When I first played at the Apollo, the owner didn't even know who Sharon Jones was. The Apollo had never seen so many white people coming uptown.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
To Armstrong, constantly speaking about 'Apollo 11' only diminished the magic. That's why he worked overtime to avoid notice, living a quiet life in Indian Hill, Ohio.
I can still remember them wheeling the black and white TV sets into our classroom at school so we could watch the men landing on the Moon, and that obviously had a huge impact. I later found out those people flying Apollo were ex-military test pilots, so I decided to join the Air Force and become a test pilot.
I believe the Rolling Stones wanted to play in Golden Gate Park.
Harlem's Apollo is probably the most well-known music hall in the world.
I did 'Showtime at the Apollo' when I was 10, and it was the first time that I'd ever performed on TV, and it felt great.
I saw Louis Armstrong perform at Albany State College on Radio Springs Road. He was probably the first famous individual I saw in concert. Unfortunately, I never did get to meet him.
There's a time when it was an event for a black person to be on television. Where black households would gather around, 'Oh, you know, Sammy Davis is going to be on 'All in the Family' tonight! Let's go check it out!' It was a big, big thing.
When I first played New York, it was with James Brown at the Apollo, and I was playing in a band under the name The Valentinos. I remember Sam Cooke saying, 'I want you to go in there with James Brown. I couldn't be as hard on you as James Brown would be.' But we came out marching like soldiers.
Basically, Apollo was more of a mediator between Zeus in Olympus and Perseus on Earth. He played much more of an active role.
I think the Apollo has always been the people's performing arts center and reflected the community, whether it is Stevie Wonder or Tito Puente.