Onetime former Manhattan Borough President Percy E. Sutton along with his Inner City Broadcasting, after having purchased WBLS-FM in the 1970s, later acquired the Apollo theater in 1983, reviving the establishment as a live music performance venue. It reopened at full capacity in 1985 and was designated a federal, state, and city landmark. The Apollo had garnered a reputation for being one of "the" stops a live performing music act had to make to prove they were worth something throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Today the venue is a symbol of Black music and live performance excellence. It also is a legendary landmark of Black Harlem-- standing as a symbol of Black music's legacy and that of the best in the Black American urban experience.
The renowned DJ Kid Capri recorded a cut in celebration of the Apollo theater in 1991 from his album "The Tape".
Kid Capri Apollo lyrics
I'd like to know.. are you really ready for some super dynamite soul?
Then thank you, because now, it's star time!
The Apollo (4X)
[Kid Capri]
The Apollo a place, where performers perform
Before you got on the stage you would all be warned
about if you're good enough, to rock the place
But if you wasn't they would throw beer cans in your face
Well it was a, amateur night, a group dressed in white
Didn't think it was spectacular but they were alright
Kept sayin to myself, I wish it was me
that was on the stage doin my R-A-P
Well uh, anyway we go back to the days
when James Brown used to have, the crowd amazed
He used to come out, dancin, just doin his work
And when he screamed, all the ladies went bezerk
Slidin across the stage like he was runnin on oil
Shoes, shinin bright like aluminum foil
Women was fallin out, innocent to ?
He said, PLEASE PLEASE then started rappin
You only seen one show you couldn't stay to see another
of the singin Godfather Number One Soul Brother
Events like this happened all the time
at the place that was known to be, one of a kind
It's The Apollo
The Apollo (4X)
[Kid] It's the Apollo!
The Apollo (3X)
The Ap..
[Kid Capri]
The Apollo yes a legend in it's time
The place is so fly that I wish it was mine
I mean the line was so long but people did not care
Just as long as they knew, they could get in there
On Wednesday's, amateur night was cool
And you could, go to see what other artists could do
Nothin but black stars, risin to the top
Now you see what's takin over, we call it hip-hop
The Apollo, no other, could ever compete
When you look down and I see people movin their feet
When the stage used to rise all the people went nuts
And no one EVER kept their big mouth shut
They used to, scream and yell, raise a whole lot of hell
Hang off the balcony and sometimes they fell
It's a tradition, so whatta ya do? I don't know
You get a ticket take yourself to the Apollo, hey
The Showbiz Cafe, was right next door
Leave, from the Apollo and you party some more
You can go many places to have a show
but no matter where you went you always seemed to go
to the Apollo
To the Apollo!
Uhh.. (The Apollo) .. ..
To the Apollo!
And let me break it down for you one time
Hey the A for Artist, the P for People
O for Outstanding, L - for Legal
and the other L-O is for the low-down shame
for the ones, that tried, to destroy the name
So whatever you do, you can never forget
about the place, that always kept you drippin with sweat
From dancin and prancin and jumpin up and down
Everytime you turned around a new show was in town
It's the place, that everybody would always go
And I called it, the famous Apollo
It's the Apollo
It's the Apollo! (The Apollo) UHH!
The Apollo (4X)
[Kid] It's the Apollo, come on!
The Apollo (3X)
[Kid] UHH!
The Apollo (2X)
[Kid] It's the Apollo!
The Apollo (2X)
The Apollo..
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