At the Copa...

When I recently read the book "Dean and Me: A Love Story" by Jerry Lewis, I noticed that spoke highly of their days performing at New York's Copacabana Club. Between 1946 and 1956, no one was bigger in show business than Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. Their final performance together was at the club in 1956.

In May of 1964, Sammy Davis Jr. broke all attendance records at the club.

The club opened in 1940 in Manhattan, at 10 East 60th Street. Although his name was not on the lease, a partner in the club was powerful mob boss Frank Costello. It remained at the 60th Street location for over 50 years. In 1992, it moved to 57th Street. In 2001, it moved to 34th Street. Since 2011, the Copa has been located in Times Square on 47th Street.

The 1978 song "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow reignited interest in the club. A 1947 film of the same name starred Groucho Marx and Carmen Miranda. It has been a setting for many well known more recent films, such as Good Fellas, Raging Bull, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Carlito's Way.

Many famous recordings were taped there such as "Sam Cooke at the Copa" and "The Supremes at the Copa".

*Some information from en.wikipedia.org.

Music Mavens Part Three: Clive Davis

Above photo: Clive Davis with Janis Joplin


In honor of Grammy week, this is part 3 of our 4-part series on the most influential people in the music industry. Clive Davis knows how to spot musical talent. His nickname is "The man with the golden ears". He is a Brooklyn-born, Harvard-educated lawyer who started at Columbia Records in 1960. By 1967, he was president of the label. During his time with Columbia Records he signed Janis Joplin and Carlos Santana. He started his own label, Arista Records, in 1974. He discovered the talents of Barry Manilow and Whitney Houston and signed them to his label. He said this about Whitney Houston:

"You wait for a voice like that for a lifetime. You way for a face like that, a smile like that, a presence like that, for a lifetime. And when one person embodies it all, well, it takes your breath away."

In 2000, he started another label, simply called J Records, which would have music distributed by BMG. Also in 2000, Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has won five Grammy awards. During his amazing career he discovered artists such as Pink Floyd, Chicago, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen.

Information from imdb.com and en.wikipedia.org.