Grace's Little Belmont

Grace's Little Belmont was a jazz music bar and lounge in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Located at 37 Kentucky Avenue, it was one of the four popular black nightclubs situated on that street between the mid-1930s and mid-1970s; the others were Club Harlem, the Paradise Club, and the Wonder Gardens. The Little Belmont was located across the street from Club Harlem, with which it often shared performers and patrons. Wild Bill Davis and his swing and jazz quartet were featured summer performers from 1950 through the mid-1960s, and Elvera M. "Baby" Sanchez, mother of Sammy Davis, Jr., worked at the bar. The club closed in the mid-1970s and was later demolished.

Grace's Little Belmont
Grace's Little Belmont, 2010
Grace's Little Belmont
Location in Atlantic City
Address37 Kentucky Avenue
Atlantic City, New Jersey
United States
Coordinates39°21′36″N 74°25′47″W
TypeNightclub
OpenedMid-1930s
ClosedMid-1970s

History

Early history

The Little Belmont Bar was established by Herndon Daniels, a "sportsman" and numbers banker, in the mid-1930s.[1][2] By his own testimony, Daniels admitted to being in the numbers business in Atlantic City since 1931, and paying protection money to Atlantic City racketeer Nucky Johnson.[3][4] In 1932 Daniels was listed as proprietor of the Capital Club, a "night life resort" in Atlantic City.[5]

Alice Dixon Daniels at the cash register of the Little Belmont Bar in 1939

In 1939 Daniels was convicted of Federal income-tax evasion and sentenced to one year and one day at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.[1] Three days before entering prison in October 1939, he married Alice Dixon of Philadelphia,[1] a former showgirl who had performed at New York City's Connie's Inn, Cotton Club, and Kit Kat Club.[6] Alice managed the bar in Daniels' absence together with Isaac (Ike) Nicholson.[6] In May 1941, Daniels testified in U.S. district court that he had perjured himself before the grand jury investigating a link between Atlantic City numbers bankers in the hope that he could resume the numbers business after his release.[7]

In July 1940 the Little Belmont, Club Harlem, the Paradise Club, and the Wonder Gardens were targeted in a midnight raid by police officers, accompanied by the newly elected mayor, Tom Taggart, seeking proof of illegal gambling activities.[lower-alpha 1] The police confiscated "three truckloads of gambling paraphernalia" and arrested 32, then shut down the four clubs.[9] The arrestees from the Little Belmont included Daniels (then on parole), Nicholson, and 13 others.[10] All the detainees were released on bail, with Daniels' bail set higher than any others, at $5,000.[10][11] The next day the clubs were open for business as usual.[12][11][lower-alpha 2]

Postwar

After World War II[2] Daniels married Grace Morgan, owner of Grace's Organic Beauty School and barber shop located at 43 Kentucky Avenue.[14] The couple moved into rooms over the hair salon and Grace managed both the salon and the bar,[2] which was subsequently renamed Grace's Little Belmont. The hair salon, established in 1938,[2] was staffed for many years by barber William "Sonny" Lea, who bought the business in 1969 after the Daniels' retirement.[14] Lea's celebrity customers included Slappy White, B.B. King, and Muhammad Ali.[15]

Grace's Little Belmont attracted both black and white clientele, including "celebrities and night-life connoisseurs".[16][17] The most popular shows, however, were the afternoon matinees, attended by beachgoers seeking relief from the summer heat.[2] Guests often circulated between the Little Belmont and Club Harlem across the street, and the same performers played both clubs.[2] After finishing her show at Club Harlem, comedian Moms Mabley sometimes crossed the street and did another routine at the Little Belmont.[18] Boxer Joe Louis often entertained friends here in the late 1930s.[19][20] In the 1960s, a young George Benson hung out at Grace's Little Belmont with young jazz composer Charles Earland after finishing his late-night set at the Wonder Gardens.[21]

The Kentucky Avenue entertainment district went into decline in the late 1960s and further lost business to the hotel casinos opening on the boardwalk in the 1970s.[22] Grace's Little Belmont closed in the mid-1970s[2] and was later demolished.[23]

Description

The brick facade of the building had an art deco-style entrance with two square glass windows flanking the doorway.[24] Inside, the lounge featured a bar in the shape of a horseshoe[2] and a performance area with a Hammond B3 organ famously played by Wild Bill Davis during his annual summer engagement at the club in the 1950s and 1960s.[25][24][26][27] Booths – considered comfortable by female patrons[28] – lined the walls.[24]

Performers
Wild Bill Davis in 1954
Sammy Davis, Jr. kisses his mother, "Baby" Sanchez, at Grace's Little Belmont in 1954

Grace's Little Belmont booked a variety of black orchestras and combos during its 40-year history. In 1934 the Baltimore Afro-American reported that the Little Belmont Bar "has got that Harlem atmosphere", as it was featuring Israel Thompson's dance orchestra nightly with special appearance by Cotton Club dancer Amy Spencer.[29] In 1949 the bar booked the Loumell Morgan Trio, with musicians on piano, guitar, and bass.[30][31]

In the 1940s, jazz organist Wild Bill Davis began appearing at Grace's Little Belmont; he had a featured summer engagement here from 1950 through the mid-1960s.[32] In 1948 jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges, then vacationing in the resort town, dropped by the lounge and started jamming with Davis and his jazz quartet. Hodges returned each summer to continue the tradition. In 1966 Davis and Hodges, together with the other three members of Davis' quartet and jazz trombonist Lawrence Brown, recorded their jam session in front of a packed house. Titled Wild Bill Davis and Johnny Hodges in Atlantic City, the LP was released on the RCA Victor label.[26][33] Davis recorded a second live performance album, Midnight to Dawn, at Grace's Little Belmont in 1967.[2][34]

In July 1952 the club booked jazz pianist Ram Ramirez as a temporary replacement for Wild Bill Davis.[35] In June 1953 it brought in the Johnny Sparrow trio, a popular group from Philadelphia,[36] and a month later, the Billy Taylor trio.[37] In the summer of 1956 Wild Bill Davis introduced his new trio at the lounge, with musicians on organ, piano, and guitar performing both original compositions and pop music.[25] Noted as "one of the few, if not the only organist using two amplifiers", Davis' performance could be heard for blocks around.[25]

Elvera M. "Baby" Sanchez, formerly a chorus line dancer at the Apollo Theater and mother of Sammy Davis, Jr., began working as a barmaid at Grace's Little Belmont in 1941 after retiring from her show business career at age 35.[38][39][40][41] She enjoyed telling jokes to customers and was known for sporting a gold napkin.[42] Her connections with entertainers Count Basie, Billy Eckstine, and Sarah Vaughn drew these and other celebrities to her station, and her son Sammy would come to visit after performing across town at the 500 Club "and delighted everyone pouring drinks and singing".[40] Frank Sinatra's valet George Jacobs recalled in his memoirs that Sinatra also liked to drop by Grace's Little Belmont in the early morning hours after his shows at the 500 Club to say hello to Davis' mother behind the bar.[43]

Legacy

The Hammond B3 organ at Grace's Little Belmont was moved to Our Lady of Sorrows church in Linwood after the club closed.[27] Princeton's Antiques & Books of Atlantic City is in possession of miniature models of Grace's Little Belmont, Club Harlem, and other Kentucky Avenue nightspots fashioned by local artist Joseph Frazier.[44]

Notes
  1. Taggart began the action by calling 40 policemen into his office, strapping on a revolver and stating, "Come on, we're going places."[8]
  2. The mayor conducted a second raid two weeks later of the Wonder Bar, Little Belmont and Club Harlem. This raid found no gambling equipment or patrons at any of these clubs. Upon raiding the establishments and finding nothing, Taggart's comment was, "I heard these wise guys were going to try to open up again."[13]

See also

References
  1. "Shore Sportsman Weds, Goes to Jail". The Afro-American. 28 October 1939. p. 1.
  2. "Grace's Little Belmont". The Atlantic City Experience. Atlantic City Free Public Library. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  3. "Pressing Charge Against Johnson". Times Leader. 19 July 1941. p. 1.
  4. Folsom 2010, p. 275.
  5. "'Buddie' Bowser and Girls at the Shore". Pittsburgh Courier. 27 August 1932. p. 6.
  6. "Alice Dixon to Carry on Until Hubby's Return". The Afro-American. 11 November 1939. p. 5.
  7. "Daniels Says He Lied for Two Years". The Afro-American. 24 May 1941. p. 1.
  8. "Shore Mayor Conducts Raid". Chester Times. July 29, 1940. p. 3. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  9. "Mayor Leads Atlantic City Raid Squads". The Day. Associated Press. 29 July 1940. p. 12.
  10. "H. Daniels Under $5,000 Bail in Shore Vice War". The Afro-American. 17 August 1940. p. 3.
  11. Caution, Russell (3 August 1940). "Night Clubs at Shore Raided". The Afro-American. pp. 1–2.
  12. Rowe, Billy (August 10, 1940). "Business 'Going On As Usual' After Sepia Night Life Circle Raids in Atlantic City". Pittsburgh Courier. p. 20. Retrieved August 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Atlantic City Mayor Revisits Three Clubs". Hanover Evening Sun. August 10, 1940. p. 19. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  14. Post, Kevin (5 February 2011). "Sonny's Hair Salon in Atlantic City keeps hair, children in line". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  15. "Marker is located on the Southeast Corner of Arctic and Kentucky Avenues". Atlantic City Free Public Library. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  16. "Chicken Bone Beach, Atlantic City, and All that Jazz". Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  17. Watzer & Wilk 2002, pp. 16–17.
  18. Simon 2004, p. 80.
  19. Yates, Ted (20 July 1935). "This is New York". The Afro-American. p. 8.
  20. "'Twixt Night 'n' Dawn". The Afro-American. 8 July 1939. p. 9.
  21. Spatz, David (22 October 2014). "They Called Him 'Little Georgie'". Atlantic City Weekly. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  22. "Club Harlem may soon be history". The Washington Afro American. UPI. 28 April 1987. p. 11.
  23. Jackson, Vincent (13 May 2015). "Club Harlem lives through Somers Point jazz festival". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  24. "Kentucky Avenue Nights". jerseyshorenightbeat. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  25. "'Wild' Bill Davis Creates Big Sound". Pittsburgh Courier. 8 September 1956. p. 22.
  26. Campbell, Mary (16 July 1967). "Saxophonist Provides Liveliest Jazz Notes". The Victoria Advocate. Associated Press. p. 7.
  27. Jackson, Vincent (8 April 2012). "Songs for the service: Church organists are key part of worship". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  28. Hervieux 2015, p. 12.
  29. "Night Life in Atlantic City". The Afro-American. 25 August 1934. p. 8.
  30. "At Seashore". Pittsburgh Courier. 13 August 1949. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. "Loumell Morgan 3 Kept in A.C." Pittsburgh Courier. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. Feather & Gitler 2007, p. 375.
  33. "In Person at Grace's Little Belmont, Atlantic City, N.J. (LP Record)". Amazon.com. 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  34. "Wild Bill Davis – Midnight to Dawn". Discogs. 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  35. "Izzy Rowe's Notebook". Pittsburgh Courier. 19 July 1952. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. "Johnny Sparrow's Trio and Ruth Brown at Pep's". Pittsburgh Courier. 27 June 1953. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. "Atlantic City 'Line'". The New York Age. 11 July 1953. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. Haygood 2014, pp. 143–144.
  39. Fishgall 2010, p. 8.
  40. Jackson, Delilah (27 September 2000). "Remember 'Baby': A Star in Her Own Right!". The New York Beacon. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2016 – via HighBeam.
  41. "Mother Greets Famous Son". Jet magazine. Johnson Publishing: 37. September 9, 1954. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  42. "Elvera Davis, 95, Tap Dancer And Mother of Sammy Davis Jr". The New York Times. 8 September 2000. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  43. Jacobs & Stadiem 2003, p. 166.
  44. Deangelis, Martin (27 December 2012). "Former Red Square's Lenin Statue Now Part of Atlantic City Past That Includes Haddon Hall, Others". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 17 August 2016.

Sources
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