USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Opened in 1923, the Cotton Club on 142nd St & Lenox Ave in the heart of Harlem, New York was operated by white New York gangster Owney Madden. Madden used the Cotton Club as an outlet to sell his “#1 Beer” to the prohibition crowd.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Cotton Club was Harlem’s premier nightclub in the 1920s and 1930s during the Prohibition Era. The club featured many of the greatest African American entertainers of the era, including Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ethel Waters.

Detailed explanation-3: -History. In 1920, heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson rented the upper floor of the building on the corner of 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue in the heart of Harlem and opened an intimate supper club called the Club Deluxe.

Detailed explanation-4: -White folks in New York wanted to enjoy the Harlem nightlife, but some didn’t want to socialize with people of color while doing it. Gangster Owney Madden, a Chicagoan, created the Cotton Club on 142nd St. & Lenox Avenue to be a whites-only club, except for the entertainers and staff.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Cotton Club was owned by a consortium of mobsters led by bootlegger Owney Madden. The club’s decor was modeled after the old South of plantations and slavery, hence the name The Cotton Club.