Club Imperial
The Club Imperial was a nightclub owned by George Edick (1928 – 2002), located at 6306-28 West Florissant Ave.[1] in north St. Louis. During the club's heyday in the 1950s through the 1960s, acts such as Ike & Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, and Bob Kuban and the In-Men performed at the Club Imperial.[2][3] Jimmy Forrest, known for his 1952 hit "Night Train," played piano at the club for years.[4] In the following decades, the building went through different ownership and was almost demolished in 2018, but preservationists fought to save the site of the historic music venue.[3]
History
The two-story building which is the site of the Club Imperial and the Imperial Hall was built in 1928. It was a dance hall, bowling alley, and restaurant complex in an all-white neighborhood. In 1952, George Edick from Chicago purchased the hall, and then booked swing bands such as Stan Kenton's orchestra.[4] Soon, Rhythm & Blues was taking over the city as the word got across the river of the exciting bands in East St. Louis.[5]
In 1954, bandleader Ike Turner relocated his Kings of Rhythm from Clarksdale to East St. Louis where built his own nightclub, Manhattan Club.[5] Edick got word of the buzz about Turner and booked his band to revitalize the Club Imperial.[4] Turner's King's of Rhythm became the hottest attraction in the St. Louis music scene, attracting black and white audiences. Gabriel, a DJ and musician who started his career on St. Louis radio in 1953 remembered: "Ike Turner just took over this area. He created a ripple effect with his energy and ambition, he sent word back to Mississippi and was followed here by Albert King and Little Milton, he was a premier blues pianist who later became a great guitarist."[4]
After Ike & Tina Turner attained success with their single "A Fool In Love" and moved to California, they continued to occasionally perform at the Club Imperial.[2] They recorded their first live album, Ike & Tina Turner Revue Live, at the club in 1964. Greg Edick, son of the owner George Edick, grew up in the club and later took over ownership.[6] He recalled that Jimi Hendrix was a guitarist in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, but he was fired for his long solo that "brought the dancers to a halt." Hendrix met Jazz musician Miles Davis at the club, and Davis remarked that Hendrix's guitar sounded like a "machine gun." The Turners were performing at the club in July 1966 when the Rolling Stones paid a visit and invited them to be the opening act on their 1966 British tour.[4]
Robert Vroman bought the building in August 2017 in an auction.[7] By the following year, no one offered to buy it for renovation and that it’s too dilapidated to save, he said. A beauty products company wanted to buy the building, demolish it and build a new structure. In January 2018, The St. Louis Preservation Board unanimously denied a demolition permit for the former Club Imperial.[3][8]
References
- ^ Venhaus, Lynn (June 13, 2002). "George S. Edlick obituary". St. Louis Post-Dispatch – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Johnson, Greg (January 13, 2018). "Groundbreaking Club Imperial Threatened". NextSTL.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Fowler, Nancy (January 23, 2018). "North St. Louis building where Ike and Tina Turner performed won't be demolished, for now". St. Louis Public Radio. NPR.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e Olson, Bruce R. (2016). That St. Louis Thing, Vol. 2: An American Story of Roots, Rhythm and Race. Lulu Press. pp. 102–114. ISBN 9781483457994.
- ^ a b Turner, Ike (1999). Takin' Back My Name: The Confessions of Ike Turner. Cawthorne, Nigel. London: Virgin. ISBN 1-85227-850-1. OCLC 43321298.
- ^ Fowler, Nancy (February 8, 2018). "Cut & Paste: What was it like growing up with Ike and Tina Turner at St. Louis' Club Imperial?". St. Louis Public Radio. NPR.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Lees, Jaime. "Club Imperial, Legendary St. Louis Nightclub, Is for Sale Tomorrow (Again)". Riverfront Times.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Holliday, Art (January 23, 2018). "Demolition denied: Future of Club Imperial remains in limbo". KSDK.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
- Club Imperial on The Metro St. Louis Live Music Historical Society