USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Cotton Club, legendary nightspot in the Harlem district of New York City that for years featured prominent Black entertainers who performed for white audiences.

Detailed explanation-2: -Shows at the Cotton Club were musical revues that featured dancers, singers, comedians, and variety acts, as well as a house band. Duke Ellington led that band from 1927 to 1930, and sporadically throughout the next eight years.

Detailed explanation-3: -About the Project 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. However, while the performers were black, the club only permitted white audiences.

Detailed explanation-4: -Madden’s goal for the Cotton Club was to provide “authentic black entertainment to a wealthy, whites-only audience.” In June 1935, the Cotton Club opened its doors to black patrons.

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.