Frank Schiffman's Critiques

By Marv Goldberg

© 2019 by Marv Goldberg

Frank Schiffman, owner of the Apollo Theater was committed to presenting quality shows. But what did "quality" mean? First and foremost, Frank was running a business. You may not like everything being reduced to dollars and cents, but without that, the Apollo would have failed miserably. To that end, Frank kept index cards, on which he recorded his impressions of the acts he booked, as well as how much he paid them for each week's appearance. Did the act look professional on stage? Did they perform excellently? Adequately? Badly? Did the audience like them because of (or in spite of) how he thought they performed? Should they be brought back again? Should they even be allowed to finish the week's run?

I've gone through these cards and picked out ones dealing with performers you probably know, so that you can see what Frank Schiffman thought of them. (There were no cards for the Clovers, the Ravens, the Dominoes, the Flamingos, the Moonglows, the 5 Keys, the Drifters, and many other really famous groups. I don't know why.)

Some of them he loved; some he hated. (I have to ask myself who hired them if they were so bad?) I think this is a unique perspective on the Apollo Theater's shows.

Three things stood out as I read through the cards:

1. I hadn't realized how many white acts had been hired.
2. I hadn't realized how many non-musical or comedy acts there were (acrobats, jugglers, ventriloquists, etc).
3. If he said an act shouldn't be used again, many times it was. If he praised a new act, chances are it would never be used again.

These come from the Frank Schiffman Apollo Theatre Collection of the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.

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3 Chocolateers
3 Flames
4 Buddies
4 Vagabonds
5 Blazes
5 Royales
Faye Adams
Beale Street Boys
Chuck Berry
Billy Williams Quartet
Billy Bland
Blenders
Bobbettes
Calvin Boze
Hadda Brooks
Brown Dots
Wini Brown
Cabineers
Cadets
Cats & Fiddle
Cats N Jammers
Cellos
Mickey Champion
Checkers
Chips
Chorals
Chordcats
Savannah Churchill
Huey Smith & Clowns
Collegians
Ann Cole
Colts
Counts
Crickets - Buddy Holly
Crickets - Dean Barlow
Crowns - Ben E. King group
Frank Culley (you'll love this one)
Diamonds
Dreamers, Warren Suttles'
El Dorados
Bo Diddley
Fats Domino
Donnie Elbert
Fiestas
Jimmy Forrest
Gene & Eunice
Genies
Lil Green
Madeline Greene
Shirley Gunter
Roy Hamilton
Linda Hayes
Bobby Hendricks
Clarence Henry
Al Hibbler
Hollywood Flames
Alberta Hunter
Ink Spots (Charlie Fuqua's)
Jackie & Starlights
Ida James
Jesters
Marv Johnson
Jubalaires
King Odom Four
Kodaks
Herb Lance
Larks
Julia Lee
Abbey Lincoln
Little Joe & The Thrillers
Little Miss Cornshucks
Frankie Lymon
Percy Mayfield
Ruth McFadden
Mickey & Sylvia
Tony Middleton
Midnighters 1
Midnighters 2
Miller Sisters
Joe Morris
Orioles 1
Orioles 2
Orioles 3 (Sonny Til & Regals)
Pastels
Pearls
Ray-O-Vacs
Regals
Todd Rhodes
Jimmy Ricks
Rivingtons
Robert & Johnny
Junior Ryder
Evelyn Saunders (another one you'll love)
Al Savage
Schoolboys
Mabel Scott
Sensations
Shells
Shirley & Lee
Solitaires
Spaniels
Spiders
Striders
Swallows
Teenagers
Tiny Topsy
Tunedrops
Turbans
Unique Teens
Valentines
Velours
Videos
Vocaleers
Wanderers


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