Café Society (film)
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Café Society was a New York City nightclub open from 1938 to 1948 on
Sheridan Square The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, West 14th Street to t ...
in Greenwich Village. It was managed by
Barney Josephson Barney Josephson (1902–1988) was the founder of Café Society in Greenwich Village, New York's first integrated nightclub. Opening artists in 1938 included Billie Holiday, who first performed the song "Strange Fruit" there. Background Bar ...
.


Overview

Josephson created the club to showcase African American talent and to be an American version of the political cabarets he had seen in Europe earlier. As well as running the first racially integrated night club in the United States, Josephson also intended the club to defy the pretensions of the rich; he chose the name to mock Clare Boothe Luce and what she referred to as " café society", the habitués of more upscale nightclubs, and that wry satirical note was carried through in murals done by
Anton Refregier Anton Refregier (March 20, 1905 – October 10, 1979) was a painter and muralist active in Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project commissions, and in teaching art. He was a Russian immigrant to the United States. Among his best-kn ...
, a Russian immigrant who created the San Francisco Rincon Annex murals. Josephson trademarked the name Café Society, a phrase coined but not trademarked by Maury Paul, a society columnist who wrote as "
Cholly Knickerbocker Cholly Knickerbocker is a pseudonym used by a series of society columnists writing for papers including the ''New York American'' and its successor, the '' New York Journal-American''. The name came from the perceived New York upper-crust pronunci ...
" for the ''
New York Journal American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...
''. He also 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. After that, the original club was known as Café Society Downtown and the new club—intended for a different audience—as Café Society Uptown. The club prided itself on treating black and white customers equally, unlike many venues, such as the Cotton Club, which featured black performers but barred black customers except for prominent black people in the entertainment industry. The club featured many of the greatest black musicians of the day, often imposing a strongly political bent. Billie Holiday first sang "
Strange Fruit "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black ...
" 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.
Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...
was persuaded to stop singing "
When it's Sleepy Time Down South "When It's Sleepy Time Down South", also known as "Sleepy Time Down South", is a 1931 jazz song written by Clarence Muse, Leon René and Otis René. It was sung in the 1931 movie ''Safe in Hell'' by Nina Mae McKinney, and became the signature song o ...
" written by Clarence Muse, Leon René and Otis René,
Pearl Bailey Pearl Mae Bailey (March 29, 1918 – August 17, 1990) was an American actress, singer and author. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in '' St. Louis Woman'' in 1946. She received a Special Tony Award for the title role i ...
was fired for being "too much of an Uncle Tom", and Carol Channing was fired for an impersonation of Ethel Waters. Relying on the keen musical judgment of John Hammond, the club's "unofficial music director", Josephson helped launch the careers of
Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atl ...
,
Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...
, dancer Pearl Primus, Hazel Scott, Pete Johnson,
Albert Ammons Albert Clifton Ammons (March 1, 1907 – December 2, 1949) was an American pianist and player of boogie-woogie, a blues style popular from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. Life and career Ammons was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were pi ...
,
Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...
, and
Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...
, and popularized gospel groups such as the Dixie Hummingbirds and
the Golden Gate Quartet The Golden Gate Quartet (a.k.a. The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet) is an American vocal group. It was formed in 1934 and, with changes in membership, remains active. Origins and early career The group was founded as the Golden Gate Jubilee Singe ...
among white audiences. Many of these acts had first been presented at Hammond's
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
concerts, '' From Spirituals to Swing'', in 1938 and 1939. Its defining star in the early 1940s was Josh White, who first appeared there with a gospel group, the Carolinians, then went on to head the bill as a solo performer for four years. As part of the challenge to integrate America's segregated society, Josephson's club was the scene of numerous political events and fundraisers, often for left-wing causes, both during and after World War II. In 1947, Josephson's brother
Leon Josephson Leon Josephson (June 17, 1898 – 1966) was an American Communist labor lawyer for International Labor Defense and a Soviet spy. He received a 1947 Contempt of Congress citation from House Un-American Activities Committee. Background Leon ...
was subpoenaed by the
House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
, which led to hostile comments from columnists Westbrook Pegler and Walter Winchell. Business dropped sharply as a result, and the club closed the following year. In Summer 1948, jazz pianist Calvin Jackson played with singer
Mildred Bailey Mildred Bailey (born Mildred Rinker; February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a Native American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing". She recorded the songs " For Sentimenta ...
and dancer Avon Long. On December 5, 1948, dancer Pearl Primus closed a successful return engagement before heading off for a year's research in Africa on research as a Rosenewald Fellow. 1940s Manhattan telephone directories list Cafe Society, 2 Sheridan Square, CHelsea 2-2737. Today the location is Axis Theatre Company.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe Society Nightclubs in Manhattan African-American history in New York City History of civil rights in the United States Drinking establishments in Greenwich Village Defunct jazz clubs in New York City