BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: Apollo: Where Stars Are Born

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: Apollo: Where Stars Are Born:

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Description of Pictures: Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment
April 23, 2010 – August 29, 2010
The exhibition explores for the first time the rich history and the cultural significance of Harlem's Apollo Theater. It features photographs and artifacts to trace the story of the theater from its origins in 1913 as a whites-only burlesque hall to its starring role at the epicenter of African American entertainment. Highlights include:

• James Brown's cape and jumpsuit
• Michael Jackson's fedora
• The Supremes' dresses
• Cab Calloway's baton
• Sammy Davis' childhood tap shoes
• Peg Leg Bates' peg leg
• Duke Ellington's score for "Black and Tan Fantasy" (1927)
• Ella Fitzgerald's dress
• Miles Davis' flugelhorn
• LL Cool J's jacket and hat
• Celia Cruz's dress

Organized by the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SIAHAP_100621_037.JPG: Celia Cruz: Dress: Singer Celia Cruz was renowned not only as the undisputed Queen of Salsa, but also as a symbol of Afro-Cuban music throughout the African Diaspora. Born in Havana, she was a successful star there in the 1950s, but fled to the United States following the Cuban revolution in 1959.
2. SIAHAP_100621_044.JPG: The Supremes: Dresses: The Supremes first played the Apollo in 1962 as part of the Motortown Revue -- a packaged concert tour of Motown's artists. Later that same year, the Supremes released their debut album, Meet the Supremes, and were soon on their way to becoming one of the most successful 1960s singing groups.
3. SIAHAP_100621_056.JPG: Parliament-Funkadelic: Album, Boots, Vest, and Jacket: Parliament-Funkadelic's mixture of psychedelic rock, funky rhythmic soul, and quasi-gospel created a new sound in popular music. Led by the resplendent George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic hosted wild stage shows that rivaled the most elaborate Broadway productions.
4. SIAHAP_100621_067.JPG: Patti LaBelle: Dress: With her intensely dramatic R&B voice, wild wigs, and stunning costumes, Patti LaBelle was always a crowd-pleaser at the Apollo Theater. She became one of the greatest divas i the modern era of African American music.
5. SIAHAP_100621_088.JPG: Tony Bennett: Tie and Sketch: Tony Bennett is renowned as a singer of American standards, jazz and pop. But he also has honored many of his fellow song stylists -- paying tribute to the legendary Billie Holiday in a 1997 concert at the Apollo Theater, and sketching Pearl Bailey backstage after a performance of Hello, Dolly!
6. SIAHAP_100621_097.JPG: Michael Jackson: Fedora: Michael Jackson was one of the most influential artists and entertainers of the twentieth century. He first performed at the Apollo in 1967 with his brothers -- the Jackson 5 -- in an Amateur Night competition, which they won. Jackson's connection to the Apollo was so strong that immediately following his death in 2009, hundreds of fans flocked to the theater to mourn his life and memory. Jackson's black fedora is iconic; he wore this particular hat during his 1984 Victory Tour.
7. SIAHAP_100621_105.JPG: Willie Nelson: Bandana and Shoes: Country music legend Willie Nelson is not normally associated with the urban Apollo Theater, but he represents the wide range of artists who have performed there. Moreover, Nelson's endorsement of causes -- including gay rights, AIDS research, Farm Aid, and peace issues -- has endeared him to political activists.
8. SIAHAP_100621_114.JPG: LL Cool J: Outfit: LL Cool J (James Todd Smith) remains one of today's best-known rappers. He parlayed early commercial and critical success in the 1980s to become a best-selling artist, author, entrepreneur, and screen star, including the film Krush Groove (1985), which documents the early days of hip-hop in New York.
9. SIAHAP_100621_124.JPG: Count Basie: Hat: Count Basie's big bang personified the Swing Era, with its jazzy, syncopated rhythms. As a pianist, he used occasional splashes of "stride" -- letting his left hand "stride" along the keyboard. And as a bandleader, Basie knew the strengths and weaknesses of individual musicians and arranged compositions specifically for them.
10. SIAHAP_100621_132.JPG: Louis Armstrong: Trumpet: By the time the Apollo Theater opened in 1934, Louis Armstrong already headlined the world's highest paid African American orchestra and was perhaps the premier soloist in jazz. During his fifty-three-year career, the internationally renowned Armstrong was one of the most celebrated musicians to play regularly at the Apollo.
11. SIAHAP_100621_140.JPG: Ella Fitzgerald: Dress: Known as the "First Lady of Song," Ella Fitzgerald won one of the earliest Amateur Night competitions at the Apollo Theater in 1934. That evening, she wore plain street clothes, but gradually adopted beautiful evening gowns, like this dress worn at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1977.
12. SIAHAP_100621_148.JPG: BB King: Guitar: Blues music was never a huge crowd pleaser in Harlem during the 1950s and 60s, but BB King was one exception. Apollo manager Robert Schiffman recalled, "Everybody there felt that BB was the top line [and] that he... really knew what the hell he was doing as far as blues is concerned."
13. SIAHAP_100621_155.JPG: Sammy Davis Jr: Childhood Tap Shoes: Sammy Davis Jr grew up in a family of vaudeville dancers and started touring with his father at the age of three. He first appeared on the Apollo stage with the Will Mastin Trio in 1947 and returned there on several occasions throughout his successful career on stage and screen.
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2010 photos: Equipment this year: I mostly used the Fuji S100fs until the third one broke and I started sending them back for repairs. Then I used either the Fuji S200EHX or the Nikon D90 until I got the S100fs ones repaired. At the end of the year I bought a Nikon D5000 but I returned it pretty quickly. Trips this year: Civil War Trust conferences (Lexington, KY and Nashville, TN), and my 5th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including Los Angeles). My office at the main Commerce Department building closed in October and I was shifted out to the Bureau of the Census in Suitland Maryland. It's good to have a job of course but that killed being able to see basically any cultural events during the day. There's basically nothing of interest that you can see around the Census building. Number of photos taken this year: about 395,000..
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