- Café Society
Café Society was a
New York City nightclub opened in 1938 at 1Sheridan Square inGreenwich Village [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEEDD103CF933A0575AC0A96E948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all] byBarney Josephson to showcaseAfrican American talent and to be an American version of the politicalcabaret s he had seen in Europe before the war. Josephson also intended the club to defy the pretensions of the rich; he chose the name to mockClare Booth Luce and what she referred to as "café society", the habitués of more upscale nightclubs. Josephson not only trademarked the name, which had not been trademarked by thegossip columnist for the "New York Journal American " M, who wrote as the first "Cholly Knickerbocker". but advertised the club as "The Wrong Place for the Right People." Josephson opened a second branch on 58th Street, between Lexington and Park Avenue, in 1940.The club also prided itself on treating black and white customers equally, unlike many venues, such as the
Cotton Club , that featured black performers but barred black customers. The club featured many of the greatest black musicians of the day, from a wide range of backgrounds, often presented with a strongly political bent.Billie Holiday first sang "Strange Fruit " there; at Josephson's insistence, she closed her set with this song, leaving the stage without taking any encores, so that the audience would be left to think about the meaning of the song.Relying on the keen musical judgment of John Hammond, Josephson helped launch the careers of
Lena Horne andHazel Scott and popularized gospel groups such asthe Golden Gate Quartet andthe Dixie Hummingbirds among white audiences. The club was also a regular venue for such artists as theboogie woogie pianistsMeade Lux Lewis ,Albert Ammons andPete Johnson ,blues shouter Big Joe Turner , singer and activistPaul Robeson , country blues singersJosh White andBig Bill Broonzy , and jazz giantsLester Young ,Ella Fitzgerald ,Art Tatum ,James P. Johnson ,Sarah Vaughan , andMary Lou Williams . The club also served as a place for musical interchange and development: theDixie Hummingbirds , performing under the name "The Jericho Quintet", sang withLester Young 's combo, while adopting some of the stage moves that their more popular rivals, theGolden Gate Quartet , had perfected.Many of these acts had first been presented at Hammond's
Carnegie Hall concerts, "From Spirituals to Swing ", in 1938 and 1939.The club was the scene of numerous political events and fundraisers, often for left-wing causes, both during and after World War Two. In 1947 Josephson's brother
Leon Josephson was subpoenaed by theHouse Committee on Un-American Activities , which led to hostile comments from columnistsWestbrook Pegler andWalter Winchell . Business dropped sharply as a result and the club closed the following year.References
External links
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