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102-605: Club Harlem was a nightclub at 32 North Kentucky Avenue in the Northside neighborhood of Atlantic City, New Jersey . Founded in 1935 by Leroy "Pop" Williams, it was the city's premier club for black jazz performers. Like its Harlem counterpart, the Cotton Club , many of Club Harlem's guests were white, wealthy and eager to experience a night of African-American entertainment. An elaborate all-black revue called Smart Affairs , produced by Larry Steele and headquartered at

204-563: A nor'easter struck the building, and the building was torn down. Fans retrieved the interior furnishings and vintage photographs before the demolition in the hopes of displaying them in a future museum. A historical marker on Kentucky Avenue commemorates Club Harlem. The building site is now a parking lot where the Kentucky Avenue Renaissance Festival is held each summer. The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey, founded by Ralph Hunter, and

306-476: A 6 a.m. "breakfast show" during the summer tourist season. The music played from 10 p.m. Saturday night to 6 a.m. Monday morning. "Celebrities, politicians, and tourists" often arrived in the early morning hours after the clubs on the white side of town had closed, and white performers such as Frank Sinatra , Milton Berle , and Lenny Bruce would go up on stage. Top-name black musicians also dropped by "to jam and develop their skills". Musician Kelly Swaggerty, who

408-402: A club culture with many Italian American, African American, gay, and Hispanic people. In addition to the dance and fashion aspects of the disco club scene, there was also a thriving drug subculture , particularly for recreational drugs that would enhance the experience of dancing to the loud music and the flashing lights, such as cocaine (nicknamed "blow"), amyl nitrite " poppers ", and

510-886: A commemoration of the Haymarket affair and would strengthen socialist and anarchist movements that backed the May 1 commemoration around the globe. In 1887, he publicly supported the September Labor Day holiday as a less inflammatory alternative, formally adopting the date as a United States federal holiday through a law that he signed in 1894. Since the mid-1950s, the United States has celebrated Loyalty Day and Law Day on May 1. Unlike Labor Day, neither are legal public holidays (in that government agencies and most businesses do not shut down to celebrate them) and therefore have remained relatively obscure. Loyalty Day

612-605: A day be set aside to celebrate labor. "Labor Day" was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor , which organized the first parade in New York City . In 1887, Oregon was the first state of the United States to make it an official public holiday . By the time it became an official federal holiday in 1894, thirty states in the U.S. officially celebrated Labor Day. Canada's Labour Day

714-611: A holiday for federal workers. As late as the 1930s, unions were encouraging workers to strike to make sure they got the day off. All U.S. states, the District of Columbia , and the United States territories have subsequently made Labor Day a statutory holiday. The date of May 1 (an ancient European folk holiday known as May Day ) emerged in 1886 as an alternative holiday for the celebration of labor, later becoming known as International Workers' Day . The date had its origins at

816-414: A law where for every three men, there was one woman. The women often sought these experiences to seek safety in a venue that embraced the independent woman – with an eye to one or more of the same or opposite sex or none. Although the culture that surrounded disco was progressive in dance couples, cross-genre music, and a push to put the physical over the rational, the role of women looked to be placed in

918-417: A mass phenomenon. In Germany, the first discothèque on record that involved a disc jockey was Scotch-Club , which opened in 1959. Its, and therefore the world's first DJ was 19-year-old local cub reporter Klaus Quirini who had been sent to write a story about the strange new phenomenon of public record-playing; fueled by whisky , he jumped on stage and started announcing records as he played them and took

1020-644: A nightclub are Friday and Saturday nights. Most nightclubs cater to a particular music genre or sound for branding effects. Some nightclubs may offer food and beverages (including alcoholic beverages). In some countries, nightclubs are also referred to as "discos" or "discothèques" ( German : Disko or Diskothek (outdated; nowadays: Club ); French : discothèque ; Italian , Portuguese , and Spanish : discoteca, antro (common in Mexico), and boliche (common in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay), discos

1122-532: A piano or a jukebox. With the repeal of Prohibition in February 1933, nightclubs were revived, such as New York's 21 Club , Copacabana , El Morocco , and the Stork Club . These nightclubs featured big bands . During America's Prohibition, new speakeasies and nightclubs appeared on a weekly basis. Texas Guinan opened and ran many, and had many padlocked by the police. Harlem had its own clubs including

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1224-486: A police officer. In this era, nightclubbing was generally the preserve of those with money. In Paris, Josephine Baker ran several nightclubs during the 1920s including Chez Josephine, as did her friend Bricktop who ran Bricktops. Jazz singer and Broadway star Adelaide Hall and her husband Bert Hicks opened the nightclub La Grosse Pomme on Rue Pigalle in Montmartre on December 9, 1937. Hall and Hicks also owned

1326-660: A public demonstration of organized labor's solidarity and strength, with the march followed by a picnic, to which participating local unions could sell tickets as a fundraiser. According to McGuire he suggested the first Monday in September as an ideal date for such a public celebration, owing to optimum weather and the date's place on the calendar, sitting midway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving public holidays. Labor Day picnics and other public gatherings frequently featured speeches by prominent labor leaders. In 1909,

1428-646: A regular column in the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper. The entertainers in question did not want to work at venues catering to African Americans. After the death of Pop Williams in 1976, Alten's new business partner was businessman Calvin Brock. Alten and Brock refurbished the club, but business was never as good as it had been in the past. Club Harlem was outfitted with two lounges and a main showroom seating more than 900. A cocktail lounge had room for 400 guests, with continuous entertainment available. The club

1530-529: A significant role in the evolution of clubbing , DJ culture, and nightlife. Significant New York nightclubs of the period were Area , Danceteria , and The Limelight . However, the seismic shift in nightlife was the emergence of rave culture in the UK. A mixture of free and commercial outdoor parties were held in fields, warehouses, and abandoned buildings, by various groups such as Biology, Sunrise, Confusion, Hedonism, Rage & Energy, and many others. This laid

1632-422: A single turntable when a jukebox was not available. These discothèques were also patronized by anti- Vichy youth called zazous . In Nazi Germany , there were underground discothèques patronized by anti-Nazi youth called the " Swing Kids ". The end of World War II saw the beginning of a transformation in the nightclub: no longer the preserve of a moneyed elite, over several decades, the nightclub steadily became

1734-480: A visit to Toronto where he saw parades celebrating labor that May, had put forward the initial proposal in the spring of 1882. According to McGuire, on May 8, 1882, he made a proposition to the fledgling Central Labor Union in New York City that a day be set aside for a "general holiday for the laboring classes". According to McGuire he further recommended that the event should begin with a street parade as

1836-466: A younger man he would play at Smalls Paradise in New York City for six months and then perform in the summer at the Club Harlem. Racism, however, prohibited many of these performers from appearing at clubs on the south side of town, where white families lived. However, in the 1950s Frank Sinatra came from the 500 Club to Club Harlem to perform with Sammy Davis, Jr., and sang with Davis, a member of

1938-626: Is also celebrated on the first Monday of September. More than 150 other countries celebrate International Workers' Day on May 1, the European holiday of May Day . May Day was chosen by the Second International of socialist and communist parties to commemorate the general labor strike in the United States and events leading to the Haymarket affair , which occurred in Chicago, Illinois , from May 1 – May 4, 1886. Beginning in

2040-475: Is an accepted version of this page Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the United States . Beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that

2142-482: Is commonly used in all others in Latin America). In Japanese ディスコ, disuko refers to an older, smaller, less fashionable venue; while クラブ, kurabu refers to a more recent, larger, more popular venue. The term night is used to refer to an evening focusing on a specific genre, such as " retro music night" or a "singles night". In Hong Kong and China, nightclub is used as a euphemism for a hostess club , and

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2244-518: Is credited as the first modern nightclub, being built in 1886 and starting off as a "social hall", originally functioning as a home for dance and political activism events. Reisenweber's Cafe is credited for introducing jazz and cabaret to New Yorkers. The jukebox (a coin-operated record-player) was invented by the Pacific Phonograph Company in 1889 by its managers Louis Glass and his partner William S. Arnold. The first

2346-559: Is credited for first proposing that a national Labor Day holiday subsequently be held on the first Monday of each September in the aftermath of this successful public demonstration. An alternative theory maintains that the idea of Labor Day was the brainchild of Peter J. McGuire , a vice president of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions , which was a predecessor of the American Federation of Labor . After

2448-481: Is formally celebrated in a few cities, while some bar associations hold Law Day events to celebrate the rule of law . Labor Day is called the "unofficial end of summer" because it marks the end of the U.S. culture's nominal summer season. Of the 7% of Americans who take two-week vacations, many take their vacations during the two weeks ending Labor Day weekend. Many fall activities, such as school and sports (particularly football ), begin about this time. In

2550-474: The Black Mafia 's "Fat" Tyrone Palmer, in full view of a show audience estimated at 600 people. Four rival operatives entered the club and one shot Palmer in the face after the featured singer, Billy Paul , finished his opening song. Palmer's bodyguard and three women were killed in the melee that ensued, and 20 people were injured. Business dropped off after that. The club went into a steep decline between

2652-704: The Cotton Club . Midtown New York had a string of nightclubs, many named after bandleaders such as Paul Whiteman , Vincent Lopez , and Roger Wolfe Kahn who opened Le Perroquet de Paris at a cost of $ 250,000. It was billed as America's most beautiful and sophisticated nightclub and featured the young Kahn and his band most evenings. Pre-World War II Soho in London offered café society , cabaret , burlesque jazz, and bohemian clubs similar to those in New York, Paris , and Berlin . Nightclubs in London were tied much to

2754-707: The Delphi Filmpalast ), Kakadu , Femina-Palast , Palais am Zoo , Gourmenia-Palast , Uhlandeck , and the Haus Vaterland . In the 1920s, the nightlife of the city was dominated by party drugs such as cocaine . Hundreds of venues in the city, which at the time had a sinful reputation, offered in addition to bars, stages, and dance floors an erotic nightlife, such as small booths where lovers could withdraw to for intimate moments. These venues were aimed at rich and poor people, gays , lesbians , nudists , and gangsters alike. In 1930s Shanghai ,

2856-545: The Electric Circus , and Dom. While the discothèque swept Europe throughout the 1960s, it did not become widely popular in the United States until the 1970s, where the first rock and roll generation preferred rough and tumble bars and taverns to nightclubs until the disco era. In the early 1960s, Mark Birley opened a members-only discothèque nightclub, Annabel's , in Berkeley Square , London. In 1962,

2958-574: The Middle Earth club (at 43 King Street) and eventually the Roundhouse in 1968. Both the UFO Club and Middle Earth were short-lived but saw performances by artists such as house-band Pink Floyd , Soft Machine , Procol Harum , Fairport Convention , Arthur Brown , and Jimi Hendrix ; DJ John Peel was a regular. These clubs germinated what would later become the underground gig scene of

3060-602: The National Hot Rod Association hold their finals of the NHRA U.S. Nationals drag race that weekend. Labor Day is the middle point between weeks one and two of the U.S. Open tennis championships , held in Flushing Meadows , New York. In fashion, Labor Day is (or was) considered the last day when it is acceptable to wear white or seersucker . The source of the tradition lies in part with

3162-619: The Peppermint Lounge in New York City became popular and is the place where go-go dancing originated. Sybil Burton opened the "Arthur" discothèque in 1965 on East 54th Street in Manhattan on the site of the old El Morocco nightclub and it became the first, foremost, and hottest disco in New York City through 1969. In Germany in the 1960s, when Berlin was divided by the Wall , Munich became Germany's epicenter of nightlife for

Club Harlem - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-545: The Rat Pack , back at the 500 Club. Lonnie Smith recorded a live album, Move Your Hand , at Club Harlem in 1969. Even in its waning years in the 1970s, Club Harlem continued to attract contemporary black stars such as Harry Belafonte , Ray Charles , Aretha Franklin , Redd Foxx , Marvin Gaye , Leslie Uggams , and Dionne Warwick . The shows at the club were choreographed by Larry Steele for many years, along with those of

3366-528: The Wigan Casino , known for the acrobatic dancing of its clubgoers; each of these clubs was known for all-nighters. Disco has its roots in the underground club scene. During the early 1970s in New York City, disco clubs were places where oppressed or marginalized groups such as gay people, African Americans , Latinos , Italian Americans , and Jews could party without following male to female dance protocol or exclusive club policies. Discothèques had

3468-646: The Wonder Bar were targeted in a midnight raid by police officers, accompanied by the newly elected mayor, Tom Taggart, seeking proof of illegal gambling activities. The police confiscated "three truckloads of gambling paraphernalia" and arrested 32 club owners and employees, then shut down the four clubs. The next day the clubs were open for business as usual. In 1947, showman Larry Steele introduced an all-black revue called Smart Affairs to Club Harlem. The elaborate show, featuring 40 to 50 acts including comedians, singers, showgirls, chorus lines, and dance numbers,

3570-495: The communist victory in 1949 as The Red Capitol Cinema , dedicated to Maoist propaganda films, before fading into obscurity. It reopened as The Paramount in 2008. In occupied France , jazz and bebop music, and the jitterbug dance were banned by the Nazis as "decadent American influences", so as an act of resistance, people met at hidden basements called discothèques where they danced to jazz and swing music , played on

3672-586: The glam rock ( T. Rex , David Bowie, Roxy Music ) and punk rock cultures in London produced their own set of nightclubs, starting with Billy's at 69 Dean Street (known for its David Bowie nights), Louise's on Poland Street (the first true punk club and hangout of the Sex Pistols , Siouxsie Sioux plus the Bromley Contingent , and then Blitz (the home of the Blitz Kids ). Crackers

3774-406: The "other quintessential 1970s club drug Quaalude , which suspended motor coordination and turned one's arms and legs to Jell-O ". The "massive quantities of drugs ingested in discotheques by newly liberated gay men produced the next cultural phenomenon of the disco era: rampant promiscuity and public sex . While the dance floor was the central arena of seduction, actual sex usually took place in

3876-554: The 1885 convention of the American Federation of Labor, which passed a resolution calling for adoption of the eight-hour day effective May 1, 1886. While negotiation was envisioned for achievement of the shortened work day, use of the strike to enforce this demand was recognized, with May 1 advocated as a date for coordinated strike action. The proximity of the date to the bloody Haymarket affair of May 4, 1886, further accentuated May First's radical reputation. There

3978-723: The 1960s, along with musicians such as the Beatles . Discothèques began to appear in New York City in 1964: the Village Vanguard offered dancing between jazz sets; Shepheard's, located in the basement of the Drake Hotel , was small but popular; L'Interdit and Il Mio (at Delmonico's ) were private; the El Morocco had an on-premises disco called Garrison; and the Stork Club had one in its Shermaine suite. Larger discos opened in 1966: Cheetah, with room for 2000 dancers,

4080-882: The 1960s, but especially with the rise of electronic dance music since the late 1980s. VJing gained more and more importance. VJs ("video jockeys") mix video content in a similar manner that DJs mix audio content, creating a visual experience that is intended to complement the music. The 2020s started with the global COVID-19 pandemic , which closed nightclubs worldwide – the first ever synchronized, global shutdown of nightlife. In response, online "virtual nightclubs" developed, hosted on video-conferencing platforms such as Zoom . As countries relaxed lockdown rules following drops in case numbers, some nightclubs reopened in repurposed form as sat-down pubs. As vaccine rollouts reached advanced stages, nightclubs were able to reopen with looser restrictions, such as producing certification of full vaccination upon entry. Labor Day This

4182-583: The 1970s and 1980s, at venues such as the 100 Club and The Clarendon in Hammersmith . During the 1960s, the Clarendon was a country & western club, having earlier been an upmarket jazz, dining , and dancing club in the pre-War era. In the north of England, the distinct northern soul movement spanned Manchester 's Twisted Wheel Club , the Blackpool Mecca , Cleethorpes Pier , and

Club Harlem - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-949: The 1980s, during the New Romantic movement, London had a vibrant nightclub scene, which included clubs like The Blitz, the Batcave , the Camden Palace , and Club for Heroes . These clubs grew out of the earlier Mandrake and Billy's (later Gossip's) at 69 Dean Street, in the basement below the ground floor Gargoyle Club . Both music and fashion embraced the aesthetics of the movement. Bands included Depeche Mode , Yazoo , The Human League , Duran Duran , Eurythmics , and Ultravox . Reggae -influenced bands included Boy George and Culture Club , and electronic vibe bands included Visage . At London nightclubs, young men would often wear make-up and young women would wear men's suits. Leigh Bowery 's Taboo (which opened in 1985) bridged

4386-467: The American Federation of Labor convention designated the Sunday preceding Labor Day as "Labor Sunday", to be dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement. This secondary date failed to gain significant traction in popular culture, although some churches continue to acknowledge it. The popularity of the event spread across the country. In 1887, Oregon became the first state of

4488-656: The New Romantic and acid house scenes. With the birth of house music in the mid-1980s and then acid house, kickstarted by Chris Sullivan's The Wag Club (on the site of the earlier The Flamingo Club ), a cultural revolution swept around the world; first in Chicago at the Warehouse and then London and New York City. London clubs such as Clink Street , Revolution in Progress (RiP), Philip Sallon's The Mudd Club , Danny Rampling 's Shoom (starting in December 1987 in

4590-551: The Noyes Arts Garage at Stockton University are in possession of the mementos rescued from the club, including "costumes, posters, ashtrays, the neon sign", and a set of red padded leather double doors illustrated with full-size drawings of Pop Williams and Sammy Davis Jr. The museum has lent the artifacts to a traveling exhibition that appeared at the Atlantic City Public Library in 2010 under

4692-474: The Pips and Sam Cooke as the two acts who brought the most business into Club Harlem. Alten said the club prevented fights when Sam Cooke performed there by using "Sold Out" signs, which got people to leave without trying to fight to get into the performances. In the offseason, the club accommodated community fundraisers and teen talent shows. Club Harlem was the site of the 1972 Easter morning assassination of

4794-776: The Starship Discovery One. In San Francisco, there was the Trocadero Transfer , the I-Beam , and the End Up . In Spain during the 1970s, the first clubs and discos opened in Ibiza , an island which had been a popular destination for hippie travelers since the 1960s and now was experiencing a tourist boom. The first ever " Superclub " in Ibiza was the now-abandoned "Festival Club" at Sant Josep de sa Talaia , which

4896-454: The UK government's Criminal Justice Act , which largely ended the rave movement by criminalizing any gathering of 20 or more people where music ("sounds wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats") was played. Commercial clubs immediately capitalized on the situation causing a boom in "Superclubs" in the UK, such as Ministry of Sound (London), Renaissance , and Cream ( Liverpool ). These developed

4998-546: The United States to make Labor Day an official public holiday . By 1894, thirty U.S. states were already officially celebrating Labor Day. In that year, shortly after the Pullman Strike , the Congress passed a bill recognizing the first Monday of September as Labor Day and making it an official federal holiday . President Grover Cleveland signed the bill into law on June 28. The federal law, however, only made it

5100-666: The United States, many school districts resume classes around the Labor Day holiday weekend (see First day of school ). Some begin the week before, making Labor Day weekend the first three-day weekend of the school calendar, while others return the Tuesday following Labor Day. Many districts across the Midwest are opting to begin school after Labor Day. In the U.S. state of Virginia , the amusement park industry has successfully lobbied for legislation requiring most school districts in

5202-601: The Wintergarten, and the Paradise Club . Along with Harlem's Cotton Club , it was a place for the moneyed set to enjoy an evening of African-American entertainment. When the club opened in 1935, there were slot machines along with a basketball court on the top floor of the building. In the 1940s the club became known as Clifton's Club Harlem. In July 1940, Club Harlem, Little Belmont, the Paradise Club, and

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5304-443: The association of the term with the sex trade has driven out the regular usage of the term. In the United States , New York increasingly became the national capital for tourism and entertainment. Grand hotels were built for upscale visitors. New York's theater district gradually moved northward during this half century, from The Bowery up Broadway through Union Square and Madison Square , settling around Times Square at

5406-513: The basement of Southwark's Fitness Centre), Paul Oakenfold 's Spectrum , and Nicky Holloway 's The Trip fused the eclecticism and ethos of [Ibiza with the new electronic music from the US. The largest UK cities like Birmingham , Leeds (The Orbit), Liverpool ( Quadrant Park and 051), Manchester ( The Haçienda ), Newcastle , and Swansea , and several key European places like Paris ( Les Bains-Douches ), Ibiza ( Pacha ), and Rimini , also played

5508-629: The big clubs were The Paramount Club (opened in 1933) and Ciro's (opened in 1936). Other clubs of the era were the Metropole and the Canidrome . Jazz bands , big bands, and singers performed for a bowtied clientele. The Paramount and Ciro's in particular were fiercely rivalrous and attracted many customers from the underworld. Shanghai's clubs fell into decline after the Japanese invasion of 1937 and eventually closed. The Paramount reopened after

5610-639: The chic Florida Club in London's Mayfair. In Germany during the Golden Twenties , there was a need to dance away the memories of the First World War . In Berlin, where a " tango fever" had already swept dancing establishments in the early 1910s, 899 venues with a dancing licence were registered by 1930, including the Moka Efti , Casanova , Scala , Delphi-Palast (destroyed in WW2, replaced by

5712-576: The city. In 1967, Germany's first large-scale discothèque opened in Munich as the club Blow Up , which because of its extravagance and excesses quickly gained international reputation. In parallel, the hippie movement spawned Britain's first club for psychedelic music , the UFO Club (at the Blarney Club, 31 Tottenham Court Road , London from 23 Dec 1966 to Oct 1967) which then became

5814-438: The club closed for good, owner Alten made it clear that the closing was not due to unpaid bills; he referred to it as "going out with its face up". There had been an effort to sell the property for some years. After the sale, many people expressed a wish to save Club Harlem. Atlantic City's mayor at the time, James Usry , was among those who wanted to preserve the club and took part in a private effort to do so. In December 1992

5916-421: The club from 1946 to 1971, featured 40 to 50 acts and was on a par with Broadway productions. Performers at the club included Sammy Davis Jr. (who would also invite the white members of the Rat Pack ), Dick Gregory , Dinah Washington , Bootsie Barnes , Gladys Knight , Teddy Pendegrass , Hot Lips Page , and Wild Bill Davis . Drummer Crazy Chris Columbo conducted the club orchestra for 34 years. Club Harlem

6018-411: The club-as-spectacle theme pioneered in the 1970s and 1980s by Pacha (Ibiza) and Juliana's Tokyo (Japan), creating a global phenomenon; however, many clubs such as The Cross in London, preserved the more underground feel of the former era. Since the late 2000s, venues that received high media attention include Berghain in Berlin and Fabric in London. Video art has been used in nightclubs since

6120-493: The early 1960s. Steele also founded the Sepia Revue and Beige Beauties chorus lines at the club. Entertainer Lola Falana was discovered by Sammy Davis, Jr. while working in Club Harlem's chorus line. In 1951 Williams and his brother, Clifton Williams, brought in other partners, including Ben Alten of the Paradise Club. By 1954, Williams and Alten owned the Club Harlem and the Paradise Club, operating both under joint ownership. The club employed 200 people in 1964. Its busiest time

6222-511: The end of the 19th century. Stars such as Edwin Booth and Lillian Russell were among the early Broadway performers. Prostitutes served a wide variety of clientele, from sailors on leave to playboys. The first nightclubs appeared in New York City in the 1840s and 1850s, including McGlory's, and the Haymarket. They enjoyed a national reputation for vaudeville , live music, and dance. They tolerated unlicensed liquor, commercial sex, and gambling cards, chiefly Faro . Practically all gambling

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6324-474: The filming locations for the 1980 film Atlantic City . Nightclub Nightclubs generally restrict access to people in terms of age, attire , personal belongings , and behaviors. Nightclubs typically have dress codes to prohibit people wearing informal, indecent, offensive, or gang-related attire from entering. Unlike other entertainment venues, nightclubs are more likely to use bouncers to screen prospective patrons for entry. The busiest nights for

6426-520: The ground for what was unfold in the 1990s, initially in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States and then worldwide from the 2000s onwards. In Europe and North America, nightclubs play disco-influenced dance music such as house music , techno , Eurodance and other dance music styles such as electronica , breakbeat , and trance . Most nightclubs in major cities in the U.S. that have an early adulthood clientele, play hip hop , dance-pop , house, and/or trance music. These clubs are generally

6528-422: The holiday. According to one early history of Labor Day, the event originated in connection with a General Assembly of the Knights of Labor convened in New York City in September 1882. In connection with this clandestine Knights assembly, a public parade of various labor organizations was held on September 5 under the auspices of the Central Labor Union (CLU) of New York. Secretary of the CLU Matthew Maguire

6630-610: The holiday. One reason given for this timing was to allow time for schoolchildren to show 4-H projects at the Fair. In U.S. sports, Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of many fall sports. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams usually play their first games that weekend, and the National Football League (NFL) traditionally play their kickoff game the Thursday following Labor Day. The Southern 500 NASCAR auto race has been held on Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina from 1950 to 2003 and since 2015. At Indianapolis Raceway Park ,

6732-419: The idea of " high society ", via organisations such as the Kit Kat Club (which took its name from the political Kit-Cat Club in Pall Mall, London ) and the Café de Paris . The 43 Club on Gerrard Street was run by Kate Meyrick the 'Night Club Queen'. Meyrick ran several London nightclubs in the 1920s and early 1930s, during which time she served prison sentences for breaching licensing laws and bribing

6834-454: The idea of dancing to records at her premises' basement in 1957. It stayed popular into the 1960s. It later became a 1940s-themed club called the Black Gardenia but has since closed. The Flamingo Club on Wardour Street in London ran between 1952 and 1967 and was known for its role in the growth of rhythm and blues and jazz in the UK. It earned a controversial reputation with gangsters and prostitutes said to have been frequent visitors in

6936-507: The jukebox with two turntables that she operated herself so there would be no breaks between the music. This was the world's first-ever "discothèque". The Whisky à Gogo set into place the standard elements of the modern post-World War II discothèque -style nightclub. In London, by the end of the 1950s, several of the coffee bars in London's Soho introduced afternoon dancing. These prototype discothèques were nothing like modern-day nightclubs, as they were unlicensed, daytime venues where coffee

7038-421: The largest and most frequented of all of the different types of clubs. Techno clubs are popular around the world since the early 1990s. Well known examples of the 1990s include Tresor , E-Werk , and Bunker in Berlin ; Omen and Dorian Gray in Frankfurt ; Ultraschall , KW – Das Heizkraftwerk , and Natraj Temple in Munich; and Stammheim in Kassel . The Castlemorton Common Festival in 1992 triggered

7140-408: The late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, diverse groups of trade unionists chose a variety of days on which to celebrate labor. In the United States, a September holiday called Labor Day was first proposed in the early 1880s. Alternative accounts of the event's origin exist. Descendants of two men with similar last names claim their great-grandfather was the true father of

7242-439: The mid-1970s and mid-1980s as the introduction of casino gambling on the Atlantic City Boardwalk pulled business away from Club Harlem and other nightspots located streetside. In the winter of 1986 it was purchased by a developer for $ 200,000–well below its valuation of $ 673,000–and shuttered; it had last opened for two weeks in the summer of 1986; it was the last of Atlantic City's major golden age nightclubs still in operation. When

7344-472: The migration of wealthy 19th century New Yorkers back from their summer-home Newport Mansions and accompanying change back from summer clothes. The traditional last day to wear straw hats moved from around Labor Day (September 1) to September 15. In 1922, the Straw Hat Riot broke out due to gangs snatching the hats of men violating this rule in New York City. The unofficial beginning of summer, and

7446-429: The most prestigious clubs had elaborate lighting systems that throbbed to the beat of the music. The genre of disco has changed through the years. It is classified both as a musical genre and as a nightclub; and in the late seventies, disco began to act as a safe haven for social outcasts. This club culture that originated in downtown New York, was attended by a variety of different ethnicities and economic backgrounds. It

7548-577: The name "A Pictorial of Club Harlem and the Way We Were". The collection, along with more than 100 historical photographs and newspaper articles, has also traveled to Philadelphia , Washington, D.C. , Baltimore , and Newark . On Kentucky Avenue – The Atlantic City Club Harlem Revue , created by Adam and Jeree Wade, who each performed at Club Harlem in different decades, made its New York City debut during Black History Month 2013. It plays every few months at Stage 72 . The club served as one of

7650-542: The nearby Paradise Club, and often featured "comedians dressed like clowns, plantation hands, and frumpy old ladies [telling] dirty jokes to start things off". A full chorus line called the Sepia Revue featured 12 showgirls dressed in "black high heels, skimpy, sequined dresses, long boas and feathered headgear" dancing with more and more abandon as the "red hot" house band backed them up. Another chorus line called Beige Beauties also performed artistic dance numbers. There

7752-450: The nether regions of the disco: bathroom stalls, exit stairwells, and so on. In other cases, the disco became a kind of "main course" in a hedonist 's menu for a night out." Well known 1970s discothèques included celebrity hangouts such as Manhattan's Studio 54 , which was operated by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager . Studio 54 was notorious for the hedonism that went on within; the balconies were known for sexual encounters, and drug use

7854-451: The next two decades with numerous nightclubs and discothèques such as Big Apple , PN hit-house , Tiffany , Domicile , Hot Club , Piper Club , Why Not , Crash , Sugar Shack , the underwater discothèque Yellow Submarine , and Mrs. Henderson , where stars such as Mick Jagger , Keith Richards , Freddie Mercury , and David Bowie went in and out and which led to artists such as Giorgio Moroder , Donna Summer , and Mercury settling in

7956-552: The original batch, and being London's longest running one-nighter club, Gaz's Rockin' Blues , is still going as of 2020. The new wave music scene grew out of Blitz and the Cha Cha Club in Charing Cross . Whilst overall, the club scene was fairly small and hidden away in basements, cellars, and warehouses, London's complicated mix of punk, New Romantic , New Wave, and gay clubs in the late 1970s and early 1980s paved

8058-527: The owner of the nightclub. Williams gave the new nightclub the name of the Manhattan neighborhood because "a lot of black people live there". The district, known as "Kentucky Avenue and the Curb", had become the home for African Americans in the racially segregated city since the end of World War I. The new nightspot joined other popular black entertainment venues in the district such as Grace's Little Belmont ,

8160-513: The role of safety net. It brought together people from different backgrounds. These clubs acted as safe havens for homosexual partygoers to dance in peace and away from public scrutiny. By the late 1970s, many major U.S. cities had thriving disco club scenes centered on discothèques, nightclubs, and private loft parties where DJs would play disco hits through powerful PA systems for the dancers. The DJs played "a smooth mix of long single records to keep people 'dancing all night long ' ". Some of

8262-402: The show itself, any celebrities sitting in the audience were called up to the stage and would perform. Drummer Chris Columbo, who conducted the club's orchestra for 34 years, remembered that the early morning shows were the most vibrant because the other clubs in town were closed and many of those who were appearing at them were now at Club Harlem jamming with the club's musicians. Johnny Lynch

8364-486: The stage-name DJ Heinrich. In the US, Connie's Inn and the Cotton Club in Harlem , NY were popular venues for white audiences. Before 1953 and some years thereafter, most bars and nightclubs used a jukebox or mostly live bands. In Paris, at a club named Le Whisky à Gogo , founded in 1947 on the rue de Seine by Paul Pacine, Régine Zylberberg in 1953 laid down a dance floor, suspended coloured lights, and replaced

8466-458: The state to have their first day of school after Labor Day, in order to give families another weekend to visit amusement parks in the state. The relevant statute has been nicknamed the " Kings Dominion law" after one such park. This law was repealed in 2019. In the U.S. state of Minnesota , the State Fair ends on Labor Day. Under state law, public schools normally do not begin until after

8568-829: The summer fashion season in the United States, is Memorial Day . In the 2020s, some people have approved of wearing white year-round. There are numerous events and activities organized in major cities. For example, New York offers the Labor Day Carnival , and fireworks over Coney Island. In Washington, one popular event is the Labor Day Concert at the U.S. Capitol featuring the National Symphony Orchestra with free attendance. To take advantage of large numbers of potential customers with time to shop, Labor Day has become an important weekend for discounts and allowances by many retailers in

8670-592: The way for acid house to flourish in the late 1980s, initially with Shoom and two acid house nights at Heaven : Spectrum and Rage. In the north of England, what later became the "alternative" scene was centred around the Roxy/Bowie room at Pips in Manchester, which opened in 1972; as small as this scene was, many notable figures attended the club, and Joy Division played their first gig there, billed as "Warsaw" before changing their name that night. During

8772-598: Was a key part of the jazz- funk scene and also the early punk scene via its Vortex nights. The underground warehouse party scene was kicked off by Toyah Willcox with her Mayhem Studios at Patcham Terrace in Battersea . The emergence of this highly experimental artistic scene in London can be credited almost entirely to Rusty Egan , Steve Strange , the Bromley Contingent's Philip Sallon , and Chris Sullivan. Dozens of clubs came and went, but one of

8874-530: Was an incredible place." Weekends at Club Harlem started on Friday night, with the two bands alternating sets; the music kept going until Monday morning. For more than 50 years, the Harlem was the place in Atlantic City to see the best shows, hear the best musicians and have the best time. The Philadelphia Inquirer , July 28, 1987 The club scheduled matinees, nighttime shows, late-night shows, and

8976-652: Was an inexpensive activity to indulge in, and discos united a multitude of different minorities in a way never seen before; including those in the gay and psychedelic communities. The music ultimately was what brought people together. Some cities had disco dance instructors or dance schools that taught people how to do popular disco dances such as "touch dancing", the " hustle ", and the " cha-cha-cha ". There were also disco fashions that discotheque-goers wore for nights out at their local disco, such as sheer, flowing Halston dresses for women and shiny polyester Qiana shirts for men. Disco clubs and "hedonistic loft parties" had

9078-455: Was built between 1969 and 1972 and serviced tourists who were bused in until it closed in 1974. Responding to this influx of visitors, locals opened the first large clubs Pacha , Amnesia , and the Ku-club (renamed Privilege in 1995). By the early 1980s, the term "disco" had largely fallen out of favour in the United States . In parallel to the disco scene and quite separate from it,

9180-429: Was demolished in 1992. Mementos salvaged from the club are part of a traveling exhibition which has appeared in Atlantic City and other locales since 2010. Club Harlem was founded in 1935 by Leroy "Pop" Williams on the site of a dance hall called Fitzgerald's Auditorium. Williams was a medical student at University of Pennsylvania when he managed to acquire enough money to buy Fitzgerald's; he left college after becoming

9282-399: Was disagreement among labor unions at this time about when a holiday celebrating workers should be, with some advocating for continued emphasis of the September march-and-picnic date while others sought the designation of the more politically charged date of May 1. Conservative Democratic President Grover Cleveland was one of those concerned that a labor holiday on May 1 would tend to become

9384-539: Was during the tourist season from mid June to Labor Day . Alten described the club's most profitable time as being between 1959 and 1977. On the weekends, between 20 and 25 buses from areas in the Northeastern United States arrived, bringing guests who wanted to see the club's shows. By 1968, Williams began having difficulty booking some African-American entertainers into the venue. He wrote an open letter to baseball star Jackie Robinson , who had

9486-426: Was equipped with seven bars; the front bar alone accommodated nearly 100 people. Guitarist Pat Martino recalled in his biography: "In the front room at Club Harlem you had two stages for two different groups. Willis Jackson would do forty minutes, and then Chris Columbo 's band would do forty minutes. They'd split sets all night long. And in the large back room you had singers like Sammy Davis with an orchestra. That

9588-479: Was headquartered at the club through 1970, and also toured throughout the United States and abroad between the 1940s and 1960s, including venues in San Juan, Puerto Rico , Adelaide, Australia , and Toronto , Canada. The budget for the "Smart Affairs" shows ran as high as US$ 35,000 per week. The shows were on a par with Broadway productions. Smart Affairs productions grossed between $ 400,000 and $ 500,000 annually by

9690-548: Was illegal in the city (except upscale horseracing tracks), and regular payoffs to political and police leadership was necessary. Prices were high and they were patronized by an upscale audience. Timothy Gilfoyle called them "the first nightclubs". By contrast, Owney Geoghegan ran the toughest nightclub in New York from 1880 to 1883. It catered to a downscale clientele and besides the usual illegal liquor, gambling, and prostitution, it featured nightly fistfights and occasional shootings, stabbings, and police raids. Webster Hall

9792-949: Was in charge of the house band of 14 musicians, which was integrated. The band was well regarded among musicians. It was said that if you were in the Club Harlem band for the summer, you were a fine musician. Young men who wanted to become professionals often quit their regular jobs in summer to play with the Lynch band. The leading black entertainers of the day appeared at Club Harlem, including comedians Dick Gregory , George Kirby , Moms Mabley , and Slappy White ; singers Cab Calloway , Billy Daniels , Billy Eckstine , Ella Fitzgerald , Billie Holiday , Lena Horne , Sarah Vaughan , Dinah Washington , and Ethel Waters ; and jazz musicians Louis Armstrong , Count Basie , Nat King Cole , Wild Bill Davis , and Duke Ellington . Daniels first performed his signature song " That Old Black Magic " at Club Harlem in 1942. Guitarist Pat Martino has stated that as

9894-676: Was installed at the Palais Royale Saloon, San Francisco on November 23, 1889, becoming an overnight sensation. The advent of the jukebox fueled the Prohibition -era boom in underground illegal speakeasy bars, which needed music but could not afford a live band and needed precious space for paying customers. Webster Hall stayed open, with rumors circulating of Al Capone 's involvement and police bribery. From about 1900 to 1920, working class Americans would gather at honky tonks or juke joints to dance to music played on

9996-405: Was no applause at the club. Guests found long wooden sticks with wooden balls at the end called "table knockers" at their tables. Patrons were to hit the table with their knockers to indicate their appreciation of performances. Not long after its closing, Alten, an owner of the club for 35 years, reminisced about the performers who brought the most guests to the club. He named Gladys Knight &

10098-406: Was outfitted with seven bars, two lounges and a main showroom seating more than 900. A cocktail lounge had room for 400 guests with continuous entertainment available. Club Harlem was the site of the 1972 Easter morning shootout of a Black Mafia operative by three rival operatives, leaving five dead and 20 wounded, in full view of a show audience estimated at 600 people. The club closed in 1986 and

10200-590: Was rampant. Its dance floor was decorated with an image of the " Man in the Moon " that included an animated cocaine spoon . Other 1970s discothèques in New York City were Manhattan's Starship Discovery One at 350 West 42nd Street , Roseland Ballroom , Xenon , The Loft , the Paradise Garage , a recently renovated Copacabana , and Aux Puces, one of the first gay disco bars. The album cover of Saturday Night Band's Come On and Dance, Dance featured two dancers in

10302-474: Was the drink of choice and that catered to a very young public – mostly made up of French and Italians working illegally, mostly in catering, to learn English, as well as au pair girls from most of western Europe. A well known venue was Les Enfants Terribles at 93 Dean St., in Soho , London. Initially opening as a coffee-bar, it was run by Betty Passes who claimed to be the inventor of disco after she pioneered

10404-401: Was with Tadd Dameron 's band at the time, remembered a jam session with Clifford Brown , Art Farmer and Joe Gordon that began at the Paradise Club and was continued at Club Harlem as the musicians wanted to continue playing. Long-time Atlantic City disc jockey Pinky Kravitz recalled that by 3 a.m., there were up to 1,000 people in line, waiting for the breakfast show to begin. In addition to

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