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LEGEND
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OF THE
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APOLLO
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On January 26, 1934 the marquee read, "Jazz A La Carte" and thus an exciting tradition was born. On opening night a converted burlesque house would become the reigning palace of Black show business.
Opening night on Harlem's 125th Street set the stage for decades of talent-packed, culturally rich, wonderfully exciting and occasionally outrageous performances. The world-famous Apollo Theatre was to write the history of Black entertainment in America.
Home to the royalty of Black music, dance and comedy, the Apollo Theatre was the place to go. People dressed in the best 1930's and 1940's styles. They heard the big bands of Duke Ellington and Count Basie swing. Sensational song stylist Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald captured the crowds that came from uptown and downtown. Apollo Theatre variety bills with chorus lines were sure-fire crowd pleasers. Blues and bebop made cultural history and influenced the music that was yet to come.
During the 1950's at the Apollo, rhythm and blues and modern jazz came into their own. New sounds excited new generations. Colorful disc jockeys and emcees added their touch, bringing unknown, as well as star–studded acts to their revues. Greats of Jazz-Miles, Dizzy, Coltrane–played their part in making the Apollo Theatre a legend in its own time.
The Apollo was a mainstay for all Black music styles. From jazz to gospel, blues or pop, the performers and the new shows kept coming, always keeping pace with the newest talents.
Apollo Theatre audiences went wild to the soulful sounds of the 1960's. Lines formed along 125th Street stretching around the corners to Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Attendance records were broken. James Brown, Ray Charles, and the Motown soon-to-be superstars-the Jacksons, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder all played there. The list of Apollo performers reads like a "Who's Who of Entertainment"...including comedy kings Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx.
The legendary Wednesday night amateur shows kept the crowds shouting. Sometimes they screamed for more. Other time they booed an act off the stage. Outspoken Apollo audiences became just as much part of the performance as the performers themselves.
Generations of fans became devoted to the Apollo's tradition of excellence and cultural enrichment. Still, as the years passed and operating costs rose, the legendary Apollo was forced to close its doors in 1976. It reopened again, then shut down again in 1978...but legends do not die. 
Now designated as a New York City landmark(on June 28, 1983) the 125th Street Apollo Theatre is being restored in all of its glory and is now back in business as a theater and video production center operating as a subsidiary of Inner City Broadcasting Corporation. As it marks its 50th Anniversary, the Apollo Theatre maintains a legacy of keeping with the times.