems Infamous Cotton Club. 1" beer during the American Prohibition-era. gathered for a performance by Johnny Hudgins and the Cotton Club Band, New York, 1920s. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. He kept Johnson on as manager and redecorated the club in a mix of Southern plantation and jungle-type decor. ca. 1920's Dance Moves | Overview, Style & Steps, The Cold War & Civil Rights | Overview, Relationship & Impact, Theodore Roosevelt & the Progressive Era | Goals & Beliefs, The Dust Bowl | Definition, History & Causes, Heritage by Countee Cullen | Poem Analysis & Harlem Renaissance, Nativism in the Industrial Revolution | History, Immigration & Effects, Agricultural Adjustment Act | AAA Definition & History, 1920's American Culture | Overview, Lifestyle & Major Events. Explore the Cotton Clubs history, as well as its performers and role in the Harlem Renaissance. Originally dubbed "Club DeLuxe" by owner Jack. Performing Stormy Weather: Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, and Katherine Dunham.. The story of one reverend who recorded thousands of marriage ceremonies for sailors and immigrants in New York City in the mid 19th century. After appearing at the Cotton Club the entire show starring Adelaide Hall was taken out on a road tour across America. These smaller clubs did not have a large floor or music by famous entertainers like Ellington. Following his visit, Hughes criticized the club's segregated atmosphere and commented that it was "a Jim Crow club for gangsters and monied whites. One major craze of the Jazz Age was exoticism, or Westerners romantic re-imagining of non-Westerners as being charmingly primitive and primal, and as such, the black dancers (who were only hired if they had light skin) were sometimes costumed to evoke exotic savages or animals, or dressed as plantation workers. The Cotton Club and Ellingtons Orchestra gained national notoriety through weekly broadcasts on radio station WHN some of which were recorded and released on albums. Find out about the Cotton Club, a Harlem establishment of the 1920s. Then immerse yourself in the Harlem Renaissance with these photos that define a movement. Menu Collection. The club closed temporarily in 1936 after the race riot in Harlem the previous year. Jimmie Luncefords band replaced Calloways in 1934. The club brought an influx of whites toward Harlem after sundown, flooding the little cabarets and bars where formerly only colored people laughed and sang.. After Midnight is a 2013 Broadway musical revue about the music created during Duke Ellingtons years at the Cotton Club. Bill Robinson, more affectionately known as "Bojangles" of Harlem, with Jimmy Braddock, left, and heavyweight champ Max Schmeling, right, 1936. Following the Harlem riots of 1935, the establishment moved to West 48th Street, but the club never regained its earlier success and was closed in 1940. The American sprinter Jesse Owens and dancer and actor Bill Robinson on the left surrounded by dancers during a rehearsal at the Cotton Club, Sept. 2, 1936. But he was greatly upset by what he witnessed at the club. For many white patrons, the Cotton Club was their first opportunity to listen to jazz and blues. The American bandleader and jazz musician Cab Calloway performing at the Cotton Club, 1939. Another notable Cotton Club Parade in 1933 featured Ethel Waters, and Duke Ellington performing Stormy Weather. TRY THE DEMO - Great Gatsby Harlem Nights Cotton Club Jazz Age 1920s Roaring 20's Speakeasy Birthday Invitation (451) 143.07 NOK. New-York Historical Society. How Much Should You Spend On A Wedding Gift? I feel like its a lifeline. The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. During the Harlem Renaissance, the happening place to be was the Cotton Club, located in the heart of Harlem. Hopefuls needed to be 5'6" or taller, light-skinned African-American, and under 21 years old. [10] The Cotton Club reopened later that year at Broadway and 48th. The Cotton Clubs best years were from 1922 to 1935. James Cromwell and his wife, the former Doris Duke, speaking together at New York's Cotton Club, Nov. 3, 1936. On the stormy night of Nov. 8, 1972, at 7:30 pm, almost 400 subscribers in Wilkes-Barre, PA, experienced the future of television. Cotton Club dancer Mildred Dixon Duke Ellingtons second companion. Program / Menu from the Cotton Club - Smithsonian Institution The Cotton Club was unusual in that it was an all-white venue in a predominantly Black neighborhood, but the staff and performers were Black. At the Cotton Club, the black performers did not mix with the white clientele. [1] The club operated during the United States' era of Prohibition and Jim Crow era racial segregation. White employers were refusing to hire Black employees at the time, making the financial strains of the Depression even harder on Harlemites than other, white, New Yorkers. Indeed, the "plantation-themed" decor and the "jungle music" Madden required of musicians captures it quite succinctly: the club wanted to recreate some of the worst elements of American history on the grounds of entertaining white audiences. Sammy Davis Jr. performed there regularly, as did Cab Calloway. The Cotton Club, Harlem's most prominent nightclub during the Prohibiton era, delivered some of the greatest music legends of the Jazz Age Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Fletcher Henderson, Ethel Waters, the Nicolas Brothers. [18] The club also drew from white popular culture. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Black performers did not mix with the clubs clientele, and after the show many of them went next door to the basement of the superintendent at 646 Lenox, where they imbibed corn whiskey, peach brandy, and marijuana.. Shows at the Cotton Club were musical revues, and several were called Cotton Club Parade followed by the year. The Famous Cotton Club: the Aristocrat of Harlem. HBO in the Archives: The Early Days of a Groundbreaking Network, Where Sailors Got Hitched: Henry Chase and the Mariner's Church, The Home Room Front: The American Defense Society and the Battle for Teacher Loyalty During World War I. Anthony Meucci. The Cotton Club was a historic music and entertainment venue in the center of Harlem, New York. Add to Favorites More colors Cotton Club Louis Armstrong Unisex T-Shirt Tee Harlem New York Jazz . From his cell at Sing Sing, an upstate New York prison, Madden directed the renovation and re-opening of the venue as "the Cotton Club," a whites-only cabaret where he could sell alcohol for a profit during prohibition. A cornerstone of both the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance, the Cotton Club was renowned for the caliber of its floor shows, which opened twice a year and featured some of the most important . Boasting some of the era's most talented performers, the entertainment venue and speakeasy remains an icon of New York City even today. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. ca. The revues featured dancers, singers, comedians, and variety acts, as well as a house band. When the club closed briefly in 1925 for selling liquor, it soon reopened without interference from the police. Abby has worked with grades 1 through 8 as a specialist and teaching assistant for over five years. In June 1935, the Cotton Club opened its doors to black patrons. A fictional version of the club, called the Cotton Pickers Club, appears in the 1932 film Taxi! Located north of Central Park, Harlem was originally settled by the Dutch in 1658 and remained farmland for over 200 years. Dorothy Dandridge performed at the club while part of the Dandridge Sisters, and Coleman Hawkins and Don Redman played at the club as part of Henderson's band. [20], Stark and the club's owners were quite certain the club would succeed in this new location, but they realized that success depended on a popular opening show. "[27] Langston Hughes, a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, attended the Cotton Club as a rare black customer. At the height of the Roaring Twenties, the wealthy and glamorous descended in droves on the northeast corner of 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue to hear the latest compositions, see the newest dances, and revel in the cultural and creative crucible of Harlems most famous nightclub: the Cotton Club.
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