Apollo Legends Walk of Fame Unveils First Inductees

The Apollo Theater’s new Walk of Fame has been installed and the Apollo’s loyal audience arriving for Amateur Night were the first to enjoy the newly installed plaques. The first installation pays tribute to the renowned entertainers who have previously been inducted into the Theater’s Apollo Legends Hall of Fame: Quincy Jones, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Little Richard, and Ella Fitzgerald.

 Jonelle Procope (president & CEO, Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc.) and Billy Mitchell, Apollo In-House Historian and Tour Director,

unveiling the first plaques

James Brown plaque 

 Jonelle Procope (president & CEO, Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc.) Congressman Charles Rangel, Apollo In-House Historian & Tour Director Billy Mitchell and Curtis Archer, President of the Harlem Community Development Corporation

About the Apollo Theater:  Currently celebrating its 75th anniversary, the Apollo Theater is one of Harlem’s, New York City’s, and America’s most iconic and enduring cultural institutions and is one of New York’s most visited tourist destinations in the world’s most famous neighborhood.  Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop.  Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo, Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the Apollo’s stage. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the non-profit Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.


All photos courtesy of Shahar Azran
_____________________
Apollo Theater Foundation, 253 W. 125th St., New York, NY 10027 United States