The Cellar (teen dance club)

Located in Arlington Heights, Illinois, The Cellar teen dance club provided consistently good live musical entertainment in the 1960s. Founded in 1964 by Paul Sampson (a local record store owner who later became a music promoter and manager), this music venue primarily featured Rock and Roll music acts, although some Blues acts performed as well. Originally begun in the basement of the former St. Peter's Church administration building (hence its moniker), it moved to an unused warehouse on Davis Street, along the Chicago and Northwestern railroad tracks. It closed in 1970 [Lind, Jeff. "History of Chicago Rock." Illinois Entertainer (July 1978) http://www.jimyrogers.com/ ] .

The Cellar became a notable venue for several reasons. Most importantly, it provided teenagers from the region with a place to congregate and to dance.

It was also notable because of its talented regional house / repeat bands, such as: the Shadows of Knight, The Mauds, H.P. Lovecraft ["The White Ship: The Psychedelic Voyage of H.P. Lovecraft." Nick Warburton's Sixties Rock Archive (February 10, 2008)] , Saturday's Children, Ted Nugent [Mart, Teresa. "Crossing Centuries -- Our Suburbs: Celebrities Have Roots in Local Communities." Daily Herald [Arlington Heights, Illinois] (December 28, 1999) ] [with the] Amboy Dukes, The Huns, The Other Half ["Beyond the Beat Generation: The Other Half Interview." http://home.uni-one.nl/kesteloo/otherhalf.html] , and Little Boy Blues ["Little Boy Blues: History http://www.modernist.com/lbb/history.html] .

Additionally, given the its modest warehouse venue in a northwestern suburb of Chicago, The Cellar proved to be truly remarkable because of the extraordinary national and international Rock acts that also made appearances there, such as:

The Who [McMichael, Joe. Lyons, Jack. The Who Concert File. Omnibus Press, 2004] ["Beyond the Beat Generation: The Other Half Interview http://home.uni-one.nl/kesteloo/otherhalf.html] , The Cream ["Past Tours, 1966-1968", http://www.jackbruce.com/tours0.htm] , The Byrds ["The Byrds Performances", http://www.geocities.com/byrdsflyght/concerts69.htm] , Buffalo Springfield ["Buffalo Springfield," http://www.chromeoxide.com/buffalo.htm] , and The Spencer Davis Group ["Cellar Article", http://www.jimyrogers.com/_wsn/page2.html] .

There are a number of salient considerations to keep in mind about The Cellar:

*For Garage rock bands / newly forming groups, The Cellar' took them out of their garages and/or rehearsal spaces and provided them with on a stage and a teenage audience eager to hear their music. Once on the stage, these Cellar' groups gained regional and, in some cases (such as the Shadows), national followings. Further, it provided these local groups with the extraordinary opportunity to open for the major acts who also played there, such as H.P. Lovecraft opening for The Who on June 15, 1967. [McMichael and Lyons, p. 62.]

*The Cellar actualized one of the true tenets of Rock and Roll music: it provided a place where people could dance. Indeed, one could view the ultimate demise of true Rock and Roll music with the transition from dancing to seated venues. Once seated, fans only listened and the experience became more cerebral -- which is not exactly a word one primarily associates with the vibrant physicality of Rock and Roll. Defined in its most traditional sense, Rock and Roll is sustained by movement and action. The Cellar served as a environment that allowed the essence of Rock and Roll to flourish.

Recordings

At least one album has been documented as a live Cellar sound recording. The Shadows of Knight recorded the songs on this (not quite correctly titled) album at The Cellar in December 1966: "Raw and Alive at the Cellar, Chicago, 1966!" [Callahan, Mike; David Edwards; and Patrice Eyries. "Dunwich Album Discography" (updated October 27, 2005) http://www.bsnpubs.com/chicago/dunwich.html (accessed: May 19, 2008)]

References

ources

Davis, Jon. "'Feelin' Groovy' Exhibit Takes Graphic Trip back to the 60s." Daily Herald [Arlington Heights, Illinois] (October 2001)

Lind, Jeff. "History of Chicago Rock." Illinois Entertainer (July 1978)

Mart, Teresa. "Crossing Centuries -- Our Suburbs: Celebrities Have Roots in Local Communities." Daily Herald [Arlington Heights, Illinois] (December 28, 1999)

External links

* http://www.jimyrogers.com/
* http://www.modernist.com/lbb/history.html
* http://shadowsofknight.com/