The Apollo Theater: Artistic Pantheon of the Harlem Renaissance - Research Paper Example

Chen, Jian Hua FIQWS 10027B Mr. Ali The Apollo Theater: Artistic Pantheon of the Harlem Renaissance Walking down one-hundred and twenty-fifth Street in the Harlem section of New York the sign for the world renowned Apollo Theater looks like an ordinary movie marquee. (Fig. 1) It does not bespeak the theater’s glorious history as one of New York’s most famous entertainment venues and historical landmarks. A source of pride for the traditionally black community surrounding it, and a symbol of its musical artistic accomplishment, its rich history and continued significance as a bastion of African-American culture and achievement represents one of the most interesting chronicles in American history—the Harlem Renaissance. The rise of the Harlem Renaissance started around 1919 largely in response to two specific incidents. In 1921 a black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, “otherwise known as the ‘Wall Street for African-Americans,’ was burned to the ground by vigilante white mobs....” and [in] Rosewood, Florida, in 1923, a similar event occurred. (Black, para. 2). Fearing more reprisals, thousands of blacks began moving north, a large proportion to New York. With them came many artists, visual, literary and musical, the latter bringing with them the gospel traditions that eventually evolved into the soul, jazz and rhythm and blues music which would contribute heavily to the talent that found its way to the Apollo Theater. Other non-musical artists, however, might not have thought of the Apollo and its opportunities for popular black musical artists as necessarily positive. Wintz and Finkelman write: “The authors of the Harlem Renaissance shared the goal of developing new forms of artistic representation of the African American experience. At the same time they manifested a wide range of aesthetic principles and radically diverse concepts of blackness. The Harlem Renaissance meant different things to different people. At the same time they [visual and literary artists] interpreted and represented this uniqueness in many, sometimes conflicting ways, embodying the tensions and contradictions of their American context” (64-65). Blacks did not have it easy at first. Although many worked in the clubs as musicians they were not allowed to attend performances. "Although as the years progressed many blacks were employed in these clubs as musicians,... none were granted admittance into these clubs” (Hilliard, para. 8) until the 1040s. But that was all to change as time went on, as black artists in all artistic forms were becoming more recognized and the identity of Harlem and the Renaissance became a cultural phenomenon impossible to ignore. Its [Renaissance] influence “was so strong that whites had to admit that black artist were more than just novelties” (Hilliard, para. 15). Tuning into the power of the movement, “many white writers capitalized on the Renaissance and used it as a chance to expose the unfair treatment of blacks in America. Eugene O’Neill (a white playwright) wrote ‘The Emperor Jones’ and ‘All God’s Chillun Got Wings,’ which featured none other than Paul Roberson” (Hilliard, para. 15). Roberson, a powerful baritone who sang in the more classical style than performers who eventually performed at the Apollo, became an icon for blacks interested in performing on the more classical level. Following in Robeson’s footsteps, opera stars including Marion Anderson rose to fame as examples of black competence in music generally not considered part of the old gospel, blues and jazz music genres. With the Harlem Renaissance, however, the stage was set for the opening of the most prestigious venue [The Apollo] for what most consider the indigenous black musical style that before then was mostly only heard in the south. In the early part of the twentieth century the theater to become the Apollo was built and originally named Hurtig and Seamon’s New Burlesque Theatre. Ironically, as previously stated, African-Americans, due to separation of race policies, were not allowed in to enjoy the shows. Burlesque, at the time, featured variety acts from dancing, to singing to comedy-- with well-known American names of the time including Steppin Fetchet, the slow-moving black dancer-comedian, and Godfrey Cambridge, an international comedic icon and actor well into the 1960s and 1970s. Over time and into the 1920s, the theater passed through several owners before finally becoming the Apollo in the early 1930s, turning to live entertainment in the form of the Amateur Night Hour at the Apollo. Future stars in the musical entertainment field including renowned jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald and Bessie Smith first appeared. It was not an easy place to break in one’s talent. One unique feature of Amateur Night was a man called "the executioner,” who, with a broom, would sweep performers off the stage if the audience did not like them and would demand they be removed. In later years the famous sensual ballad singer Luther Vandross got booed off the stage several times before the crowd finally decided they liked him and let him perform. (Cooper and Dougherty 2) By then the Harlem Renaissance was in full swing and it was becoming the trend for white people to make their way up town to see the wide variety of black entertainment appearing at the Apollo. Talented artists, part of the great migration of blacks from the southern U.S. states, were attracted by the intellectual and comparatively more racially liberal social freedom of the north. “Ít wrenches the mind to think that their little old house band had Earl Hines on piano and Louise Armstrong on trumpet...” (Cooper and Dougherty 139). Artists were hired by then owner Frank Schiffman to man a “colored review” called Jazz a la Carte. It featured the then popular Ralph Cooper, Benny Carter and his orchestra, and "16 Gorgeous Hot Steppers" (Press Release, 2009) with all proceeds donated to the Harlem Childrens Fresh Air Fund. (Fox 60-61) Schiffmans motivation for featuring black talent was twofold: black talent was cheaper, and the neighborhood over the early twentieth century had become completely black and the venue seemed to suit the community’s identity. For many years the Apollo was the only theater in New York City to hire black talent. (Fox 60-61) Even today, many “participants and scholars alike disagree[d][as to]...whether it was a positive or negative development in African-American culture and, ultimately, whether it served the interests of blacks, the interests of whites, or both” (Wintz and Finkelman, Preface ix). The mass appeal of the Apollo and its black entertainers had met with mixed reaction from black themselves as time went on, especially as blacks became more prominent in social movements for equality. Louis Armstrong at one point was at the epicenter of this controversy. Looked up to in the black community for the fame he had achieved in the white entertainment industry, he was nonetheless looked upon by some in the socially advancing black community as somewhat of an Uncle Tom “for his sincere desire to please an audience” (Wintz and Finkelman 45). While such attitude has disappeared today, and black entertainers have their own specific genres and identities, entertainers in those days did not have the advantage of modern eclectic musical tastes. Wintz and Finkelman write, “Such recognition may not have satisfied the generation of the civil rights movement, but it fulfilled some of the highest objectives of the Harlem Renaissance” (45), the appreciation of black music and musicians on a progressively grander scale by white society. Although the Renaissance “is generally considered a phenomena of the 1920s and 1930s” (Wintz and Finkelman, Preface x), along with Fitzgerald and other jazz greats, including Sarah Vaughn, the Apollo launched into the future a laundry list of other famous careers, many familiar to today’s younger generation. The list includes Billie Holiday, the famous and tragic jazz singer, and a long list of rhythm and blues talent including James Brown, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Patti La Belle, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, The Isley Brothers and the currently popular Mariah Carey. Perhaps the most famous of all, at least from today’s headlines, were the The Jackson 5, with its lead singer, Michael Jackson, whose recent tragic death stirred an outcry of international mourning from his millions of devoted fans. Jackson first performed with his brothers in the late 1960s and won the competition. In March, 2010, Jackson and Aretha Franklin were inducted into the Apollo Hall of Fame. As a venue and as one of the nation’s most popular arenas for both emerging and established talent, The Apollo remains at the center of New York’s live entertainment scene. Emerging from its days as a vehicle for musicians and entertainers beginning with the Renaissance, “The tremendous productivity of the shows continued into the sixties and seventies” (Fox 117). Baring a few years when the theater had fallen upon some economic hard times, the Apollo continues to hold out its promise to black, latino and white emerging entertainers through its popular Amateur Nights, offering a $10,000 cash prizes for winners. Sponsored through its foundation, it funds and supports cultural initiatives within the community as well as educational international outreach programs. The Apollo has come a long way from its days as a child of the Harlem Renaissance and continues its mission as a major showcase for potential talent. As always, as in the days of the Renaissance, “A night out at the Apollo was something special, but for the people in the audience, like the performers on stage, the Apollo was home” (Fox 124). In 1991 The State of New York acquired the theater. It is currently run through the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc. which sees to its financial stability and ongoing identity as an historical New York landmark and legend. Harlem draws 1.3 million international visitors each year, and the Apollo Theater is its top attraction. Work Cited Apollo Theater Foundation press release: "Apollo 75th Anniversary: Milestones in Apollo Theater History", January 27, 2009. Black, Samuel. The Harlem Renaissance: Poets and Musicians. (2006) http://www.timbooktu.com/spence/harlem.htm Cooper, Ralph and Steve Dougherty. Amateur Night at The Apollo. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1990. Fox, Ted (1983). Showtime at the Apollo (2nd Ed. ed.). New York:Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1983. Hilliard, Kenneth B. The Impact of the Music on the Harlem Renaissance on Society. Yale-New Haven Teacher’s Institute, 2010. Wintz, Cary D. and Paul Finkelman. Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance, Vol 1. New York: Routledge, 2004. Figure Fig. 1. Apollo Theater. 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