Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: The Apollo Theater and American Entertainment Review

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: The Apollo Theater and American Entertainment
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Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: The Apollo Theater and American Entertainment ReviewI'm trying to maintain a modicum of objectivity in this review (reason revealed in a minute).... This book is absolutely amazing with photos and stories collected by the Smithsonian Institute about the Apollo Theater from just about every source available. Published as the companion to the exhibition of the same name at the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC, it is a great addition to the collections of any one in the music business and those who just love R&B music history in general. I've been in the record industry for over 4 decades working with many artists from Isaac Hayes to Con Funk Shun (my late husband's band), from MC Hammer to Eminem. As a young photographer in the early 1970's while attending Howard University, I had the honor of going to the Apollo while working for the R&B trio, The Delfonics. This work really captures the magic of the jewel in the crown of theaters along what was known as the "chit'lin circuit". These venues, mostly on the east coast, included the Howard Theater (Washington, DC), Uptown Theater (Philly) Small's Paradise and the Cotton Club (NYC), Royal Peacock (Atlanta), Robert's Show Lounge, Club DeLisa and the Regal Theatre (Chicago), Royal Theatre (Baltimore), Fox Theatre (Detroit), Victory Grill (Austin, TX), Hippodrome Theatre (Richmond, VA), and Ritz Theatre (Jacksonville, FL). were often the only places that African-American entertainers could perform from late 1800s to the mid-1970s. Some of the most notable artists were Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr., Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Redd Foxx, Muddy Waters, Ike & Tina Turner, Richard Pryor, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Etta James, B. B. King, Moms Mabley, Otis Redding, James Brown, and "The Motown Review" (Supremes, Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Miracles, Martha & The Vandellas, etc.) For many of these artists, there was no alternative for much of their careers other than the chit'lin circuit venues. I'm so glad that the Smithsonian Institute made the decision to honor The Apollo with its historic exhibition which opened on April 21, 2010 and will run in DC until August 29, 2010. After that, the show will go on the road, beginning with Detroit in September 2010 and New York City in January 2011, and will tour the United States until 2012. Why did I preface this review with my remark about objectivity? Because the book (and the exhibition) includes a photograph of The Delfonics in front of the Apollo (page 202) which I took in 1970. The photograph is also featured on the museum's website ([...]). HOW COOL IS THAT?! Even if the Smithsonian hadn't honored me by including my work, I would still have bought this book for my library of books about the music business. (In addition to my purchase of the book here, the museum is giving me a complimentary copy - can I really have TOO MANY? LOL) Extremely well-researched, this book is rare photographic glimpse into an area of entertainment history which has not been given the proper public awareness that it deserves. But for the Apollo, the world would not have had a stage to launch the rich history of African-American music which we enjoy today and will be able to enjoy for years to come.Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: The Apollo Theater and American Entertainment Overview

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