Denver Darious Ferguson Sr. (February 19, 1895 – May 11, 1957) was an American businessman and nightclub owner in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
, who had a leading role in establishing the " Chitlin' Circuit" of United States entertainment venues for black entertainers and audiences in the 1930s and 1940s. Earlier in his career he established a newspaper, ''The Edmonson County Star'', in his home town of
Brownsville, Kentucky
Brownsville is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Edmonson County, Kentucky, Edmonson County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat and is a certified Kentucky Trail Town. The population was 836 at the time of ...
, before moving to Indianapolis, where he established a printing company. His younger brother, Sea Ferguson, helped in the print shop and with Denver's other business ventures.
After leaving the publishing business, Ferguson became successful in illegal gambling and invested in real estate, as well as launching a talent management and promotion business. Musician and record producer Sax Kari described Ferguson as "the man who ''invented'' the chitlin’ circuit".
Early life and family
Denver Ferguson was born in
Brownsville, Kentucky
Brownsville is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Edmonson County, Kentucky, Edmonson County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat and is a certified Kentucky Trail Town. The population was 836 at the time of ...
, in 1895, the eldest son of Mattie (née Whitney) and Samuel Henry Ferguson. His younger brother Sea Harious Ferguson (December 22, 1899 – March 10, 1974), who became a property developer and working partner of his elder brother, was also born in Brownsville.
Career
In his teens, Ferguson acquired a printing press, and around 1914 founded the ''
Edmonson County
Edmonson County is a County (United States), county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 12,126. Its county seat and only municipality is Browns ...
Star'' newspaper in Brownsville. In 1917, during World War I, he was drafted. After his discharge in 1919, he moved to Indianapolis. The following year he established the Ferguson Printing Company, located on
Indiana Avenue
Indiana Avenue is a historic area in downtown and is one of seven designated cultural districts in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indiana Avenue was, during its glory days, an African American cultural center of the area. The Indiana Avenue Historic D ...
. Many of his clients ran street
lotteries
A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
, the "
numbers game
The numbers game, also known as the numbers racket, the Italian lottery, Mafia lottery, or the daily number, is a form of illegal gambling or illegal lottery played mostly in poor and working-class neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a ...
" or "policy games"; for these small-time hustles, Ferguson designed and printed tickets resembling baseball scorecards. When his success in these illegal rackets drew the attention of public authorities, he recruited his brother Sea to serve as the public face of the operation. Sea opened a real estate brokerage in the city, and the brothers became renowned for their generosity in extending loans and donating to charitable causes in the black community. "Ferguson, Denver and Sea (brothers) ", University of Kentucky Libraries Notable Kentucky African Americans Database Retrieved 4 November 2015
In 1931, Sea Ferguson opened the Cotton Club nightclub in Indianapolis, and the following year Denver Ferguson opened the Trianon Ballroom, featuring Walter Barnes as his first star attraction. Barnes was experienced in touring with his band around the South, and wrote a regular column in ''
The Chicago Defender
''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...
'' until his death in the
Rhythm Club fire
The Rhythm Club fire (or The Natchez Dance Hall Holocaust) was a fire in a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi on the night of April 23, 1940, which killed 209 people and severely injured many others. Hundreds of people were trapped inside the bui ...
in
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...
in 1940. The
Theatre Owners Booking Association
Theatre Owners Booking Association, or T.O.B.A., was the vaudeville circuit for African American performers in the 1920s. The theaters mostly had white owners, though about a third of them had black owners. These included the restored Morton Theat ...
(TOBA) had collapsed in late 1930, and the Ferguson brothers drew on Barnes and his contacts to bring top black entertainers to Indianapolis.Lauterbach, pp.31-42 In 1938, Denver Ferguson opened the Sunset Terrace ballroom in Indianapolis, featuring
Tiny Bradshaw
Myron Carlton "Tiny" Bradshaw (September 23, 1907 – November 26, 1958) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, composer, pianist, and drummer. His biggest hit was "Well Oh Well" in 1950, and the following year he record ...
,
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...
,
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
and
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
in its early months.Lauterbach, pp.59-60 Largely as a result of the Ferguson brothers' initiatives, commercial activity thrived on Indiana Avenue in the late 1930s. In 1939 a full page announcement in the ''
Indianapolis Recorder
The ''Indianapolis Recorder'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Indianapolis, Indiana. First published in 1895, the ''Recorder'' is the longest-running African-American newspaper in Indiana and fourth in the U.S.
History
The newspaper ...
'' with well wishes from businesses announced his opening of the New Sunset Terrace venue in Indianapolis. However, in 1940 a clampdown by the authorities under Mayor
Reginald H. Sullivan
Reginald Hall Sullivan (March 10, 1876 – January 30, 1980) was an American politician who served as the 30th and 33rd mayor of the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, and an Indiana State Senator. He is among the longest-lived Americans to ever b ...
led to their businesses' licenses being revoked.
By the late 1930s, both Denver and Sea Ferguson were seen as among the wealthiest residents of Indianapolis. In 1941, they opened Ferguson Brothers, a booking agency, which grew rapidly and became the most powerful black-owned
talent agency
A talent agency is a company that represents actors, authors, musicians, model (person), models, professional athlete, athletes, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various industries. Talent agencies specialize, either by creating dep ...
in the country. They helped various orchestras, bands, and vaudeville shows book gigs, including
Jay McShann
James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...
Tiny Bradshaw
Myron Carlton "Tiny" Bradshaw (September 23, 1907 – November 26, 1958) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues bandleader, singer, composer, pianist, and drummer. His biggest hit was "Well Oh Well" in 1950, and the following year he record ...
,
Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper".
Career
Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...
Snookum Russell
Isaac "Snookum" Russell (April 6, 1913 – August 1981) was an American pianist and leader of a territory band that played tobacco warehouses and dance halls in the South and Midwest in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
Russell was born in Columb ...
,
Milton Larkin
Milt Larkin (October 10, 1910, Navasota, Texas, Navasota, Texas – August 31, 1996) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader and singer.Clarence Love, Gene Pope, and the
International Sweethearts of Rhythm
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was an American jazz ensemble, believed to be the first racially-integrated all-female band in the United States.
During the 1940s, the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They pla ...
, and organised tours around the South playing to black audiences. John Morthland, "The Chitlin’ Circuit: Celebrating a Secret History of American Music", ''WonderingSound.com'', 1 November 2011 Retrieved 25 November 2019
In 1944, Denver Ferguson reopened Le Jazz Hott Spot in Chicago as part of his syndicate. He was a mentor to Sax Kari, who worked for him and who assisted writer Preston Lauterbach in preparing his 2011 book ''The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock 'n' Roll'', documenting the Ferguson brothers' work and influence.
Ferguson faced financial difficulties by the 1950s, losing his Indianapolis tavern and home due to debts, a lawsuit, and a $30,000 divorce settlement paid to his third wife. He declared bankruptcy in 1953.
Personal life
Ferguson was married three times, including successively to two sisters, Ruth and Naomi Harrison. From the marriages came three children. Ferguson Sr. later married a German woman, Lilo Rantlach, with whom he had been in correspondence. After a brief marriage, they divorced by 1954.
In 1954, Ferguson faced a lawsuit after an automobile accident.