Legends of the Apollo
For more than 75 years, some of the world’s greatest entertainers have performed at the famous Harlem theater
- By Lucinda Moore
- Smithsonian.com, May 10, 2010
(Courtesy Smtihsonian Books)
“James Brown was just flatly genius,” says Werner of the musician who recorded three live performances at the Apollo Theater, in 1962, 1967 and 1971. Werner rates Brown among America’s top half-dozen musical geniuses for his showmanship, abilities as a bandleader and musical innovation. “He gave to his audiences without any holding back,” says Werner, who says Brown also “was an absolutely tight bandleader.” When Brown moved his arms, he gave signals to his band to hit rhythmic accents, which underscored everything he did during his high-energy performances.
Brown’s emphasis on rhythm was as enthralling as his showmanship and well-rehearsed band. “He took the center of the music away from melody and harmony and put it dead in the middle of the rhythm,” says Werner. “Call and response is the basic principle in African-American music and James Brown’s audiences always responded to his call.”
Additional Sources
“Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment,” co-sponsored by the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the Apollo Theater Foundation, is on view through August 29 at the NMAAHC exhibition space in the National Museum of American History. It begins a national tour in October.
A book of the same name is available through Smithsonian Books.
Comments (3)
FIRST TIME ON THIS SITE....BUT I THINK IT IS SO INFORMATIVE AND EDUCARIONAL...
THANK YOU, I WILL RETURN
Posted by Victoria Lang on November 2,2010 | 08:49 AM
in 1949 i saw ella fitsgerald and billy eckstine at "jazz at the philharmonic at Lake merrit, Oakland Calif.
B
in 1949 I saw Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Eckstein at "jazz at the philharmonic" in oakland, calif. I fell in love at 17. for years I sang like Ella and danced to Eckstein..."you sigh, a song begins, you speak, and I hear violins...it's magic" wow! what a swooner. 20 years later again I saw Ella at Rbt. Mondavi winery in Napa Valley. She still had the voice of a 17 year old. Later, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespe, Oscar Peterson, Lena Horn...if there is a heaven, I want to go where they are...I don't want to listen to any old harps...just give me a horn, a piano, and a black voice
Posted by barbara ciapponi on October 28,2010 | 09:34 PM
It has bee a very long time ago when I, as a young woman from a small town in Rhode Island, was one of the many fans of Ella who sat in the great Appollo Theater and listend to her magnificent voice. A thrill I'll never forget--even now, at age 84.
Posted by Lucille Davis on May 14,2010 | 01:19 PM