All language subtitles for The Apollo (2019) 1080p AMZN WEB-DL DDP5.1 H264-NTG 4.910 NO SUB

af Afrikaans
sq Albanian
am Amharic
ar Arabic
hy Armenian
az Azerbaijani
eu Basque
be Belarusian
bn Bengali
bs Bosnian Download
bg Bulgarian
ca Catalan
ceb Cebuano
ny Chichewa
zh-CN Chinese (Simplified)
zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)
co Corsican
hr Croatian
cs Czech
da Danish
nl Dutch Download
en English Download
eo Esperanto
et Estonian
tl Filipino
fi Finnish
fr French
fy Frisian
gl Galician
ka Georgian
de German
el Greek
gu Gujarati
ht Haitian Creole
ha Hausa
haw Hawaiian
iw Hebrew
hi Hindi
hmn Hmong
hu Hungarian
is Icelandic
ig Igbo
id Indonesian
ga Irish
it Italian
ja Japanese
jw Javanese
kn Kannada
kk Kazakh
km Khmer
ko Korean
ku Kurdish (Kurmanji)
ky Kyrgyz
lo Lao
la Latin
lv Latvian
lt Lithuanian
lb Luxembourgish
mk Macedonian
mg Malagasy
ms Malay
ml Malayalam
mt Maltese
mi Maori
mr Marathi
mn Mongolian
my Myanmar (Burmese)
ne Nepali
no Norwegian
ps Pashto
fa Persian
pl Polish
pt Portuguese
pa Punjabi
ro Romanian
ru Russian
sm Samoan
gd Scots Gaelic
sr Serbian
st Sesotho
sn Shona
sd Sindhi
si Sinhala
sk Slovak
sl Slovenian
so Somali
es Spanish Download
su Sundanese
sw Swahili
sv Swedish
tg Tajik
ta Tamil
te Telugu
th Thai
tr Turkish
uk Ukrainian
ur Urdu
uz Uzbek
vi Vietnamese
cy Welsh
xh Xhosa
yi Yiddish
yo Yoruba
zu Zulu
or Odia (Oriya)
rw Kinyarwanda
tk Turkmen
tt Tatar
ug Uyghur
Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:07,357 --> 00:00:09,000 RALPH LAUREN: I never thought I was in the fashion business. 2 00:00:09,083 --> 00:00:09,958 If someone said, "Are you a fashion designer?" 3 00:00:10,041 --> 00:00:11,250 No, I hate fashion. 4 00:00:11,750 --> 00:00:13,625 ANNA WINTOUR: Fashion has to be desirable, 5 00:00:13,708 --> 00:00:14,708 and Ralph sees that. 6 00:00:15,083 --> 00:00:18,417 RALPH: I think it's important people express who they are. 7 00:00:18,750 --> 00:00:20,875 ♪ (MUSIC PLAYS, CONCLUDES) ♪ 8 00:00:26,625 --> 00:00:28,166 [TV static drones] 9 00:00:28,250 --> 00:00:30,207 [bright tone] 10 00:00:31,625 --> 00:00:32,542 [leaves rustle] 11 00:00:32,625 --> 00:00:35,625 [gentle tones] 12 00:00:49,082 --> 00:00:52,000 [suspenseful orchestral music] 13 00:00:52,082 --> 00:00:59,082 ♪ ♪ 14 00:01:13,125 --> 00:01:15,290 - "Son, 15 00:01:15,375 --> 00:01:17,959 "I write to you in your 15th year. 16 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,040 "I am writing you because this was the year 17 00:01:22,125 --> 00:01:25,917 "you saw Eric Garner choked to death for selling cigarettes, 18 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,457 "because you know now 19 00:01:27,542 --> 00:01:31,625 "that Renisha McBride was shot for seeking help, 20 00:01:31,709 --> 00:01:32,959 "that John Crawford was shot 21 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,125 "for browsing a department store. 22 00:01:35,207 --> 00:01:40,207 "You have seen men in uniform drive by and murder Tamir Rice, 23 00:01:40,290 --> 00:01:44,082 "a child whom they were oath-bound to protect. 24 00:01:44,165 --> 00:01:46,457 "You have seen men in the same uniforms 25 00:01:46,542 --> 00:01:49,582 "pummel Marlene Pinnock, someone's grandmother, 26 00:01:49,667 --> 00:01:52,000 "on the side of a road. 27 00:01:52,082 --> 00:01:55,542 "All of this is common to black people. 28 00:01:55,625 --> 00:02:00,750 "All of this is old for black people. 29 00:02:00,834 --> 00:02:05,082 "What I told you is what your grandparents tried to tell me, 30 00:02:05,165 --> 00:02:08,917 "that this is your country, that this is your world, 31 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,750 "that this is your body, 32 00:02:11,834 --> 00:02:15,250 "and you must find some way 33 00:02:15,332 --> 00:02:19,417 to live within the all of it." 34 00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:22,417 [somber piano music] 35 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:29,417 ♪ ♪ 36 00:02:29,500 --> 00:02:32,500 [no audible dialogue] 37 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,959 [no audible dialogue] 38 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:44,040 ♪ ♪ 39 00:02:48,417 --> 00:02:52,375 [no audible dialogue] 40 00:02:52,457 --> 00:02:56,207 [somber piano music continues] 41 00:02:56,290 --> 00:03:02,542 ♪ ♪ 42 00:03:02,625 --> 00:03:06,375 - The Apollo is synonymous with 43 00:03:06,457 --> 00:03:08,709 what it means to be you 44 00:03:08,792 --> 00:03:10,375 as black people. 45 00:03:10,457 --> 00:03:12,500 It's synonymous with 46 00:03:12,582 --> 00:03:17,000 what it means to be at your highest level. 47 00:03:17,082 --> 00:03:20,207 It's synonymous with what it means 48 00:03:20,290 --> 00:03:23,792 to be the you that you would love to be. 49 00:03:23,875 --> 00:03:26,207 It's synonymous with 50 00:03:26,290 --> 00:03:30,750 what can you imagine yourself doing 51 00:03:30,834 --> 00:03:33,625 and doing it beyond your imagination. 52 00:03:35,417 --> 00:03:37,207 - When I think about the Apollo, 53 00:03:37,290 --> 00:03:40,709 I think about African-American contribution to culture, 54 00:03:40,792 --> 00:03:43,332 to music, to dance, to performance, 55 00:03:43,417 --> 00:03:45,667 just to history and a legacy 56 00:03:45,750 --> 00:03:50,375 and to know that the Apollo holds space for all of that. 57 00:03:50,457 --> 00:03:53,375 [somber piano music continues] 58 00:03:53,457 --> 00:03:54,834 ♪ ♪ 59 00:03:54,917 --> 00:03:57,375 - They paved the way, but they also paid a lot. 60 00:03:57,457 --> 00:04:00,582 I don't know where any of us would be 61 00:04:00,667 --> 00:04:03,542 without all those performances on that stage. 62 00:04:03,625 --> 00:04:06,500 It's the beginning of all of it. 63 00:04:06,582 --> 00:04:13,625 ♪ ♪ 64 00:04:28,290 --> 00:04:31,082 - If the United States is the big circle, 65 00:04:31,165 --> 00:04:33,917 inside of that is New York. 66 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,207 Inside of New York, of course, is New York City. 67 00:04:37,290 --> 00:04:40,457 Inside of New York City, of course, is Harlem. 68 00:04:40,542 --> 00:04:43,582 And inside of Harlem, is the Apollo Theater. 69 00:04:43,667 --> 00:04:46,582 [energetic jazz music] 70 00:04:46,667 --> 00:04:53,709 ♪ ♪ 71 00:05:03,541 --> 00:05:04,959 - Hi, ladies! How you doing? 72 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:05,916 Where--where you from? 73 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:06,959 - We're from New Orleans. 74 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,375 - My name is Billy Mitchell, right? 75 00:05:09,458 --> 00:05:12,165 I am the historian here at the Apollo Theater. 76 00:05:12,250 --> 00:05:14,625 I've been here off and on for 51 years. 77 00:05:14,709 --> 00:05:16,000 - Wow. - Wow. 78 00:05:16,082 --> 00:05:17,000 - I started running errands here 79 00:05:17,082 --> 00:05:18,000 when I was 15 years old. 80 00:05:18,082 --> 00:05:19,457 I'm 66 now, girl. 81 00:05:19,542 --> 00:05:20,792 - So you done saw some-- 82 00:05:20,875 --> 00:05:22,500 you done saw some people come through here. 83 00:05:22,582 --> 00:05:24,290 - Everybody. - Yeah. 84 00:05:24,375 --> 00:05:25,457 - What do you think about the Apollo Thea-- 85 00:05:25,542 --> 00:05:26,667 when you hear the name Apollo Theater, 86 00:05:26,750 --> 00:05:27,959 what do you automatically-- 87 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:29,582 - Music, showtime. - "Live at the Apollo." 88 00:05:29,667 --> 00:05:31,290 Well, I know it was one of the original places 89 00:05:31,375 --> 00:05:33,582 where our entertainers could come and perform at. 90 00:05:33,667 --> 00:05:34,667 - You haven't been inside? 91 00:05:34,750 --> 00:05:35,667 - No! 92 00:05:35,750 --> 00:05:36,792 - You want to take a look inside? 93 00:05:36,875 --> 00:05:37,792 - Yes! - Come on. 94 00:05:37,875 --> 00:05:38,959 Let's look inside. 95 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:40,165 Come on, come on, come on in, come here. 96 00:05:40,250 --> 00:05:41,834 Come on with you. Come on with me. 97 00:05:41,917 --> 00:05:42,959 Watch yourselves, guys. 98 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:44,457 We're coming over there by you. 99 00:05:44,542 --> 00:05:46,165 ♪ ♪ 100 00:05:46,250 --> 00:05:49,792 They're rehearsing for the production called "Ella." 101 00:05:49,875 --> 00:05:52,000 - Go upstage. Go upstage, Go upstage. 102 00:05:52,082 --> 00:05:54,165 - We're just excited. - So am I! 103 00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:56,207 I love doing this more than you love seeing it, girl. 104 00:05:56,290 --> 00:05:57,207 You have no idea. 105 00:05:57,290 --> 00:05:58,875 This is what I do! 106 00:05:58,959 --> 00:06:00,500 Come on with me. 107 00:06:00,583 --> 00:06:02,625 - You can, uh, move the music stands first and uh, 108 00:06:02,709 --> 00:06:04,500 Joe will give us the cue to bring in the scrim. 109 00:06:04,583 --> 00:06:07,916 And we're also gonna listen to the opening sound cues. 110 00:06:10,458 --> 00:06:12,875 If we're good, we should move on to young Ella. 111 00:06:12,959 --> 00:06:14,959 - One, two. Hey, hey. 112 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:16,834 One, two. 113 00:06:16,917 --> 00:06:20,000 - And let's get this other one up over here, under here. 114 00:06:21,750 --> 00:06:24,207 - Can I have young Ella to the stage, please? 115 00:06:24,290 --> 00:06:27,332 Stand by on stage for young Ella, everybody. 116 00:06:27,417 --> 00:06:29,125 - We used to go down to the Apollo 117 00:06:29,207 --> 00:06:30,250 on Amateur Night, 118 00:06:30,332 --> 00:06:32,417 and there were two sisters 119 00:06:32,500 --> 00:06:34,582 who were the dancingest sisters in the world 120 00:06:34,667 --> 00:06:36,250 called the Edwards Sisters. 121 00:06:36,332 --> 00:06:38,165 [upbeat swing music] 122 00:06:38,250 --> 00:06:40,917 When I saw those ladies dance, 123 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,207 I says, "No way I'm going out there and try to dance," 124 00:06:44,290 --> 00:06:46,500 'cause they stopped the show. 125 00:06:46,582 --> 00:06:48,709 ♪ ♪ 126 00:06:48,792 --> 00:06:50,375 And when I got out there, 127 00:06:50,457 --> 00:06:51,875 somebody hollered out in the audience, 128 00:06:51,959 --> 00:06:53,709 "What is she gonna do?" 129 00:06:53,792 --> 00:06:58,625 - It's November 21, 1934, and it's Wednesday night. 130 00:06:58,709 --> 00:07:02,916 It's time for the world-famous Amateur Night at the Apollo. 131 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:04,916 Okay, Ella, welcome to Amateur Night. 132 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:06,541 You got your dancing shoes ready? 133 00:07:06,625 --> 00:07:08,290 - [exhales deeply] - You don't wanna dance? 134 00:07:08,375 --> 00:07:09,541 [laughter] 135 00:07:09,625 --> 00:07:10,916 [scoffs] Well, what are you gonna do? 136 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:12,750 - The man said, "You're out here. 137 00:07:12,834 --> 00:07:14,583 Do something." 138 00:07:14,666 --> 00:07:16,582 And I remember my mother had a record 139 00:07:16,667 --> 00:07:19,959 of Miss Connee Boswell called "Judy," 140 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:21,959 and I went out and I tried to sing "Judy" 141 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:24,457 like Miss Connee Boswell. 142 00:07:24,542 --> 00:07:26,959 And they said, "Ooh, that girl can sing." 143 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,917 And I won first prize. 144 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,917 - ♪ If her voice can bring ♪ 145 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:33,750 ♪ Every hope of spring ♪ 146 00:07:33,834 --> 00:07:35,290 ♪ That's Judy ♪ 147 00:07:35,375 --> 00:07:37,250 ♪ My Judy ♪ 148 00:07:37,332 --> 00:07:39,457 ♪ If her eyes say "yes" ♪ 149 00:07:39,542 --> 00:07:42,959 ♪ But you're wrong in your guess, that's Judy ♪ 150 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:44,792 ♪ My Judy ♪ 151 00:07:44,875 --> 00:07:46,959 ♪ If you hear her call ♪ 152 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:48,792 ♪ In her soft Southern drawl ♪ 153 00:07:48,875 --> 00:07:50,417 ♪ "Hi, stranger" ♪ 154 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:52,082 ♪ That's danger ♪ 155 00:07:52,165 --> 00:07:54,457 - Ella Fitzgerald was part of 156 00:07:54,542 --> 00:07:57,625 that first year of Amateur Night. 157 00:07:57,709 --> 00:07:59,000 She ended up singing 158 00:07:59,082 --> 00:08:01,416 and forgot the words to the song 159 00:08:01,500 --> 00:08:02,916 and started to scat. 160 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:04,290 And it turned out 161 00:08:04,375 --> 00:08:06,500 she was the best scatter to ever live. 162 00:08:06,583 --> 00:08:09,500 - [scatting] 163 00:08:09,583 --> 00:08:16,582 ♪ ♪ 164 00:08:18,542 --> 00:08:20,625 - There's a legend about a piece of wood 165 00:08:20,709 --> 00:08:22,667 called the Tree of Hope. 166 00:08:22,750 --> 00:08:25,625 Every performer who ever played 167 00:08:25,709 --> 00:08:28,332 the Apollo Theater touched that tree, 168 00:08:28,417 --> 00:08:29,667 so that when you go up 169 00:08:29,750 --> 00:08:32,625 as a rising young amateur hopeful 170 00:08:32,709 --> 00:08:34,834 and you touch that tree, 171 00:08:34,917 --> 00:08:38,332 the magic of all of that contact 172 00:08:38,417 --> 00:08:41,542 goes through your bones as it went into that tree. 173 00:08:41,625 --> 00:08:45,667 It's a cutout of a piece of wood that came out of a tree 174 00:08:45,750 --> 00:08:47,917 in front of the Lafayette Theatre, 175 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,332 which my father operated with his partner, Leo Brecher, 176 00:08:51,417 --> 00:08:54,000 before they moved to 125th Street. 177 00:08:54,082 --> 00:08:57,834 Performers used to hang out on the island on 7th Avenue 178 00:08:57,917 --> 00:08:59,709 hoping that my father, Frank Schiffman, 179 00:08:59,792 --> 00:09:01,625 would come out and give them a job. 180 00:09:01,708 --> 00:09:04,667 [slow jazz music] 181 00:09:04,750 --> 00:09:07,582 - Frank Schiffman was one 182 00:09:07,667 --> 00:09:11,750 of the most vicious competitors ever in the theatrical scene. 183 00:09:11,833 --> 00:09:13,250 ♪ ♪ 184 00:09:13,332 --> 00:09:18,250 By 1935, they had eliminated all the other competition. 185 00:09:18,332 --> 00:09:21,082 They were the only game in town in Harlem 186 00:09:21,166 --> 00:09:24,207 for African-American theatrical entertainment. 187 00:09:24,291 --> 00:09:27,917 ♪ ♪ 188 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:32,040 - I was raised on the streets at Lenox Avenue. 189 00:09:32,125 --> 00:09:35,875 125th Street was my playground. 190 00:09:35,959 --> 00:09:39,207 [energetic jazz music] 191 00:09:39,290 --> 00:09:46,332 ♪ ♪ 192 00:09:51,207 --> 00:09:52,709 When people talked about 193 00:09:52,792 --> 00:09:57,417 the Harlem of the Cotton Club and the Savoy, 194 00:09:57,500 --> 00:10:00,291 black folks couldn't go into these places. 195 00:10:00,375 --> 00:10:01,750 ♪ ♪ 196 00:10:01,833 --> 00:10:03,708 I was born in 1930. 197 00:10:03,792 --> 00:10:06,457 White folks were going to these places. 198 00:10:06,542 --> 00:10:09,542 ♪ ♪ 199 00:10:09,625 --> 00:10:13,582 People forget that Harlem was just a wayward station 200 00:10:13,667 --> 00:10:16,207 for former slaves to try to get out 201 00:10:16,291 --> 00:10:18,750 of just being lynched openly. 202 00:10:18,833 --> 00:10:21,542 Racism was right there in New York City. 203 00:10:21,625 --> 00:10:24,250 ♪ ♪ 204 00:10:24,332 --> 00:10:28,667 - You have to understand where America was in 1934. 205 00:10:28,750 --> 00:10:32,290 We were still a segregated country. 206 00:10:32,375 --> 00:10:34,250 ♪ ♪ 207 00:10:34,332 --> 00:10:37,959 Music and art provided an avenue 208 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,332 out of the legacy of slavery. 209 00:10:40,417 --> 00:10:41,959 ♪ ♪ 210 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,417 - When the Apollo opened its doors in 1934, 211 00:10:45,500 --> 00:10:49,959 it was one of the few nonsegregated theaters 212 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,959 that provided opportunities to people of color, 213 00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:56,625 specifically African-Americans. 214 00:10:56,709 --> 00:11:00,291 [applause] 215 00:11:00,375 --> 00:11:01,792 - When I was a kid, 216 00:11:01,875 --> 00:11:05,958 I would go to the Apollo and see a big band. 217 00:11:06,041 --> 00:11:08,500 The Apollo was my palace. 218 00:11:08,582 --> 00:11:11,500 [Duke Ellington's "Old Man Blues"] 219 00:11:11,582 --> 00:11:14,542 [upbeat jazz music] 220 00:11:14,625 --> 00:11:21,582 ♪ ♪ 221 00:11:25,291 --> 00:11:29,708 - In the '30s, jazz was the popular music of its moment. 222 00:11:29,792 --> 00:11:35,332 ♪ ♪ 223 00:11:35,417 --> 00:11:38,667 It was the music that teenagers wanted to hear, 224 00:11:38,750 --> 00:11:42,875 it was the music that adults courted to, 225 00:11:42,959 --> 00:11:47,875 and it was what record labels wanted to sell to the public. 226 00:11:47,959 --> 00:11:49,040 So just think about it: 227 00:11:49,125 --> 00:11:50,667 You walk into a theater, 228 00:11:50,750 --> 00:11:53,375 and you see a stage 229 00:11:53,457 --> 00:11:56,709 filled with well-dressed black men 230 00:11:56,792 --> 00:11:59,040 in matching suits, 231 00:11:59,125 --> 00:12:01,542 shining instruments, 232 00:12:01,625 --> 00:12:03,542 working together like a machine. 233 00:12:03,625 --> 00:12:06,542 [lively trumpet solo] 234 00:12:06,625 --> 00:12:13,625 ♪ ♪ 235 00:12:16,667 --> 00:12:19,375 It was a model of black achievement 236 00:12:19,457 --> 00:12:21,833 that people relished in 237 00:12:21,917 --> 00:12:23,917 and, in fact, desired in their own lives, 238 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,833 and that was the power of that big band era. 239 00:12:26,917 --> 00:12:28,708 ♪ ♪ 240 00:12:28,792 --> 00:12:31,125 - In the Apollo's earlier heyday, 241 00:12:31,207 --> 00:12:32,582 it was the only place 242 00:12:32,667 --> 00:12:35,250 that black acts could come and perform 243 00:12:35,332 --> 00:12:38,709 and then launch themselves into a great career. 244 00:12:38,792 --> 00:12:40,500 ♪ ♪ 245 00:12:40,582 --> 00:12:42,040 - And much of that had to do with 246 00:12:42,125 --> 00:12:45,165 Mr. Schiffman procuring the services 247 00:12:45,250 --> 00:12:46,625 of one Ralph Cooper. 248 00:12:46,709 --> 00:12:47,834 [phone rings] 249 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:50,040 - Hello. 250 00:12:50,125 --> 00:12:52,290 - Ralph was always really cool. 251 00:12:54,165 --> 00:12:56,250 Always wore suits around Harlem. 252 00:12:56,332 --> 00:13:00,792 Ralph always had that show-business air about him. 253 00:13:02,332 --> 00:13:05,708 - Ralph Cooper was this showbiz genius. 254 00:13:05,792 --> 00:13:09,000 He created the idea of Amateur Night. 255 00:13:10,750 --> 00:13:14,250 He was a talent scout that would bring people in... 256 00:13:14,332 --> 00:13:17,500 [Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit"] 257 00:13:17,582 --> 00:13:19,417 Like Billie Holiday. 258 00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:22,833 The reason that Billie Holiday made her debut at the Apollo 259 00:13:22,917 --> 00:13:26,917 was 'cause Ralph Cooper saw her in a little club 260 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,917 and came and just touted her on to Frank Schiffman. 261 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:35,250 - ♪ Southern trees ♪ 262 00:13:35,332 --> 00:13:38,792 ♪ Bear strange ♪ 263 00:13:38,875 --> 00:13:42,165 ♪ Fruit ♪ 264 00:13:42,250 --> 00:13:44,125 - "Strange Fruit" was not something 265 00:13:44,207 --> 00:13:46,165 that Frank Schiffman wanted to do. 266 00:13:46,250 --> 00:13:50,125 He was really terrified to have her sing that 267 00:13:50,207 --> 00:13:52,417 and begged her not to sing it. 268 00:13:52,500 --> 00:13:56,792 - ♪ Black bodies swinging ♪ 269 00:13:56,875 --> 00:14:01,166 ♪ In the Southern breeze ♪ 270 00:14:01,250 --> 00:14:05,207 ♪ Strange fruit hanging ♪ 271 00:14:05,291 --> 00:14:10,041 ♪ From the poplar trees ♪ 272 00:14:10,125 --> 00:14:12,166 ♪ ♪ 273 00:14:12,250 --> 00:14:14,833 - Billie Holiday, when she did "Strange Fruit," 274 00:14:14,917 --> 00:14:16,625 the label that she was on, 275 00:14:16,708 --> 00:14:18,000 they didn't want to put it on the label 276 00:14:18,082 --> 00:14:20,166 because a lot of their consumers were from the South, 277 00:14:20,250 --> 00:14:21,667 and they didn't want to offend them. 278 00:14:21,750 --> 00:14:26,542 - ♪ The bulging eyes ♪ 279 00:14:26,625 --> 00:14:29,291 ♪ And the twisted mouth ♪ 280 00:14:29,375 --> 00:14:31,500 - She came to the Apollo and she sung it at the Apollo 281 00:14:31,582 --> 00:14:33,165 because she knew that was a safe space. 282 00:14:33,250 --> 00:14:35,875 "The people that are here will connect with that." 283 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:37,375 And that was innovative in its own way 284 00:14:37,457 --> 00:14:38,917 because that was protest music, 285 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,500 and early protest music. 286 00:14:41,582 --> 00:14:46,875 - ♪ Then the sudden smell ♪ 287 00:14:46,959 --> 00:14:51,542 ♪ Of burning flesh ♪ 288 00:14:51,625 --> 00:14:53,375 ♪ ♪ 289 00:14:53,457 --> 00:14:57,500 ♪ Here is a fruit ♪ 290 00:14:57,582 --> 00:15:02,000 ♪ For the crows to pluck ♪ 291 00:15:03,582 --> 00:15:07,375 ♪ For the rain to gather ♪ 292 00:15:07,457 --> 00:15:09,582 ♪ ♪ 293 00:15:09,667 --> 00:15:15,041 ♪ For the wind to suck ♪ 294 00:15:15,125 --> 00:15:18,375 ♪ For the sun to rot ♪ 295 00:15:20,207 --> 00:15:24,582 ♪ For the tree ♪ 296 00:15:24,667 --> 00:15:27,582 ♪ To ♪ 297 00:15:27,667 --> 00:15:32,667 ♪ Drop ♪ 298 00:15:34,165 --> 00:15:39,250 - Frank Schiffman kept these copious notes on performances 299 00:15:39,332 --> 00:15:42,250 and how much money he made, and it was about control. 300 00:15:42,332 --> 00:15:44,582 It was about him controlling every element 301 00:15:44,667 --> 00:15:45,875 of what happened in that theater. 302 00:15:45,959 --> 00:15:48,959 [slow piano music] 303 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:56,000 ♪ ♪ 304 00:16:13,082 --> 00:16:15,166 - You know, they kept cards on us all. 305 00:16:15,250 --> 00:16:16,582 Oh, there were things like 306 00:16:16,667 --> 00:16:18,417 um... 307 00:16:18,500 --> 00:16:20,917 "Good voice; talks too much." 308 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,667 [laughing] You know? 309 00:16:23,750 --> 00:16:27,792 ♪ ♪ 310 00:16:27,875 --> 00:16:32,040 - I started at the Apollo when I was nine. 311 00:16:32,834 --> 00:16:35,457 ♪ Black bear ♪ 312 00:16:35,542 --> 00:16:38,500 ♪ Black bear ♪ 313 00:16:38,582 --> 00:16:40,792 ♪ Something in the bottom of the bottle ♪ 314 00:16:40,875 --> 00:16:45,625 ♪ Makes you grate 'em all down, down, down, down ♪ 315 00:16:45,709 --> 00:16:47,625 I tap-danced... [chuckles] 316 00:16:47,709 --> 00:16:51,542 I did impressions, and I sang. 317 00:16:51,625 --> 00:16:53,375 Little Leslie Uggams. 318 00:16:53,457 --> 00:16:56,165 [gentle orchestral music] 319 00:16:56,250 --> 00:16:58,332 They were showing movies still. 320 00:16:58,417 --> 00:16:59,875 Always a tap dancer... 321 00:16:59,959 --> 00:17:02,958 [rapid rhythmic tapping] 322 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:05,290 A comedian... 323 00:17:05,375 --> 00:17:06,709 - Did you all hear the one 324 00:17:06,791 --> 00:17:08,290 about the guy... 325 00:17:08,375 --> 00:17:10,290 that, uh... 326 00:17:10,375 --> 00:17:13,375 [laughter] 327 00:17:14,375 --> 00:17:15,834 Did I say something funny? 328 00:17:15,916 --> 00:17:18,040 - And then you had the star. 329 00:17:18,125 --> 00:17:20,208 - ♪ When we were dancing ♪ 330 00:17:20,290 --> 00:17:25,083 ♪ And you're dangerously near me ♪ 331 00:17:25,165 --> 00:17:28,416 ♪ I get ideas ♪ 332 00:17:28,500 --> 00:17:30,916 ♪ I get ideas ♪ 333 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:32,875 - And the first person I worked with 334 00:17:32,959 --> 00:17:35,375 was Louis Armstrong. 335 00:17:35,458 --> 00:17:37,709 He was just a sweetheart. 336 00:17:37,791 --> 00:17:39,208 And I just loved watching him. 337 00:17:39,290 --> 00:17:43,583 I had my little space on stage in the corner 338 00:17:43,666 --> 00:17:47,750 where I would watch every performance that he did. 339 00:17:47,834 --> 00:17:50,290 - ♪ Lovely idea ♪ 340 00:17:50,375 --> 00:17:54,040 ♪ That I'm falling in love ♪ 341 00:17:54,125 --> 00:17:56,083 ♪ With you ♪ 342 00:17:56,165 --> 00:17:57,875 - It was like a school. 343 00:17:57,959 --> 00:18:02,083 - ♪ Somewhere there's heaven ♪ 344 00:18:02,165 --> 00:18:05,541 ♪ It's where you are ♪ 345 00:18:05,625 --> 00:18:09,083 ♪ Somewhere there's music ♪ 346 00:18:09,165 --> 00:18:11,250 - Ella, she had an open door, 347 00:18:11,333 --> 00:18:13,083 and she was always saying to my mother and I, 348 00:18:13,165 --> 00:18:15,416 "Come on in, I want you to eat something." 349 00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:19,959 There was always tons of food in her dressing room. 350 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,959 - ♪ Until you will, how still my heart ♪ 351 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:29,000 ♪ How high the moon ♪ 352 00:18:29,083 --> 00:18:31,250 - Dinah Washington had a lot of influence on me 353 00:18:31,333 --> 00:18:32,416 'cause I worked with her too. 354 00:18:32,500 --> 00:18:35,375 - ♪ Only ♪ 355 00:18:35,458 --> 00:18:39,583 ♪ A moment ago ♪ 356 00:18:39,666 --> 00:18:43,083 ♪ You sent this smile ♪ 357 00:18:43,165 --> 00:18:46,625 ♪ And whispered hello ♪ 358 00:18:46,709 --> 00:18:49,125 - I was kind of like her little girl, 359 00:18:49,208 --> 00:18:50,750 and she would say to me, 360 00:18:50,834 --> 00:18:52,625 "I want you always to be a lady." 361 00:18:52,709 --> 00:18:54,083 I said, "Okay." 362 00:18:54,165 --> 00:18:58,625 - ♪ I felt my hand melt into your hand ♪ 363 00:18:58,709 --> 00:19:01,458 - And she used to keep $100 bills 364 00:19:01,541 --> 00:19:04,000 so that when people would come backstage, 365 00:19:04,083 --> 00:19:06,290 didn't make it or somebody needed something, 366 00:19:06,375 --> 00:19:08,959 she'd have $100 bills. 367 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:10,458 - ♪ My bumpley heart ♪ 368 00:19:10,541 --> 00:19:11,916 - She cared about everybody. 369 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,500 - ♪ Was letting me know ♪ 370 00:19:15,583 --> 00:19:20,416 ♪ That this was no commonplace story ♪ 371 00:19:20,500 --> 00:19:25,416 - So I grew up watching these wonderful, wonderful people 372 00:19:25,500 --> 00:19:29,165 who were at the top of their craft. 373 00:19:29,250 --> 00:19:32,208 [organ trills] 374 00:19:32,290 --> 00:19:34,458 ♪ ♪ 375 00:19:34,541 --> 00:19:35,541 - Welcome to the Apollo Theater. 376 00:19:35,625 --> 00:19:36,834 My name is Billy Mitchell, 377 00:19:36,916 --> 00:19:39,666 but most people call me Mr. Apollo. 378 00:19:39,750 --> 00:19:41,165 So move over a little bit more. 379 00:19:41,250 --> 00:19:42,709 Some of you move down a little bit, move down a little bit. 380 00:19:42,791 --> 00:19:44,541 Excellent, watch, watch, don't trip over it. 381 00:19:44,625 --> 00:19:45,666 Come down a little more. 382 00:19:45,750 --> 00:19:47,290 So we are right now 383 00:19:47,375 --> 00:19:49,834 in front of the Wall of Legends. 384 00:19:49,916 --> 00:19:51,625 Now, these are photos 385 00:19:51,709 --> 00:19:54,625 of all the stars that performed at the Apollo 386 00:19:54,709 --> 00:19:57,416 over and over again to sold-out shows. 387 00:19:57,500 --> 00:19:58,875 [soft piano music] 388 00:19:58,959 --> 00:20:00,709 Most of these great entertainers, 389 00:20:00,791 --> 00:20:04,709 their beginnings were here at the Apollo Theater. 390 00:20:04,791 --> 00:20:08,000 ♪ ♪ 391 00:20:08,083 --> 00:20:10,959 - I think the challenge that faces the Apollo 392 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,583 and that faces black Harlem 393 00:20:13,666 --> 00:20:18,625 is, will it continue to be a kind of living, vibrant space 394 00:20:18,709 --> 00:20:22,875 of black cultural production, of black community making, 395 00:20:22,959 --> 00:20:25,333 of black expression? 396 00:20:25,416 --> 00:20:29,375 Or will it be more like a shrine 397 00:20:29,458 --> 00:20:31,709 to those things in the past? 398 00:20:31,791 --> 00:20:37,875 ♪ ♪ 399 00:20:37,959 --> 00:20:43,000 - Okay, so now to the real focus of the meeting. 400 00:20:43,083 --> 00:20:45,208 - What is the identity of Apollo? 401 00:20:45,290 --> 00:20:47,791 - What are we? 402 00:20:47,875 --> 00:20:51,375 Who are we gonna be known as to make people want to come? 403 00:20:51,458 --> 00:20:53,709 But what are we to people? 404 00:20:53,791 --> 00:20:57,208 - With the current political environment 405 00:20:57,290 --> 00:20:59,541 and things that directly affect 406 00:20:59,625 --> 00:21:02,083 the African-American community, 407 00:21:02,165 --> 00:21:04,416 I think it's important for us 408 00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:07,750 to be a place where we can talk about these issues. 409 00:21:07,834 --> 00:21:09,625 - The Apollo can be the place 410 00:21:09,709 --> 00:21:13,125 that creates new works 411 00:21:13,208 --> 00:21:15,709 that you can't see anywhere else, 412 00:21:15,791 --> 00:21:19,625 new works that are born out of, as they say, 413 00:21:19,709 --> 00:21:21,916 the African-American cultural experience. 414 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,541 That's what we can be. 415 00:21:27,583 --> 00:21:30,416 - So we are here working and developing 416 00:21:30,500 --> 00:21:34,125 "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates. 417 00:21:34,208 --> 00:21:37,000 We're just seeing actors for this first time 418 00:21:37,083 --> 00:21:40,165 interpreting the work of Ta-Nehisi. 419 00:21:40,250 --> 00:21:43,750 - We want to create the programming 420 00:21:43,834 --> 00:21:47,208 that you're gonna be talking about decades later. 421 00:21:47,290 --> 00:21:50,791 "Between the World and Me" is right on target. 422 00:21:50,875 --> 00:21:52,791 - "Son, 423 00:21:52,875 --> 00:21:56,125 "I write you in your 15th year. 424 00:21:56,208 --> 00:21:58,458 "I'm writing you because this was the year 425 00:21:58,541 --> 00:22:02,583 you saw Eric Garner choked to death for selling cigarettes." 426 00:22:02,666 --> 00:22:04,959 - So the book "Between the World and Me," 427 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:06,625 it's letters to his son. 428 00:22:06,709 --> 00:22:10,290 How do I explain to my young black son 429 00:22:10,375 --> 00:22:11,959 how to grow up and become a man 430 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:13,583 in the age of Trayvon Martin? 431 00:22:13,666 --> 00:22:15,125 He's reckoning with his own 432 00:22:15,208 --> 00:22:17,834 internal turmoil and tension, right? 433 00:22:17,916 --> 00:22:20,125 But let's try that. 434 00:22:20,208 --> 00:22:23,709 - "No one is held responsible. 435 00:22:23,791 --> 00:22:25,666 "All our phrasing, race relations, 436 00:22:25,750 --> 00:22:27,834 "racial chasm, racial justice, 437 00:22:27,916 --> 00:22:29,541 "racial profiling, white privilege, 438 00:22:29,625 --> 00:22:31,208 "even white supremacy 439 00:22:31,290 --> 00:22:34,709 "serves to obscure that racism is a visceral experience, 440 00:22:34,791 --> 00:22:38,625 "that it dislodges brains, blocks airways, rips muscle, 441 00:22:38,709 --> 00:22:42,333 "extracts organs, cracks bones, breaks teeth. 442 00:22:42,416 --> 00:22:45,791 "You must always remember that sociology, 443 00:22:45,875 --> 00:22:48,916 "the history, the economics, the graphs, the charts, 444 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,000 "the regressions all land, with great violence, 445 00:22:52,083 --> 00:22:54,500 upon the body." 446 00:22:54,583 --> 00:22:55,875 - Hmm. 447 00:22:55,959 --> 00:22:57,375 - I wrote "Between the World and Me" 448 00:22:57,458 --> 00:23:01,208 because my friend Prince Jones was murdered in 2000, 449 00:23:01,290 --> 00:23:04,000 and both Kamilah and I went to school with him. 450 00:23:04,083 --> 00:23:05,375 We both knew him. 451 00:23:05,458 --> 00:23:07,208 - "He was dressed in his formal clothes 452 00:23:07,290 --> 00:23:08,750 "as though it were his senior prom 453 00:23:08,834 --> 00:23:12,375 "and frozen in the amber of his youth. 454 00:23:12,458 --> 00:23:15,916 "His face was lean and brown and beautiful, 455 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,875 "and across that face, I saw that open, easy smile 456 00:23:18,959 --> 00:23:21,500 of Prince Carmen Jones." 457 00:23:21,583 --> 00:23:25,709 - In the 15 years since the murder of Prince Jones, 458 00:23:25,791 --> 00:23:28,083 so little had changed. 459 00:23:28,165 --> 00:23:30,709 This was an attempt to vent that, 460 00:23:30,791 --> 00:23:33,040 to speak to that anger, 461 00:23:33,125 --> 00:23:36,375 to speak to that rage, to speak to that--that pain. 462 00:23:36,458 --> 00:23:39,416 - "Our parents resorted to the lash 463 00:23:39,500 --> 00:23:43,083 "the way flagellants in the plague years 464 00:23:43,165 --> 00:23:44,916 resorted to the scourge." 465 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,290 - Thank you, yeah. Great. 466 00:23:48,375 --> 00:23:49,791 That's helpful. 467 00:23:49,875 --> 00:23:50,959 That is helpful. 468 00:23:52,208 --> 00:23:53,625 - It's important that 469 00:23:53,709 --> 00:23:56,834 people who come from the same experience 470 00:23:56,916 --> 00:24:01,791 out of which the work was drawn get a chance to see it. 471 00:24:01,875 --> 00:24:05,083 The Apollo is probably rare 472 00:24:05,165 --> 00:24:08,165 among those environments and venues where that's possible. 473 00:24:09,333 --> 00:24:10,834 [car horn honks] 474 00:24:18,875 --> 00:24:21,959 - [singing Usher's "Nice And Slow"] 475 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:25,416 ♪ Let me take you to a place that's nice and quiet ♪ 476 00:24:26,791 --> 00:24:28,791 - Have a seat, sit down. Everybody sit down. 477 00:24:28,875 --> 00:24:31,165 I want to speak to you about booing. 478 00:24:31,250 --> 00:24:34,625 Those of you that are 16 and above... 479 00:24:34,709 --> 00:24:36,458 you can get booed tonight. 480 00:24:36,541 --> 00:24:39,458 Now, little history about booing. 481 00:24:39,541 --> 00:24:41,959 For 82 years, 482 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,040 people have been coming to the Apollo Theater 483 00:24:45,125 --> 00:24:47,290 to boo the amateurs. 484 00:24:47,375 --> 00:24:50,333 [energetic funk music] 485 00:24:51,333 --> 00:24:52,750 - Amateur Night at the Apollo 486 00:24:52,834 --> 00:24:56,125 is our weekly variety show 487 00:24:56,208 --> 00:24:59,458 that's been going on since 1934. 488 00:24:59,541 --> 00:25:03,165 - [vocalizes] 489 00:25:03,250 --> 00:25:07,165 - We're always taught, you go to the theater... 490 00:25:07,250 --> 00:25:10,000 and that's how you were supposed to be, right? 491 00:25:10,083 --> 00:25:13,709 But--but culturally, that's not how--who we are. 492 00:25:13,791 --> 00:25:15,125 ♪ ♪ 493 00:25:15,208 --> 00:25:18,165 - First, you give them the power of the boo. 494 00:25:18,250 --> 00:25:21,500 And everybody's, at some time in their life, 495 00:25:21,583 --> 00:25:24,541 wants to boo someone, you know? 496 00:25:24,625 --> 00:25:25,666 - Boo! 497 00:25:25,750 --> 00:25:28,040 Get off, boom! 498 00:25:28,125 --> 00:25:31,458 Sing your best once you open your mouth, 499 00:25:31,541 --> 00:25:33,208 'cause you don't have no second chance. 500 00:25:33,290 --> 00:25:36,290 - I went for the regular Wednesday Amateur Night. 501 00:25:36,375 --> 00:25:39,541 I just remember looking out and seeing, like, 502 00:25:39,625 --> 00:25:42,666 everybody booing, everybody. [laughter] 503 00:25:42,750 --> 00:25:46,290 And that was the best thing that ever happened to me. 504 00:25:46,375 --> 00:25:49,040 After that, I was fearless. 505 00:25:49,125 --> 00:25:51,000 - ♪ I treated you ♪ 506 00:25:51,083 --> 00:25:55,040 ♪ Bad ♪ 507 00:25:55,125 --> 00:25:56,791 ♪ And wrong, my dear ♪ 508 00:25:56,875 --> 00:25:57,916 - If you performed on Amateur Night 509 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,916 and you survived, even if you didn't win, 510 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,375 that was an accomplishment. 511 00:26:02,458 --> 00:26:03,541 [booing] 512 00:26:03,625 --> 00:26:05,541 Like, Lauryn Hill didn't do well, 513 00:26:05,625 --> 00:26:07,583 but she learned a lot from that experience 514 00:26:07,666 --> 00:26:12,208 and she went on and obviously had, you know, a great career. 515 00:26:12,290 --> 00:26:14,875 - ♪ And I wonder ♪ 516 00:26:14,959 --> 00:26:18,250 ♪ Who's loving you ♪ 517 00:26:20,834 --> 00:26:22,165 - Hello everyone, welcome. 518 00:26:22,250 --> 00:26:24,666 Welcome to the world-famous Apollo Theater. 519 00:26:24,750 --> 00:26:26,916 We have orchestra seating straight ahead, 520 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,791 the mezzanine seating here. 521 00:26:29,875 --> 00:26:31,583 Good evening, welcome. 522 00:26:31,666 --> 00:26:33,875 Welcome to the world-famous Apollo Theater. 523 00:26:33,959 --> 00:26:36,208 Orchestra seating straight ahead. 524 00:26:36,290 --> 00:26:37,541 Good evening, welcome. 525 00:26:37,625 --> 00:26:39,250 Welcome to the world-famous Apollo Theater. 526 00:26:39,333 --> 00:26:40,750 [mellow guitar music] 527 00:26:40,834 --> 00:26:42,458 - What I'm gonna ask you to do right now 528 00:26:42,541 --> 00:26:44,208 for this special moment, 529 00:26:44,290 --> 00:26:46,875 I want you to take the person's hand who's sitting next to you. 530 00:26:46,959 --> 00:26:48,583 Put their hand in your hand right now. 531 00:26:48,666 --> 00:26:50,083 Doesn't matter if you've never seen this person before 532 00:26:50,165 --> 00:26:51,208 in your life. 533 00:26:51,290 --> 00:26:52,375 Just take their hand, 534 00:26:52,458 --> 00:26:53,875 put their hand in your hand right now. 535 00:26:53,959 --> 00:26:56,583 Everybody should be holding someone--somebody's hand. 536 00:26:56,666 --> 00:26:58,333 I was a stagehand 537 00:26:58,416 --> 00:26:59,959 on Amateur Night, Ralph Cooper's show. 538 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:04,125 - Hey, how about a nice big hand for my little band, huh? 539 00:27:04,208 --> 00:27:07,083 - And this lady who always jumps up and down 540 00:27:07,165 --> 00:27:08,959 and rubs on people and go crazy, 541 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:10,333 her name is Eva Isaac. 542 00:27:10,416 --> 00:27:13,500 [old-school hip-hop beat] 543 00:27:13,583 --> 00:27:15,000 ♪ ♪ 544 00:27:15,083 --> 00:27:18,165 She had a permanent seat during Amateur Night. 545 00:27:18,250 --> 00:27:19,625 [crowd screams] 546 00:27:19,709 --> 00:27:21,083 - They put me on the front row, like, 547 00:27:21,165 --> 00:27:22,333 this is the front row at Apollo 548 00:27:22,416 --> 00:27:23,791 and I'm in the center, 108. 549 00:27:23,875 --> 00:27:25,040 That my seat. 550 00:27:25,541 --> 00:27:27,625 Boy, I'll tell you, I would... [laughs] 551 00:27:27,709 --> 00:27:29,000 Come close to that stage, 552 00:27:29,083 --> 00:27:32,750 I'll pull you, I'ma hug the heck to you. 553 00:27:32,834 --> 00:27:34,959 - I was singing to myself out loud, so she said, 554 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:36,583 "Joe, I didn't know you could sing." 555 00:27:36,666 --> 00:27:38,916 - I said, "You gonna sing tonight." 556 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,916 - Does anybody noticed how beautiful Eva looks tonight? 557 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:43,625 [cheers and applause] 558 00:27:43,709 --> 00:27:45,040 - Second half comes up. 559 00:27:45,125 --> 00:27:47,165 I go out to change the mic. 560 00:27:47,250 --> 00:27:49,541 And as I'm changing the mic, Eva stands up and says, 561 00:27:49,625 --> 00:27:51,165 "Ralph, let Joe sing." 562 00:27:51,250 --> 00:27:54,000 - "Let Joe sing." 563 00:27:54,083 --> 00:27:57,208 Well, what Eva want, Eva get. 564 00:27:57,290 --> 00:27:59,165 - Ralph looks at me and hands me the mic 565 00:27:59,250 --> 00:28:00,500 and walks offstage. 566 00:28:00,583 --> 00:28:02,000 So I says, 567 00:28:02,083 --> 00:28:03,333 ♪ Don't you remember ♪ 568 00:28:03,416 --> 00:28:07,916 ♪ You told me you love me, baby ♪ 569 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:09,625 - Joe come out there singing. 570 00:28:09,709 --> 00:28:11,541 I jumped and people started clapping. 571 00:28:11,625 --> 00:28:14,165 Joe starting singing and making records ever since then. 572 00:28:14,250 --> 00:28:15,834 That was my man. [laughs] 573 00:28:15,916 --> 00:28:17,290 - ♪ Oh ♪ 574 00:28:17,375 --> 00:28:21,500 ♪ Yeah ♪ 575 00:28:21,583 --> 00:28:23,290 ♪ Welcome to Amateur Night ♪ 576 00:28:23,375 --> 00:28:25,625 - ♪ It's time for something new just right ♪ 577 00:28:25,709 --> 00:28:28,791 - ♪ Welcome to Amateur Night, it's time, yo ♪ 578 00:28:28,875 --> 00:28:30,333 ♪ Whoo! ♪ 579 00:28:30,416 --> 00:28:33,666 - Joe Gray performed 27 years with Amateur Night 580 00:28:33,750 --> 00:28:35,541 every Wednesday. 581 00:28:35,625 --> 00:28:37,208 - Whoo! 582 00:28:37,290 --> 00:28:39,916 - There's not many artists who can say 583 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:42,541 that they've hit the stage as many times as Joe Gray. 584 00:28:42,625 --> 00:28:44,709 [overlapping chatter] 585 00:28:44,791 --> 00:28:46,791 - Okay, ladies and gentlemen, welcome, welcome, 586 00:28:46,875 --> 00:28:49,709 to Apollo Amateur Night auditions. 587 00:28:49,791 --> 00:28:51,040 We are thrilled to have you here, 588 00:28:51,125 --> 00:28:53,375 There are many, many legends and stars 589 00:28:53,458 --> 00:28:56,500 that have come before you that sat in these same seats, 590 00:28:56,583 --> 00:29:00,125 and we are hoping that some of you turn into that as well. 591 00:29:00,208 --> 00:29:01,625 - I'm Bianca Graham. 592 00:29:02,959 --> 00:29:06,083 ♪ Birds flying high ♪ 593 00:29:06,165 --> 00:29:09,916 ♪ You know how I feel ♪ 594 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:13,791 ♪ Sun in the sky, you know how I feel ♪ 595 00:29:13,875 --> 00:29:16,750 - We've had some amazing, iconic figures 596 00:29:16,834 --> 00:29:18,250 come through here, 597 00:29:18,333 --> 00:29:21,583 but we've also had some neurosurgeons, 598 00:29:21,666 --> 00:29:23,290 some franchise owners, 599 00:29:23,375 --> 00:29:27,750 some garbagemen, some schoolteachers. 600 00:29:27,834 --> 00:29:32,250 - ♪ So many people using their-- ♪ 601 00:29:32,333 --> 00:29:33,416 - Okay, thank you, sir. 602 00:29:33,500 --> 00:29:36,916 - ♪ Love ♪ - Okay, thank you. 603 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:38,916 Thank you. 604 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:40,290 - Sometimes access, 605 00:29:40,375 --> 00:29:42,250 particularly for our community, 606 00:29:42,333 --> 00:29:44,750 is not always a clear line. 607 00:29:44,834 --> 00:29:48,040 So when you have a point to say, 608 00:29:48,125 --> 00:29:50,083 "Oh, anyone can try it out" 609 00:29:50,165 --> 00:29:51,541 and the access is very clear, 610 00:29:51,625 --> 00:29:54,666 you just sign your name up and you can get a spot. 611 00:29:54,750 --> 00:29:56,333 You just better be good, 612 00:29:56,416 --> 00:29:57,875 and you just better be ready for it. 613 00:30:02,290 --> 00:30:05,250 [instrumentalists warming up] 614 00:30:07,208 --> 00:30:10,083 - Sometimes we just see it week to week to week to week. 615 00:30:10,165 --> 00:30:13,416 We forget, man, this person came all the way 616 00:30:13,500 --> 00:30:16,165 from backhoe Georgia to get here 617 00:30:16,250 --> 00:30:18,750 and didn't really have money for the plane 618 00:30:18,834 --> 00:30:20,625 and then got there 619 00:30:20,709 --> 00:30:23,333 and then we sort of dismissed them, you know? 620 00:30:23,416 --> 00:30:24,791 "Well, you get one time through, oh, fine. 621 00:30:24,875 --> 00:30:26,000 It's gonna be all right." 622 00:30:26,083 --> 00:30:27,458 Well, not really. 623 00:30:27,541 --> 00:30:28,959 Okay, everybody. 624 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:30,625 So we're gonna get started 625 00:30:30,709 --> 00:30:33,290 with our rehearsal and sound check. 626 00:30:33,375 --> 00:30:35,625 I keep reminding myself 627 00:30:35,709 --> 00:30:38,834 and reminding our band and reminding the crew 628 00:30:38,916 --> 00:30:43,000 how valuable this is to that person's moment in their life. 629 00:30:43,083 --> 00:30:46,541 Doesn't matter if they're gonna turn into Gladys Knight. 630 00:30:46,625 --> 00:30:49,040 In this moment, we have to think they are. 631 00:30:49,125 --> 00:30:51,500 So up first, we have Bianca Graham. 632 00:30:51,583 --> 00:30:54,625 "I Have Nothing," "One Night," and "How Sad." 633 00:30:54,709 --> 00:30:56,666 [Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing"] 634 00:30:56,750 --> 00:30:58,541 - I came on a Greyhound bus. 635 00:30:58,625 --> 00:31:02,500 And, uh, it broke down in Philadelphia on me. 636 00:31:02,583 --> 00:31:06,625 So, uh, when I got here to audition, 637 00:31:06,709 --> 00:31:08,666 they weren't letting anybody in. 638 00:31:08,750 --> 00:31:10,208 ♪ ♪ 639 00:31:10,290 --> 00:31:12,000 I went home and I practiced 640 00:31:12,083 --> 00:31:16,666 and I just got myself together and decided to come back up. 641 00:31:16,750 --> 00:31:19,083 ♪ Share ♪ 642 00:31:19,165 --> 00:31:20,834 ♪ My life ♪ 643 00:31:20,916 --> 00:31:24,541 ♪ Take me for what I am ♪ 644 00:31:24,625 --> 00:31:27,750 My friend, uh, was murdered 645 00:31:27,834 --> 00:31:30,709 by the police--one of the police officers in Cincinnati. 646 00:31:30,791 --> 00:31:34,709 It's definitely for him and our city and our community, 647 00:31:34,791 --> 00:31:36,083 um, back at home. 648 00:31:36,165 --> 00:31:40,375 ♪ I said take my love ♪ 649 00:31:40,458 --> 00:31:42,875 ♪ I'll never ask ♪ 650 00:31:42,959 --> 00:31:46,750 ♪ For too much ♪ 651 00:31:46,834 --> 00:31:49,666 We actually had a fundraising party before we left 652 00:31:49,750 --> 00:31:53,709 from Cincinnati with all our friends and family. 653 00:31:53,791 --> 00:31:58,375 ♪ I don't really need to look very much further ♪ 654 00:31:58,458 --> 00:32:00,625 ♪ I don't want to have to go ♪ 655 00:32:00,709 --> 00:32:03,458 ♪ Where you don't follow, I... ♪ 656 00:32:03,541 --> 00:32:05,583 I've come a long way 657 00:32:05,666 --> 00:32:08,040 to be able to do this. 658 00:32:08,125 --> 00:32:10,040 It means a lot to me. 659 00:32:10,125 --> 00:32:13,791 ♪ There's nowhere to hide ♪ 660 00:32:13,875 --> 00:32:14,750 ♪ But your love ♪ 661 00:32:14,834 --> 00:32:19,040 ♪ I'll remember forever ♪ 662 00:32:19,125 --> 00:32:22,083 ♪ ♪ 663 00:32:22,165 --> 00:32:25,583 ♪ Don't make me close ♪ 664 00:32:25,666 --> 00:32:28,040 ♪ One more door ♪ 665 00:32:28,125 --> 00:32:30,541 ♪ I don't want to hurt ♪ 666 00:32:30,625 --> 00:32:32,416 ♪ Anymore ♪ 667 00:32:32,500 --> 00:32:35,290 ♪ Stay in my arms ♪ 668 00:32:35,375 --> 00:32:37,290 ♪ If you dare ♪ 669 00:32:37,375 --> 00:32:39,250 ♪ Or must I ♪ 670 00:32:39,333 --> 00:32:42,125 ♪ Imagine you there ♪ 671 00:32:42,208 --> 00:32:45,834 ♪ Don't walk away from me ♪ 672 00:32:45,916 --> 00:32:47,083 ♪ No ♪ 673 00:32:47,165 --> 00:32:50,791 ♪ Don't walk away from me, yeah ♪ 674 00:32:50,875 --> 00:32:55,125 ♪ Don't you dare walk away from me ♪ 675 00:32:55,208 --> 00:32:58,125 [cheers and applause] 676 00:32:58,208 --> 00:32:59,916 - The genius of the Amateur Night 677 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,709 is conceding the authority 678 00:33:03,791 --> 00:33:06,583 to the audiences themselves. 679 00:33:06,666 --> 00:33:09,333 It's almost taking it out of the hands of the owner. 680 00:33:09,416 --> 00:33:12,333 [peaceful music] 681 00:33:12,416 --> 00:33:15,333 ♪ ♪ 682 00:33:15,416 --> 00:33:17,916 - In terms of who allowed for that to happen, 683 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:19,458 who created that environment 684 00:33:19,541 --> 00:33:21,583 for artists to be able to be innovative, 685 00:33:21,666 --> 00:33:25,208 Amateur Night, you know, really came from Ralph Cooper. 686 00:33:25,290 --> 00:33:27,333 ♪ ♪ 687 00:33:27,416 --> 00:33:29,834 - Ralph Cooper, you are a legend. 688 00:33:29,916 --> 00:33:34,541 You are still alive and well, running the Apollo Theater, 689 00:33:34,625 --> 00:33:36,834 and giving young blacks an opportunity. 690 00:33:36,916 --> 00:33:38,541 Where did you get your ideas? 691 00:33:38,625 --> 00:33:40,834 - Well, the ideas were Harlem-born. 692 00:33:40,916 --> 00:33:42,666 Ideas were more or less Harlem. 693 00:33:42,750 --> 00:33:44,834 You know, the entertainment is like one big tree, 694 00:33:44,916 --> 00:33:48,709 and, uh, so many things come from that one tree. 695 00:33:48,791 --> 00:33:50,333 There's a lot of limbs that go out. 696 00:33:50,416 --> 00:33:51,541 And, of course, Tony, 697 00:33:51,625 --> 00:33:54,165 there was always two kinds of show business. 698 00:33:54,250 --> 00:33:55,916 There was a white show business, 699 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:57,959 and there was a black show business. 700 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,959 [Eartha Kitt's "C'est Si Bon"] 701 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:02,333 ♪ ♪ 702 00:34:02,416 --> 00:34:04,791 - ♪ C'est si bon ♪ 703 00:34:04,875 --> 00:34:07,750 ♪ De partir n'importe ou ♪ 704 00:34:07,834 --> 00:34:10,041 ♪ Bras dessus, bras dessous ♪ 705 00:34:10,125 --> 00:34:14,166 - My father was doing all of the booking of the theater. 706 00:34:14,250 --> 00:34:15,875 I kept looking at the programming, 707 00:34:15,958 --> 00:34:20,541 and I never saw some of the big giants of show business: 708 00:34:20,625 --> 00:34:24,000 Sidney Poitier, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne. 709 00:34:24,083 --> 00:34:25,541 I said--I said to my father, 710 00:34:25,625 --> 00:34:27,875 "Why don't you try to book them?" 711 00:34:27,958 --> 00:34:29,708 And he said, 712 00:34:29,791 --> 00:34:32,708 "I'll give you the story that the agencies give me. 713 00:34:32,791 --> 00:34:34,375 "They're white acts. 714 00:34:34,458 --> 00:34:36,583 "They want to play the Persian Room, 715 00:34:36,666 --> 00:34:39,166 Waldorf Astoria downtown." 716 00:34:39,250 --> 00:34:41,208 I said, "I don't believe that." 717 00:34:41,291 --> 00:34:43,875 So I wrote Eartha Kitt a letter. 718 00:34:43,958 --> 00:34:45,333 And she called me up 719 00:34:45,416 --> 00:34:47,125 and invited me to come and have lunch with her. 720 00:34:47,208 --> 00:34:50,250 - Hello, Dan, it's me. 721 00:34:50,333 --> 00:34:52,291 The cruise is divine. 722 00:34:52,375 --> 00:34:54,625 I'm in very good hands. 723 00:34:54,708 --> 00:34:58,083 Yes, I got the car and the caviar. 724 00:34:58,166 --> 00:35:01,583 Before I left, she called the William Morris Agency, 725 00:35:01,666 --> 00:35:04,416 and she said, "I want to play the Apollo Theater." 726 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:05,750 [jazz music] 727 00:35:05,833 --> 00:35:08,291 - [gasps] How sweet. 728 00:35:08,375 --> 00:35:09,958 It's just divine. 729 00:35:10,041 --> 00:35:13,166 - Now she goes out and marries a white guy, 730 00:35:13,250 --> 00:35:17,291 and the hate mail started from the black community. 731 00:35:17,375 --> 00:35:19,416 She was scared to death. 732 00:35:19,500 --> 00:35:21,083 But here comes the date. 733 00:35:21,166 --> 00:35:24,125 The theater was jammed to the walls. 734 00:35:24,208 --> 00:35:29,125 And I'm standing with Eartha in the wings and she said, 735 00:35:29,208 --> 00:35:32,750 "Bobby, they're here to kill me. 736 00:35:32,833 --> 00:35:33,750 You'll see." 737 00:35:33,833 --> 00:35:35,291 [percussive music] 738 00:35:35,375 --> 00:35:36,666 She walked out on the stage. 739 00:35:36,750 --> 00:35:40,291 People stood up and applauded for ten minutes, 740 00:35:40,375 --> 00:35:42,500 for ten minutes. 741 00:35:42,583 --> 00:35:44,750 And what they were saying to her was, 742 00:35:44,833 --> 00:35:48,125 "We know you don't have to come here to the Apollo. 743 00:35:48,208 --> 00:35:51,500 "We know you come here because you want to come here, 744 00:35:51,583 --> 00:35:53,125 and we love you for that." 745 00:35:53,208 --> 00:35:58,458 ♪ ♪ 746 00:35:58,541 --> 00:36:00,958 You know how important that makes me? 747 00:36:01,041 --> 00:36:03,625 I was taking care of buying toilet paper, 748 00:36:03,708 --> 00:36:05,083 and from that point on, 749 00:36:05,166 --> 00:36:08,625 I brought every act that we ever brought in to the Apollo, 750 00:36:08,708 --> 00:36:10,875 every show, every act, everything. 751 00:36:10,958 --> 00:36:13,875 [Pearl Bailey's "She's Something Spanish"] 752 00:36:13,958 --> 00:36:16,875 [upbeat big band music] 753 00:36:16,958 --> 00:36:18,375 ♪ ♪ 754 00:36:18,458 --> 00:36:22,000 - ♪ She's something Spanish, she certainly is ♪ 755 00:36:22,083 --> 00:36:25,500 ♪ How we say send her right back to Cádiz ♪ 756 00:36:25,583 --> 00:36:29,333 ♪ Because a moment that the lady came to town ♪ 757 00:36:29,416 --> 00:36:32,500 - It was in the late '50s, early '60s. 758 00:36:32,583 --> 00:36:34,291 I couldn't get any other acts to come in 759 00:36:34,375 --> 00:36:37,166 in the bad weather of New York winters, 760 00:36:37,250 --> 00:36:41,166 so I would put in the Jewel Box Revue. 761 00:36:41,250 --> 00:36:44,333 - The costumes, the antics, 762 00:36:44,416 --> 00:36:46,666 the skits, everything about it. 763 00:36:46,750 --> 00:36:47,875 I mean, you know, 764 00:36:47,958 --> 00:36:51,708 these are men dressing as women. 765 00:36:51,791 --> 00:36:55,333 It was just to be seen. 766 00:36:56,791 --> 00:37:01,000 - There was a group that reared its head and said, 767 00:37:01,083 --> 00:37:05,500 "That undermines the value of the black family." 768 00:37:05,583 --> 00:37:07,583 Glorification of homosexuality 769 00:37:07,666 --> 00:37:11,875 was a big thing in the black community, you know that. 770 00:37:11,958 --> 00:37:13,208 "If you do that show, 771 00:37:13,291 --> 00:37:15,875 we're gonna ruin your theater." 772 00:37:15,958 --> 00:37:18,541 I had a lot of money invested in that show. 773 00:37:18,625 --> 00:37:20,208 - How did you straighten it out? 774 00:37:20,291 --> 00:37:22,875 - I straightened it out for 150 bucks. 775 00:37:22,958 --> 00:37:26,083 Bought 'em off, and the show was productive 776 00:37:26,166 --> 00:37:28,833 for both me and the community. 777 00:37:28,916 --> 00:37:31,583 ♪ ♪ 778 00:37:31,666 --> 00:37:34,625 [languid jazz music] 779 00:37:34,708 --> 00:37:41,333 ♪ ♪ 780 00:37:53,833 --> 00:37:55,416 - When I was little, 781 00:37:55,500 --> 00:38:01,208 there was still a lot of prejudices going on in Harlem. 782 00:38:01,291 --> 00:38:04,250 They had a store called Blumstein's. 783 00:38:04,333 --> 00:38:05,541 African-American people 784 00:38:05,625 --> 00:38:08,125 weren't allowed to go in there. 785 00:38:08,208 --> 00:38:09,416 Being a little girl, well, 786 00:38:09,500 --> 00:38:12,583 "Why can't we go in there?" you know. 787 00:38:12,666 --> 00:38:14,625 There were a lot of stores that black people 788 00:38:14,708 --> 00:38:17,833 weren't allowed to go to on 125th Street. 789 00:38:17,916 --> 00:38:24,875 ♪ ♪ 790 00:38:49,041 --> 00:38:50,458 - "Black body is beautiful, 791 00:38:50,541 --> 00:38:52,250 "that black hair must be guarded, 792 00:38:52,333 --> 00:38:53,583 "black skin must be guarded, 793 00:38:53,666 --> 00:38:56,166 "our noses must be protected. 794 00:38:56,250 --> 00:38:58,458 "Both, we are all our beautiful bodies. 795 00:38:58,541 --> 00:39:00,166 - Oh, that is both. Okay. 796 00:39:00,250 --> 00:39:01,708 - And so feel free, again, 797 00:39:01,791 --> 00:39:03,166 finding those moments to connect, 798 00:39:03,250 --> 00:39:04,166 to talk to one another. 799 00:39:04,250 --> 00:39:05,666 - Sure, sure, sure. 800 00:39:05,750 --> 00:39:08,166 - "Now, black beauty was never celebrated in the movies, 801 00:39:08,250 --> 00:39:10,041 "in television, or in textbooks. 802 00:39:10,125 --> 00:39:12,000 "Everyone in any import, from Jesus 803 00:39:12,083 --> 00:39:14,125 "to George Washington, was white. 804 00:39:14,208 --> 00:39:16,000 "That's why your grandparents 805 00:39:16,083 --> 00:39:18,375 "banned Tarzan and Lone Ranger toys with white faces 806 00:39:18,458 --> 00:39:19,666 "from the house. 807 00:39:19,750 --> 00:39:21,166 "They were rebelling against the history 808 00:39:21,250 --> 00:39:24,333 "that spoke of black people only as sentimental firsts: 809 00:39:24,416 --> 00:39:26,291 "first black general, first black mayor, 810 00:39:26,375 --> 00:39:28,333 "a category of trivial pursuits. 811 00:39:28,416 --> 00:39:29,958 "Serious history was in the West, 812 00:39:30,041 --> 00:39:31,166 "and the West was white. 813 00:39:31,250 --> 00:39:33,208 Everything that was white mattered." 814 00:39:33,291 --> 00:39:35,000 - "Our history, weaponized. 815 00:39:35,083 --> 00:39:37,625 "They had their champion. Somewhere, we must have ours. 816 00:39:37,708 --> 00:39:39,583 "But then I'd read writers 817 00:39:39,666 --> 00:39:42,041 "central to the canon of our history. 818 00:39:42,125 --> 00:39:46,875 "From then, I knew that Mansa Musa of Mali was black 819 00:39:46,958 --> 00:39:49,708 "and Shabaka of Egypt was black 820 00:39:49,791 --> 00:39:52,708 "and Yaa Asantewaa was black, black, black, 821 00:39:52,791 --> 00:39:54,000 black, black, black." 822 00:39:54,083 --> 00:39:55,000 - Yes! [laughter] 823 00:39:55,083 --> 00:39:57,166 [James Brown's "Out of Sight"] 824 00:39:57,250 --> 00:39:58,916 - ♪ Got your high-heeled sneakers on ♪ 825 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:00,750 [audience screams] 826 00:40:00,833 --> 00:40:03,375 ♪ And your slip-in mules ♪ 827 00:40:03,458 --> 00:40:07,083 ♪ Got your high-heeled sneakers on ♪ 828 00:40:07,166 --> 00:40:10,375 ♪ And your slip-in mules ♪ 829 00:40:10,458 --> 00:40:12,583 ♪ You're all right ♪ 830 00:40:12,666 --> 00:40:16,208 ♪ You know you're out of sight ♪ 831 00:40:16,291 --> 00:40:18,666 - When James Brown came to Harlem, it was-- 832 00:40:18,750 --> 00:40:20,291 everybody was there. 833 00:40:20,375 --> 00:40:22,750 ♪ ♪ 834 00:40:22,833 --> 00:40:24,625 - He loved the community. 835 00:40:24,708 --> 00:40:25,916 And we would have everything 836 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,083 from kids who were cutting school to see James Brown 837 00:40:29,166 --> 00:40:31,125 to doctors and lawyers, 838 00:40:31,208 --> 00:40:35,375 people of all walks of life that represented Harlem. 839 00:40:35,458 --> 00:40:38,375 [James Brown's "Let Yourself Go"] 840 00:40:38,458 --> 00:40:41,750 [lively soul music] 841 00:40:41,833 --> 00:40:45,250 James Brown became synonymous with the Apollo 842 00:40:45,333 --> 00:40:49,458 after his first "Live at the Apollo" album. 843 00:40:49,541 --> 00:40:50,750 He knew that if he could 844 00:40:50,833 --> 00:40:52,916 capture the energy from the Apollo audience, 845 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,000 it was gonna make for something very special, 846 00:40:55,083 --> 00:40:56,583 and he was absolutely right. 847 00:40:56,666 --> 00:40:57,916 - ♪ Hey, hey ♪ 848 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,166 ♪ One time, I feel all right ♪ 849 00:41:00,250 --> 00:41:01,166 ♪ Uh! ♪ 850 00:41:01,250 --> 00:41:02,791 ♪ Let me hear! ♪ 851 00:41:02,875 --> 00:41:04,000 ♪ Two times ♪ 852 00:41:04,083 --> 00:41:07,791 ♪ Hey, hey, I feel all right ♪ 853 00:41:07,875 --> 00:41:09,125 ♪ Uh, uh ♪ 854 00:41:09,208 --> 00:41:10,958 - The album was hugely successful. 855 00:41:11,041 --> 00:41:13,666 I mean, it was on the charts for, like, 1 1/2 years. 856 00:41:13,750 --> 00:41:15,625 It certainly was the beginning 857 00:41:15,708 --> 00:41:20,458 of James crossing over into mainstream acceptance. 858 00:41:20,541 --> 00:41:22,000 - ♪ I feel all right ♪ 859 00:41:22,083 --> 00:41:24,750 ♪ Hit it! uh, uh, uh, uh ♪ 860 00:41:24,833 --> 00:41:26,291 You got it for yourself, come on! 861 00:41:26,375 --> 00:41:28,958 ♪ Hey, hey, I feel all right ♪ 862 00:41:29,041 --> 00:41:30,791 ♪ One time! Uh! ♪ 863 00:41:30,875 --> 00:41:32,166 ♪ Now you got it, put it on! ♪ 864 00:41:32,250 --> 00:41:37,000 ♪ ♪ 865 00:41:37,083 --> 00:41:38,291 - At that time, 866 00:41:38,375 --> 00:41:41,291 the minimum wage was a dollar an hour, 867 00:41:41,375 --> 00:41:44,000 so if I wanted to go to a dance 868 00:41:44,083 --> 00:41:46,000 or go to the Apollo, 869 00:41:46,083 --> 00:41:49,208 we had to sneak in. 870 00:41:49,291 --> 00:41:51,166 One of us would pay to get in, 871 00:41:51,250 --> 00:41:55,541 and then they would open the fire escape door. 872 00:41:55,625 --> 00:41:59,500 Then--then the rest of us would come in. 873 00:41:59,583 --> 00:42:01,416 This was regular. 874 00:42:03,916 --> 00:42:06,333 - The day that the welfare checks came out 875 00:42:06,416 --> 00:42:09,958 was a very good day to open up an expensive show 876 00:42:10,041 --> 00:42:12,208 because people had the money available, 877 00:42:12,291 --> 00:42:14,625 and we used to look at that welfare check and say, 878 00:42:14,708 --> 00:42:17,000 "Oh, that's the day I want to open this show." 879 00:42:17,083 --> 00:42:21,166 - The Apollo Theater proudly presents the Motortown Revue! 880 00:42:21,250 --> 00:42:24,166 [frenetic horn music] 881 00:42:24,250 --> 00:42:26,166 ♪ ♪ 882 00:42:26,250 --> 00:42:28,541 - The first show I booked with Motown 883 00:42:28,625 --> 00:42:32,250 included Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, 884 00:42:32,333 --> 00:42:37,083 Diana Ross and the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, 885 00:42:37,166 --> 00:42:38,541 The Temptations, 886 00:42:38,625 --> 00:42:41,875 The Four Tops with Stevie Wonder. 887 00:42:41,958 --> 00:42:43,208 That was the show. 888 00:42:43,291 --> 00:42:44,708 - Right about here, ladies and gentlemen, 889 00:42:44,791 --> 00:42:46,916 like to introduce to you a very outstanding young man, 890 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:48,375 a young man that's more or less 891 00:42:48,458 --> 00:42:50,666 considered being a genius of our time, 892 00:42:50,750 --> 00:42:52,833 and he happens to be only 12 years old. 893 00:42:52,916 --> 00:42:54,208 Let try to now make him feel happy, 894 00:42:54,291 --> 00:42:56,541 so meet and greet the 12-year-old genius himself, 895 00:42:56,625 --> 00:43:00,083 Little Stevie Wonder! 896 00:43:00,166 --> 00:43:04,041 - When the Motown Revue came to the Apollo, 897 00:43:04,125 --> 00:43:06,541 the party was on. 898 00:43:06,625 --> 00:43:09,583 - Everybody say, "Yeah!" 899 00:43:09,666 --> 00:43:10,750 all: Yeah! 900 00:43:10,833 --> 00:43:13,000 - Say, "Yeah!" 901 00:43:13,083 --> 00:43:14,125 all: Yeah! 902 00:43:14,208 --> 00:43:15,958 - Say, "Yeah!" all: Yeah! 903 00:43:16,041 --> 00:43:17,291 - Yeah! all: Yeah! 904 00:43:17,375 --> 00:43:19,583 - ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ 905 00:43:19,666 --> 00:43:22,583 [Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips"] 906 00:43:22,666 --> 00:43:25,625 [raucous soul and harmonica music] 907 00:43:25,708 --> 00:43:31,041 ♪ ♪ 908 00:43:31,125 --> 00:43:34,750 ♪ Yeah, just a little bit of sou-ou-oul ♪ 909 00:43:34,833 --> 00:43:35,916 ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ 910 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:38,375 ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ 911 00:43:38,458 --> 00:43:41,458 ♪ Clap your hands just a little bit louder ♪ 912 00:43:41,541 --> 00:43:44,625 ♪ Clap your hands just a little bit louder ♪ 913 00:43:44,708 --> 00:43:48,458 [upbeat harmonica solo] 914 00:43:48,541 --> 00:43:51,291 - That was done live at the Apollo, 915 00:43:51,375 --> 00:43:52,458 and that's how the world 916 00:43:52,541 --> 00:43:54,458 got to know about Little Stevie Wonder. 917 00:43:55,041 --> 00:43:57,291 - The fabulous Supremes! How about it, yeah? 918 00:43:57,375 --> 00:44:01,291 [upbeat band music] 919 00:44:01,375 --> 00:44:03,125 - We walked onstage. 920 00:44:03,208 --> 00:44:04,791 Thank you. 921 00:44:04,875 --> 00:44:06,750 We started singing our little cute song. 922 00:44:06,833 --> 00:44:09,958 We had these little cute dresses on, short dresses. 923 00:44:10,041 --> 00:44:11,625 We were so frightened 924 00:44:11,708 --> 00:44:15,583 because the Apollo audiences were the toughest audience. 925 00:44:15,666 --> 00:44:19,125 And we said, "Well, suppose they boo us?" 926 00:44:19,208 --> 00:44:20,625 ♪ Stop hurting me ♪ 927 00:44:20,708 --> 00:44:23,625 - ♪ Hurting me ♪ - ♪ Hurting me ♪ 928 00:44:23,708 --> 00:44:25,958 [vocalizing] 929 00:44:26,041 --> 00:44:29,291 - ♪ Now, don't you think you're, oh ♪ 930 00:44:29,375 --> 00:44:32,208 And we went into the song and, I mean, 931 00:44:32,291 --> 00:44:34,500 all of us were really frightened. 932 00:44:34,583 --> 00:44:35,958 We kept looking at each other. 933 00:44:36,041 --> 00:44:38,500 all: ♪ Count the times you've cried ♪ 934 00:44:38,583 --> 00:44:43,000 ♪ You know how many times I've cried ♪ 935 00:44:43,083 --> 00:44:45,958 - But, uh, by the time we finished our second song, 936 00:44:46,041 --> 00:44:47,375 they were applauding us, 937 00:44:47,458 --> 00:44:50,666 and we knew that we had been accepted. 938 00:44:50,750 --> 00:44:53,750 [applause] 939 00:44:54,958 --> 00:44:57,666 - I don't remember seeing anyone 940 00:44:57,750 --> 00:44:58,958 in the audience whatsoever. 941 00:44:59,041 --> 00:45:00,833 I never looked at the audience. 942 00:45:00,916 --> 00:45:02,333 I knew the back wall. [chuckles] 943 00:45:02,416 --> 00:45:04,000 I knew every mark on the back wall. 944 00:45:04,083 --> 00:45:07,833 ♪ I don't want you, oh, no ♪ 945 00:45:07,916 --> 00:45:10,166 ♪ But I need you ♪ 946 00:45:10,250 --> 00:45:13,708 ♪ Don't want to kiss you ♪ 947 00:45:13,791 --> 00:45:16,041 ♪ But I need you ♪ 948 00:45:16,125 --> 00:45:17,916 First time The Miracles and I played there, 949 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:19,416 Ray Charles was the headliner, 950 00:45:19,500 --> 00:45:21,916 and we did not have formal arrangements. 951 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:23,208 ♪ ♪ 952 00:45:23,291 --> 00:45:26,750 ♪ You really got a hold on me ♪ 953 00:45:26,833 --> 00:45:28,500 ♪ And it's all right ♪ 954 00:45:28,583 --> 00:45:32,208 The manager at the Apollo at the time, he went crazy on us. 955 00:45:32,291 --> 00:45:33,541 We didn't know we had to have that, 956 00:45:33,625 --> 00:45:35,041 so he's just raising hell. 957 00:45:35,125 --> 00:45:38,708 ♪ Baby, I love you ♪ 958 00:45:38,791 --> 00:45:40,750 And then here comes Ray Charles. 959 00:45:40,833 --> 00:45:43,708 He said, "Do any of you know how to play your songs?" 960 00:45:43,791 --> 00:45:45,541 So I knew how to play them on piano, 961 00:45:45,625 --> 00:45:47,166 so he had me to come sit down. 962 00:45:47,250 --> 00:45:48,666 I was a nervous wreck. 963 00:45:48,750 --> 00:45:52,083 - Okay, well, everything's cool, baby. 964 00:45:52,166 --> 00:45:54,666 - And when he heard me play it one time, he took it over. 965 00:45:54,750 --> 00:45:55,916 "Okay, saxophones, 966 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:57,416 "you write down ba-da-da-da right here 967 00:45:57,500 --> 00:45:59,750 and trumpets, you go ahead and put that down there." 968 00:45:59,833 --> 00:46:03,416 Just did a whole arrangement to both of our songs 969 00:46:03,500 --> 00:46:05,416 right off the top of his head that morning. 970 00:46:05,500 --> 00:46:07,416 [Ray Charles' "Hallelujah, I Love Her So"] 971 00:46:07,500 --> 00:46:10,083 - ♪ Let me tell you about a girl I know ♪ 972 00:46:10,166 --> 00:46:13,083 ♪ She is my baby, and she lives next door ♪ 973 00:46:13,166 --> 00:46:15,750 ♪ Every morning 'fore the sun comes up ♪ 974 00:46:15,833 --> 00:46:18,208 ♪ She bring my coffee in my favorite cup ♪ 975 00:46:18,291 --> 00:46:19,541 ♪ That's why I know now ♪ 976 00:46:19,625 --> 00:46:21,083 ♪ Whoa, I know ♪ 977 00:46:21,166 --> 00:46:23,416 ♪ Hallelujah, I just love her so ♪ 978 00:46:23,500 --> 00:46:27,208 - These artists who weren't necessary literate musicians 979 00:46:27,291 --> 00:46:30,500 who maybe got a record deal and a hit song 980 00:46:30,583 --> 00:46:32,750 and need to take it on the road, 981 00:46:32,833 --> 00:46:36,291 how do you acquire those skills? 982 00:46:36,375 --> 00:46:38,125 You hang out backstage. 983 00:46:38,208 --> 00:46:39,875 - ♪ Oh ♪ 984 00:46:39,958 --> 00:46:44,333 ♪ Sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah ♪ 985 00:46:44,416 --> 00:46:48,000 all: ♪ Yeah ♪ 986 00:46:48,083 --> 00:46:51,833 ♪ I get a feeling that I never ♪ 987 00:46:51,916 --> 00:46:55,166 ♪ Never, never, never, had before, no, no ♪ 988 00:46:55,250 --> 00:46:59,000 - The Apollo was more like a university. 989 00:46:59,083 --> 00:47:01,291 ♪ ♪ 990 00:47:01,375 --> 00:47:02,583 - It was like going to school 991 00:47:02,666 --> 00:47:05,125 when Gladys and I played the Apollo Theater. 992 00:47:05,208 --> 00:47:09,125 I learned how to be gracious to the audience. 993 00:47:09,208 --> 00:47:12,416 - ♪ Something's got a hold on me, yeah ♪ 994 00:47:12,500 --> 00:47:14,625 all: ♪ Oh, it must be love ♪ 995 00:47:14,708 --> 00:47:16,625 - Backstage was hectic. 996 00:47:16,708 --> 00:47:19,291 You could smell the makeup and the perfume, 997 00:47:19,375 --> 00:47:22,958 and people were constantly looking for an iron. 998 00:47:23,041 --> 00:47:25,500 - ♪ I've got a feeling, I feel so strange ♪ 999 00:47:25,583 --> 00:47:29,708 - The Apollo had a very unique ranking system. 1000 00:47:29,791 --> 00:47:31,083 When you first started there, 1001 00:47:31,166 --> 00:47:33,000 your dressing room was up on eight. 1002 00:47:33,083 --> 00:47:35,333 [laughs] You had to work your way down. 1003 00:47:35,416 --> 00:47:37,666 - Any artist that would come close to my room 1004 00:47:37,750 --> 00:47:39,666 as they're going down the stairs to do their show, 1005 00:47:39,750 --> 00:47:42,750 I said, "After you finish, can we play some cards?" 1006 00:47:42,833 --> 00:47:44,708 And every time I played, I lost my money. 1007 00:47:44,791 --> 00:47:45,958 - ♪ It must be love ♪ 1008 00:47:46,041 --> 00:47:47,333 - When artists would come offstage, 1009 00:47:47,416 --> 00:47:48,500 you wouldn't go and change. 1010 00:47:48,583 --> 00:47:50,083 But if you did go and change your clothes, 1011 00:47:50,166 --> 00:47:51,375 you would change them quickly 1012 00:47:51,458 --> 00:47:53,625 and the Apollo had lots of steps, 1013 00:47:53,708 --> 00:47:56,500 so you run back down and catch the next act, 1014 00:47:56,583 --> 00:47:58,208 because if they did anything new, 1015 00:47:58,291 --> 00:47:59,541 you wanted to check it out 1016 00:47:59,625 --> 00:48:02,083 and see how well it was accepted by the audience. 1017 00:48:02,166 --> 00:48:04,708 And if so, then you might go back and try to change it 1018 00:48:04,791 --> 00:48:06,041 and put it into your act. 1019 00:48:06,125 --> 00:48:07,583 - Everybody wanted to be better 1020 00:48:07,666 --> 00:48:09,708 than the next group following them. 1021 00:48:09,791 --> 00:48:11,416 Everybody was close. 1022 00:48:11,500 --> 00:48:14,458 Competitive as hell, but close like a family. 1023 00:48:14,541 --> 00:48:17,416 [upbeat jazz music] 1024 00:48:17,500 --> 00:48:20,416 [rhythmic tapping] 1025 00:48:20,500 --> 00:48:26,708 ♪ ♪ 1026 00:48:26,791 --> 00:48:29,750 - You can't mention the Apollo without dance, 1027 00:48:29,833 --> 00:48:31,750 that voices music. 1028 00:48:31,833 --> 00:48:33,541 I'm talking all types of dance... 1029 00:48:33,625 --> 00:48:35,375 [rhythmic tapping] 1030 00:48:35,458 --> 00:48:37,541 Honi Coles, 1031 00:48:37,625 --> 00:48:40,500 Sammy Davis, Jr., 1032 00:48:40,583 --> 00:48:44,125 and Gregory Hines. 1033 00:48:44,208 --> 00:48:48,458 Of course, Sandman Sims. 1034 00:48:48,541 --> 00:48:50,291 I studied them. 1035 00:48:50,375 --> 00:48:52,375 I was taught by all of them. 1036 00:48:52,458 --> 00:48:55,375 [rapid rhythmic tapping] 1037 00:48:55,458 --> 00:49:02,458 ♪ ♪ 1038 00:49:03,208 --> 00:49:04,208 From The Temptations 1039 00:49:04,291 --> 00:49:06,250 to Gladys Knight and the Pips, 1040 00:49:06,333 --> 00:49:08,750 Cholly Atkins was like a dancer 1041 00:49:08,833 --> 00:49:12,166 who choreographed all of that stuff. 1042 00:49:13,375 --> 00:49:16,250 Those four and five brothers who was stepping. 1043 00:49:16,333 --> 00:49:19,250 [The Temptations' "My Girl"] 1044 00:49:19,333 --> 00:49:20,583 ♪ ♪ 1045 00:49:20,666 --> 00:49:24,583 - ♪ I've got sunshine ♪ 1046 00:49:24,666 --> 00:49:27,791 ♪ On a cloudy day ♪ 1047 00:49:27,875 --> 00:49:30,333 ♪ ♪ 1048 00:49:30,416 --> 00:49:34,291 ♪ When it's cold outside ♪ 1049 00:49:34,375 --> 00:49:36,291 ♪ I've got the month of May ♪ 1050 00:49:36,375 --> 00:49:39,291 - That was a very deliberate move 1051 00:49:39,375 --> 00:49:44,125 to have the feared black man in an Italian suit 1052 00:49:44,208 --> 00:49:48,583 performing disciplined steps. 1053 00:49:48,666 --> 00:49:49,916 - ♪ My girl ♪ 1054 00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:52,500 - We had Dr. Kings. We had the orators. 1055 00:49:52,583 --> 00:49:54,125 We know that people were 1056 00:49:54,208 --> 00:49:57,500 making those statements with words. 1057 00:49:57,583 --> 00:50:00,416 But on the level of style, 1058 00:50:00,500 --> 00:50:03,458 they could achieve the same thing 1059 00:50:03,541 --> 00:50:06,500 and get white people to soften their stance 1060 00:50:06,583 --> 00:50:09,166 against, you know, black freedom. 1061 00:50:09,250 --> 00:50:10,666 [The Isley Brothers' "Twist & Shout"] 1062 00:50:10,750 --> 00:50:12,666 - ♪ Shake it up baby, now ♪ 1063 00:50:12,750 --> 00:50:14,625 - ♪ Shake it up, baby ♪ 1064 00:50:14,708 --> 00:50:16,708 - ♪ Twist and shout ♪ 1065 00:50:16,791 --> 00:50:18,708 - ♪ Twist and shout ♪ 1066 00:50:18,791 --> 00:50:21,000 - ♪ Come on baby, now ♪ 1067 00:50:21,083 --> 00:50:22,375 - ♪ Come on, baby ♪ 1068 00:50:22,458 --> 00:50:26,291 - In our teenage years, suddenly 1069 00:50:26,375 --> 00:50:31,291 this new kind of music started coming over to England. 1070 00:50:31,375 --> 00:50:33,916 We'd been sort of brought up on this sort of white music, 1071 00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:35,666 which was a little bit square. 1072 00:50:35,750 --> 00:50:38,666 Suddenly there was this really hip stuff, 1073 00:50:38,750 --> 00:50:40,333 and it just connected. 1074 00:50:40,416 --> 00:50:42,750 We just fell in love with it. 1075 00:50:42,833 --> 00:50:45,041 We wanted to sing like them. 1076 00:50:45,125 --> 00:50:48,666 We wanted to write like that and perform like that. 1077 00:50:48,750 --> 00:50:50,583 - ♪ Well, shake it up, baby, now ♪ 1078 00:50:50,666 --> 00:50:52,708 together: ♪ Shake it up, baby ♪ 1079 00:50:52,791 --> 00:50:54,541 - ♪ Twist and shout ♪ 1080 00:50:54,625 --> 00:50:56,041 together: ♪ Twist and shout ♪ 1081 00:50:56,125 --> 00:50:58,375 - We then brought it into what we did, 1082 00:50:58,458 --> 00:51:00,875 and we were introducing this music 1083 00:51:00,958 --> 00:51:03,875 back to the white audience who didn't know about it, 1084 00:51:03,958 --> 00:51:06,083 particularly in America. 1085 00:51:06,166 --> 00:51:07,541 together: ♪ Work it on out ♪ 1086 00:51:07,625 --> 00:51:10,041 - ♪ You know you look so good ♪ 1087 00:51:10,125 --> 00:51:11,416 together: ♪ Look so good ♪ 1088 00:51:11,500 --> 00:51:14,708 - So when we first came to New York, 1089 00:51:14,791 --> 00:51:17,291 the Apollo was the first place we wanted to go, 1090 00:51:17,375 --> 00:51:18,833 and instead we were warned off. 1091 00:51:18,916 --> 00:51:20,208 "No, you can't go up there. 1092 00:51:20,291 --> 00:51:21,416 "It's, like-- it's too dangerous, you know. 1093 00:51:21,500 --> 00:51:23,041 It's too crazy. You can't go up there." 1094 00:51:23,125 --> 00:51:25,541 And we didn't on that trip. 1095 00:51:25,625 --> 00:51:27,916 You know, the early Beatle trip, we didn't go. 1096 00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:32,625 It was only much later when we went into the Apollo. 1097 00:51:32,708 --> 00:51:36,875 - ♪ When you ♪ 1098 00:51:36,958 --> 00:51:40,458 ♪ Walk ♪ 1099 00:51:40,541 --> 00:51:44,750 ♪ Through a storm ♪ 1100 00:51:44,833 --> 00:51:48,916 ♪ Hold your head ♪ 1101 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:52,958 ♪ Up high ♪ 1102 00:51:53,041 --> 00:51:56,083 ♪ And don't ♪ 1103 00:51:56,166 --> 00:51:59,958 ♪ Be afraid ♪ 1104 00:52:00,041 --> 00:52:01,833 As a black woman performing, 1105 00:52:01,916 --> 00:52:04,791 traveling around the country and all that jazz, 1106 00:52:04,875 --> 00:52:07,750 it was hard as heck. 1107 00:52:07,833 --> 00:52:08,875 We would have to, of course, 1108 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:10,291 not go through the restaurants, 1109 00:52:10,375 --> 00:52:13,958 not use the bathrooms, not stay in the hotels. 1110 00:52:14,041 --> 00:52:16,125 We slept sometimes in the station wagon. 1111 00:52:16,208 --> 00:52:17,916 ♪ There's a ♪ 1112 00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:21,958 ♪ Golden... ♪ 1113 00:52:22,041 --> 00:52:24,416 - We'd be on the highway and go into a restaurant 1114 00:52:24,500 --> 00:52:28,291 and, you know, you'd sit there for an hour 1115 00:52:28,375 --> 00:52:30,291 before somebody would come and say, 1116 00:52:30,375 --> 00:52:31,583 "We wish you'd leave." 1117 00:52:31,666 --> 00:52:33,250 [sorrowful ballad] 1118 00:52:33,333 --> 00:52:38,333 - ♪ Of a lark ♪ 1119 00:52:38,416 --> 00:52:40,000 ♪ ♪ 1120 00:52:40,083 --> 00:52:44,291 ♪ Walk on ♪ 1121 00:52:44,375 --> 00:52:45,791 I know I was singing better 1122 00:52:45,875 --> 00:52:48,291 than any of those white girls staying in the real hotels, 1123 00:52:48,375 --> 00:52:49,708 going to the restaurants, 1124 00:52:49,791 --> 00:52:53,000 and getting paid much, much more than we were. 1125 00:52:53,083 --> 00:52:55,875 ♪ Through the rain ♪ 1126 00:52:55,958 --> 00:53:01,041 ♪ Though your dreams ♪ 1127 00:53:01,125 --> 00:53:04,375 ♪ Be tossed ♪ 1128 00:53:04,458 --> 00:53:06,791 ♪ And blown ♪ 1129 00:53:06,875 --> 00:53:08,291 Not because we weren't worth it, 1130 00:53:08,375 --> 00:53:10,833 but we weren't allowed to be worth it. 1131 00:53:10,916 --> 00:53:13,791 [slow piano-driven jazz] 1132 00:53:13,875 --> 00:53:18,875 ♪ ♪ 1133 00:53:18,958 --> 00:53:21,583 - Imagine the feeling: 1134 00:53:21,666 --> 00:53:24,166 You're driving up in your tour bus 1135 00:53:24,250 --> 00:53:25,875 and you're in Harlem 1136 00:53:25,958 --> 00:53:28,208 and you're going down 125th Street 1137 00:53:28,291 --> 00:53:31,000 and you pull up in front of the Apollo Theater. 1138 00:53:31,083 --> 00:53:36,083 The relief, the joy to be home. 1139 00:53:36,166 --> 00:53:43,125 ♪ ♪ 1140 00:53:45,958 --> 00:53:48,208 - It was always our community 1141 00:53:48,291 --> 00:53:51,875 welcoming home its great artists. 1142 00:53:51,958 --> 00:53:53,958 - Hi! 1143 00:53:54,041 --> 00:53:55,750 [funky soul music] 1144 00:53:55,833 --> 00:53:58,583 Welcome to the Apollo. 1145 00:53:58,666 --> 00:54:02,500 It's a special evening. 1146 00:54:02,583 --> 00:54:06,416 We want you to sit back, relax, 1147 00:54:06,500 --> 00:54:09,875 and loan your souls to us for a few minutes. 1148 00:54:09,958 --> 00:54:12,333 I promise you, we're gonna give 'em right back to you. 1149 00:54:12,416 --> 00:54:14,166 All right? 1150 00:54:14,250 --> 00:54:16,250 I also promise you, 1151 00:54:16,333 --> 00:54:19,083 as you've heard before, before you leave here, 1152 00:54:19,166 --> 00:54:21,750 you will have enjoyed this show 1153 00:54:21,833 --> 00:54:25,083 as much any that you've had an occasion to see. 1154 00:54:25,166 --> 00:54:26,291 All right? 1155 00:54:26,375 --> 00:54:27,916 ♪ What you want ♪ 1156 00:54:28,000 --> 00:54:29,458 ♪ Baby, I got it ♪ 1157 00:54:29,541 --> 00:54:30,916 ♪ What you need ♪ 1158 00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:32,333 ♪ You know I got it ♪ 1159 00:54:32,416 --> 00:54:33,791 ♪ All I'm asking ♪ 1160 00:54:33,875 --> 00:54:35,958 ♪ Is for a little respect when you get home ♪ 1161 00:54:36,041 --> 00:54:37,166 ♪ Baby ♪ 1162 00:54:37,250 --> 00:54:40,000 ♪ I need it, yes, I do ♪ 1163 00:54:40,083 --> 00:54:42,541 Many years ago, oh, my God, 1164 00:54:42,625 --> 00:54:45,041 the Apollo Theater was among 1165 00:54:45,125 --> 00:54:49,875 the first three, four engagements of my career. 1166 00:54:49,958 --> 00:54:52,250 I was about 17 years old. 1167 00:54:52,333 --> 00:54:56,250 Back in that day, I did four shows a day. 1168 00:54:56,333 --> 00:54:58,958 Sometimes we did five on the weekend. 1169 00:54:59,041 --> 00:55:01,958 [Jr. Walker & The All Stars' "Do the Boomerang"] 1170 00:55:02,041 --> 00:55:03,583 ♪ ♪ 1171 00:55:03,666 --> 00:55:06,500 - We used to do here five shows a day. 1172 00:55:06,583 --> 00:55:08,208 - 29 shows a week. 1173 00:55:08,291 --> 00:55:10,791 - The first day we performed at the Apollo-- 1174 00:55:10,875 --> 00:55:12,333 - [laughs] Don't tell that story. 1175 00:55:12,416 --> 00:55:13,791 - No, you tell it. - We sound so dumb. 1176 00:55:13,875 --> 00:55:15,500 - After we did the first show, 1177 00:55:15,583 --> 00:55:17,458 I went upstairs to our dressing room, 1178 00:55:17,541 --> 00:55:20,916 which we dressed at the last dressing room up top. 1179 00:55:21,000 --> 00:55:23,416 And I packed my clothes, man. 1180 00:55:23,500 --> 00:55:24,958 We were going out the door 1181 00:55:25,041 --> 00:55:27,125 and Spain told us-- the doorman in the back-- 1182 00:55:27,208 --> 00:55:28,500 - We said, "See, y'all!" 1183 00:55:28,583 --> 00:55:30,458 - "Where do y'all think y'all going?" 1184 00:55:30,541 --> 00:55:32,291 We'd done our show, and we were getting ready 1185 00:55:32,375 --> 00:55:34,125 to go back to our hotel. 1186 00:55:34,208 --> 00:55:36,125 They said, "You go back upstairs. 1187 00:55:36,208 --> 00:55:37,458 You got four more shows." 1188 00:55:37,541 --> 00:55:38,666 - To do! [laughs] 1189 00:55:38,750 --> 00:55:40,458 We said, "What?" 1190 00:55:40,541 --> 00:55:43,000 - "Four shows?" - "Four more shows?" 1191 00:55:43,083 --> 00:55:46,208 - We were in the theater from 11:00 that morning 1192 00:55:46,291 --> 00:55:48,333 until maybe 12:00 at night. 1193 00:55:48,416 --> 00:55:49,791 - The first time The Miracles and I 1194 00:55:49,875 --> 00:55:52,000 ever played at the Apollo, we were just kids, man. 1195 00:55:52,083 --> 00:55:53,166 I'm only 17. 1196 00:55:53,250 --> 00:55:55,000 Mr. Schiffman called Barry and told him 1197 00:55:55,083 --> 00:55:56,291 he wanted his money back. 1198 00:55:56,375 --> 00:55:57,833 He wasn't even gonna pay us any money. 1199 00:55:57,916 --> 00:55:59,000 We couldn't even get out of the hotel 1200 00:55:59,083 --> 00:56:00,333 with the money he was paying us. 1201 00:56:00,416 --> 00:56:02,708 - Mr. Schiffman, you didn't pay me enough! 1202 00:56:02,791 --> 00:56:04,291 ♪ ♪ 1203 00:56:04,375 --> 00:56:06,625 - ♪ Step to the right, now ♪ 1204 00:56:06,708 --> 00:56:08,916 ♪ ♪ 1205 00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:11,208 ♪ Do the Boomerang, girl ♪ 1206 00:56:11,291 --> 00:56:14,958 ♪ ♪ 1207 00:56:15,041 --> 00:56:16,625 - I can think back 1208 00:56:16,708 --> 00:56:21,708 how poor my family was in 1932 and '33 1209 00:56:21,791 --> 00:56:24,000 and '34 and '35, 1210 00:56:24,083 --> 00:56:25,791 '36, '37. [laughter] 1211 00:56:25,875 --> 00:56:29,583 '38, '39, '40, '41, '42, '43. 1212 00:56:29,666 --> 00:56:34,041 We were poor, P-O-O-O-O-O-O-O- 1213 00:56:34,125 --> 00:56:38,250 O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-R. [laughter] 1214 00:56:38,333 --> 00:56:40,291 - Comedians are always necessary 1215 00:56:40,375 --> 00:56:42,375 because we're the ones who tell you the truth. 1216 00:56:42,458 --> 00:56:43,916 - Figure this out for a case. 1217 00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:46,875 Can you believe I have two cops in Chicago 1218 00:56:46,958 --> 00:56:49,041 suing me for kicking them and biting them 1219 00:56:49,125 --> 00:56:51,041 while they was trying to throw me in front of a train? 1220 00:56:51,125 --> 00:56:53,500 [laughter] 1221 00:56:53,583 --> 00:56:55,708 - If somebody said to me tomorrow, 1222 00:56:55,791 --> 00:56:57,333 "You're going to the Apollo," 1223 00:56:57,416 --> 00:56:59,041 I'd tremble. [laughs] 1224 00:56:59,125 --> 00:57:00,875 Yeah, that was frightening, 'cause of-- 1225 00:57:01,000 --> 00:57:03,458 and then the overwhelming reaction. 1226 00:57:03,541 --> 00:57:05,125 Reaction. 1227 00:57:05,208 --> 00:57:07,750 The laughs, this-- 1228 00:57:07,833 --> 00:57:09,708 the theater shakes. 1229 00:57:09,791 --> 00:57:11,708 - Richard Pryor, 1230 00:57:11,791 --> 00:57:13,416 Redd Foxx, 1231 00:57:13,500 --> 00:57:15,083 Moms Mabley, 1232 00:57:15,166 --> 00:57:16,583 "Pigmeat" Markham: 1233 00:57:16,666 --> 00:57:18,750 They were groundbreaking in the fact that 1234 00:57:18,833 --> 00:57:22,083 they didn't try to be mainstream. 1235 00:57:22,166 --> 00:57:24,083 They kept it, you know, 1236 00:57:24,166 --> 00:57:25,583 for lack of a better word, real. 1237 00:57:25,666 --> 00:57:26,750 [laughter] 1238 00:57:26,833 --> 00:57:28,083 - If you ever get arrested, 1239 00:57:28,166 --> 00:57:30,083 you understand what they think of niggers. 1240 00:57:30,166 --> 00:57:31,125 I mean, they just shoot niggers 1241 00:57:31,208 --> 00:57:32,541 accidentally all the time. 1242 00:57:32,625 --> 00:57:34,708 [laughter] - I know, brother. 1243 00:57:34,791 --> 00:57:37,625 - And you can't shoot a nigger accidentally that much. 1244 00:57:37,708 --> 00:57:38,958 Every... 1245 00:57:39,041 --> 00:57:40,208 [imitates white person] "My gun just fell out 1246 00:57:40,291 --> 00:57:41,583 and just, uh..." [laughter] 1247 00:57:41,666 --> 00:57:43,625 "Just went crazy, shot him six times." 1248 00:57:43,708 --> 00:57:45,125 [laughter] 1249 00:57:45,208 --> 00:57:46,958 [applause] 1250 00:57:47,041 --> 00:57:49,791 - What the fuck is up with the police? 1251 00:57:49,875 --> 00:57:51,750 My God! 1252 00:57:51,833 --> 00:57:52,750 I'm scared. 1253 00:57:52,833 --> 00:57:54,250 I ain't getting rid of no guns. 1254 00:57:54,333 --> 00:57:55,583 Fuck that shit! 1255 00:57:55,666 --> 00:57:58,458 And I had a cop pull me over the other day. 1256 00:57:58,541 --> 00:58:00,458 Scared me so bad, made me think 1257 00:58:00,541 --> 00:58:03,750 I stole my own car! [laughter] 1258 00:58:03,833 --> 00:58:05,291 "Get out the car. You stole this car!" 1259 00:58:05,375 --> 00:58:08,125 I'm like, "Damn, maybe I did!" [laughter] 1260 00:58:08,208 --> 00:58:11,625 "Oh, Lord, I done stole a car!" [laughter] 1261 00:58:11,708 --> 00:58:13,958 - You still a black man, you still got to deal with it, 1262 00:58:14,041 --> 00:58:18,458 so we will continue to be making jokes 1263 00:58:18,541 --> 00:58:19,833 out of struggle. 1264 00:58:19,916 --> 00:58:21,375 [car horn honks] 1265 00:58:22,875 --> 00:58:25,833 [soft piano music] 1266 00:58:25,916 --> 00:58:28,833 [siren whoops] 1267 00:58:28,916 --> 00:58:35,916 ♪ ♪ 1268 00:58:45,916 --> 00:58:49,625 - I think we've always had moments like that. 1269 00:58:49,708 --> 00:58:51,833 When you're at that point of innocence in your life 1270 00:58:51,916 --> 00:58:55,500 and when things are normalized in your world, 1271 00:58:55,583 --> 00:58:58,000 how do you register fear? 1272 00:58:58,083 --> 00:58:59,375 - I mean, as a black man, 1273 00:58:59,458 --> 00:59:01,208 you're born into this world with PTSD. 1274 00:59:01,291 --> 00:59:02,333 - [chuckling] Yeah. 1275 00:59:02,416 --> 00:59:03,375 - I mean, the first time a cop 1276 00:59:03,458 --> 00:59:05,833 put a gun in my face, I was nine years old. 1277 00:59:05,916 --> 00:59:07,000 - Mm. - Mm. 1278 00:59:07,083 --> 00:59:08,541 - And I wasn't, like, Shaquille O'Neal size. 1279 00:59:08,625 --> 00:59:12,041 I was an average nine-year-old, but that was PTSD. 1280 00:59:12,125 --> 00:59:13,708 You know, any time they kick down the door 1281 00:59:13,791 --> 00:59:16,708 to arrest my uncle, that's-- you know, that's PTSD, man. 1282 00:59:16,791 --> 00:59:17,875 You know what I'm saying? 1283 00:59:17,958 --> 00:59:21,041 So we're born into this world 1284 00:59:21,125 --> 00:59:23,791 at a disadvantage, of course. 1285 00:59:23,875 --> 00:59:25,250 - We're haunted... - Mm-hmm. 1286 00:59:25,333 --> 00:59:29,875 - By these experiences, and we tend to be isolated in them. 1287 00:59:29,958 --> 00:59:33,208 As a community, we have always lived out of spite. 1288 00:59:33,291 --> 00:59:34,416 - Mm. 1289 00:59:34,500 --> 00:59:38,416 - You know, in spite of the circumstances, 1290 00:59:38,500 --> 00:59:43,375 we found the joy or the humor or the--the freedom of truth. 1291 00:59:43,458 --> 00:59:46,541 [soft piano music] 1292 00:59:46,625 --> 00:59:52,583 ♪ ♪ 1293 00:59:52,666 --> 00:59:55,583 - "Think of your mother, who had no father, 1294 00:59:55,666 --> 00:59:58,916 "and your grandmother, who was abandoned by her father, 1295 00:59:59,000 --> 01:00:02,083 "and your grandfather, who was left behind by his father, 1296 01:00:02,166 --> 01:00:03,583 "and think of how Prince's daughter 1297 01:00:03,666 --> 01:00:05,791 "was now drafted into those solemn ranks, 1298 01:00:05,875 --> 01:00:07,375 "deprived of her birthright, 1299 01:00:07,458 --> 01:00:10,000 "that vessel which was her father 1300 01:00:10,083 --> 01:00:13,416 "which brimmed with 25 years of love. 1301 01:00:13,500 --> 01:00:15,625 "I held you, 1302 01:00:15,708 --> 01:00:16,708 "and a great fear, 1303 01:00:16,791 --> 01:00:19,208 "wide as all our American generations, 1304 01:00:19,291 --> 01:00:20,958 took me." 1305 01:00:21,041 --> 01:00:24,083 I think our destination is, like, pure explosion, 1306 01:00:24,166 --> 01:00:26,750 and then the next piece is literally the fog, 1307 01:00:26,833 --> 01:00:28,916 and we're just trying to see our way through it. 1308 01:00:29,041 --> 01:00:31,125 If we're flashing back and forth in time, 1309 01:00:31,208 --> 01:00:34,125 so it's like Eric Garner, Tray--and like, 1310 01:00:34,208 --> 01:00:36,000 it's those newsreel and headlines, 1311 01:00:36,083 --> 01:00:38,000 and it's just bam, bam, bam, bam. 1312 01:00:38,083 --> 01:00:39,791 It should feel like broken glass. 1313 01:00:39,875 --> 01:00:42,958 [relentlessly chaotic drumming] 1314 01:00:43,041 --> 01:00:50,041 ♪ ♪ 1315 01:01:19,416 --> 01:01:22,500 - The man believes that he can kill him. 1316 01:01:22,583 --> 01:01:24,500 He's a lieutenant. What it mean? 1317 01:01:24,583 --> 01:01:26,375 [shouting] 1318 01:01:26,458 --> 01:01:28,833 I mean, even if the boy was in the wrong, 1319 01:01:28,916 --> 01:01:31,583 he's not supposed to shoot him. 1320 01:01:31,666 --> 01:01:33,291 - He has an outstanding record. 1321 01:01:33,375 --> 01:01:37,166 He has received 20 citations in this department. 1322 01:01:37,250 --> 01:01:38,791 I would say I didn't think 1323 01:01:38,875 --> 01:01:40,333 the lieutenant, under the circumstances, 1324 01:01:40,416 --> 01:01:41,833 had any other alternative. 1325 01:01:41,916 --> 01:01:44,833 [disjointed jazz music] 1326 01:01:44,916 --> 01:01:46,333 ♪ ♪ 1327 01:01:46,416 --> 01:01:48,666 - That kid, that kid James Powell 1328 01:01:48,750 --> 01:01:51,916 who was shot down in cold blood the other day-- 1329 01:01:52,000 --> 01:01:53,541 and it was murder-- 1330 01:01:53,625 --> 01:01:56,375 was my son and your son 1331 01:01:56,458 --> 01:01:59,541 and the son of every black mother and father 1332 01:01:59,625 --> 01:02:01,333 in this country. 1333 01:02:01,416 --> 01:02:06,041 We must demand-- demand, my brothers, 1334 01:02:06,125 --> 01:02:09,250 that this lieutenant, Gilligan, 1335 01:02:09,333 --> 01:02:13,000 be promptly suspended and arrested for murder! 1336 01:02:13,083 --> 01:02:15,666 And this should be done immediately! 1337 01:02:15,750 --> 01:02:18,666 [applause] 1338 01:02:18,750 --> 01:02:25,750 ♪ ♪ 1339 01:02:27,375 --> 01:02:31,041 - In 1964, when the riots started, 1340 01:02:31,125 --> 01:02:33,208 we made up signs. 1341 01:02:33,291 --> 01:02:35,583 And the one black store that was near us, 1342 01:02:35,666 --> 01:02:37,416 where, you know, you go down the little steps 1343 01:02:37,500 --> 01:02:39,583 to go down into his store, you know. 1344 01:02:39,666 --> 01:02:41,041 And we had told him, 1345 01:02:41,125 --> 01:02:43,541 "Put a sign up there, 'Black Owned,' 1346 01:02:43,625 --> 01:02:46,083 "because we gonna fix these people 1347 01:02:46,166 --> 01:02:49,083 "and they're gonna burn Harlem up, 1348 01:02:49,166 --> 01:02:51,916 burn, burn, burn." 1349 01:02:52,000 --> 01:02:54,041 [sirens wailing] 1350 01:02:54,125 --> 01:02:57,083 - Stores were being broken. Windows were being shattered. 1351 01:02:57,166 --> 01:02:59,416 At the height of the problem, 1352 01:02:59,500 --> 01:03:00,750 there was a ring of people 1353 01:03:00,833 --> 01:03:03,625 around the front door of the Apollo protecting it. 1354 01:03:03,708 --> 01:03:06,083 I didn't lose a pane of glass. 1355 01:03:06,166 --> 01:03:09,041 [crowd chanting] 1356 01:03:09,125 --> 01:03:12,291 ♪ ♪ 1357 01:03:12,375 --> 01:03:14,750 [screaming] 1358 01:03:14,833 --> 01:03:16,125 ♪ ♪ 1359 01:03:16,208 --> 01:03:18,000 [gunfire] 1360 01:03:19,208 --> 01:03:20,958 - Well, the Harlem riots 1361 01:03:21,041 --> 01:03:23,291 actually shouldn't surprise anyone. 1362 01:03:23,375 --> 01:03:25,583 Our people are still the victims of brutality, 1363 01:03:25,666 --> 01:03:28,958 and most of them are being brutalized by the police. 1364 01:03:29,041 --> 01:03:31,458 It's surprising to me that the explosion, 1365 01:03:31,541 --> 01:03:33,125 the racial explosion, 1366 01:03:33,208 --> 01:03:35,416 hasn't gotten farther out of hand than it actually has. 1367 01:03:35,500 --> 01:03:37,458 And it's not a reflection 1368 01:03:37,541 --> 01:03:39,875 of the ability of the New York Police 1369 01:03:39,958 --> 01:03:43,166 to contain the negroes in Harlem. 1370 01:03:43,250 --> 01:03:44,750 It's actually a reflection 1371 01:03:44,833 --> 01:03:46,458 of the ability of the negroes in Harlem 1372 01:03:46,541 --> 01:03:48,625 to hold or exercise restraint 1373 01:03:48,708 --> 01:03:53,375 in the face most severe form of brutality. 1374 01:03:53,458 --> 01:03:55,958 We don't see any American Dream. 1375 01:03:56,041 --> 01:03:59,291 We've experienced only the American nightmare. 1376 01:03:59,375 --> 01:04:00,291 - Hmm. 1377 01:04:00,375 --> 01:04:02,375 [crowd clamors] 1378 01:04:02,458 --> 01:04:05,333 - We haven't benefitted from America's democracy. 1379 01:04:05,416 --> 01:04:08,500 We've only suffered from America's hypocrisy. 1380 01:04:08,583 --> 01:04:12,333 And the generation that's coming up now can see it 1381 01:04:12,416 --> 01:04:14,208 and are not afraid to say it. 1382 01:04:14,291 --> 01:04:16,166 If you're going to jail, so what? 1383 01:04:16,250 --> 01:04:17,916 If you're black, you were born in jail. 1384 01:04:18,000 --> 01:04:19,541 - Mm. - "Black," that's that black. 1385 01:04:19,625 --> 01:04:21,333 You know what I mean? You were born in jail. 1386 01:04:21,416 --> 01:04:22,791 - "Black." - Denzel nailed it. 1387 01:04:22,875 --> 01:04:24,208 - I thought it was Denzel at first. 1388 01:04:24,291 --> 01:04:25,333 I was like, "Is it?" 1389 01:04:25,416 --> 01:04:27,500 - We need a New Age Malcolm, man. 1390 01:04:27,583 --> 01:04:29,125 We need another Malcolm right now. 1391 01:04:29,208 --> 01:04:31,166 - This is the New Age Malcolm. 1392 01:04:31,250 --> 01:04:33,500 Teaching this to young people in a way that they get it, 1393 01:04:33,583 --> 01:04:36,041 I feel like is radical as fuck 'cause it's free. 1394 01:04:36,125 --> 01:04:37,208 - You gotta read it, though. 1395 01:04:37,291 --> 01:04:38,333 - Yeah, but it's a starting point, though. 1396 01:04:38,416 --> 01:04:39,666 It's a freedom. 1397 01:04:39,750 --> 01:04:42,583 - I would agree to say that we need something that is-- 1398 01:04:42,666 --> 01:04:44,041 not saying books aren't tangible, but-- 1399 01:04:44,125 --> 01:04:45,875 - Visceral. - Exactly. 1400 01:04:46,458 --> 01:04:49,750 - "Prince had been driving to see his fiancée. 1401 01:04:49,833 --> 01:04:52,875 "He was killed yards from her home. 1402 01:04:52,958 --> 01:04:55,333 "And the only witness to the killing of Prince Jones 1403 01:04:55,416 --> 01:04:56,833 "was the killer himself. 1404 01:04:58,083 --> 01:05:00,916 "He was charged with nothing. 1405 01:05:01,000 --> 01:05:04,791 "He was punished by no one. 1406 01:05:04,875 --> 01:05:06,750 He was returned to his work." 1407 01:05:10,458 --> 01:05:13,375 [Jimmy Smith's "T'ain't No Use] 1408 01:05:13,458 --> 01:05:16,375 [languid organ music] 1409 01:05:16,458 --> 01:05:23,500 ♪ ♪ 1410 01:05:33,500 --> 01:05:36,458 - Stick your hands up. Let's go. 1411 01:05:36,541 --> 01:05:38,291 Come on, right this way. 1412 01:05:38,375 --> 01:05:44,875 ♪ ♪ 1413 01:05:47,166 --> 01:05:50,166 [fire roars] 1414 01:06:17,500 --> 01:06:20,041 - I guess I'm really upset about people 1415 01:06:20,125 --> 01:06:24,125 overlooking the city, overlooking Harlem. 1416 01:06:24,208 --> 01:06:27,625 But my fight has just started. 1417 01:06:27,708 --> 01:06:30,083 My fight now is for 1418 01:06:30,166 --> 01:06:34,291 the black America become American. 1419 01:06:34,375 --> 01:06:35,791 - ♪ Uh! ♪ 1420 01:06:35,875 --> 01:06:38,125 ♪ With your bad self ♪ 1421 01:06:38,208 --> 01:06:40,083 ♪ Say it louder! ♪ 1422 01:06:40,166 --> 01:06:42,291 together: ♪ I'm black and I'm proud! ♪ 1423 01:06:42,375 --> 01:06:44,500 - ♪ Say it louder! ♪ 1424 01:06:44,583 --> 01:06:46,625 together: ♪ I'm black and I'm proud! ♪ 1425 01:06:46,708 --> 01:06:48,500 - ♪ Yeah! Some people say... ♪ 1426 01:06:48,583 --> 01:06:50,000 - We had had enough. 1427 01:06:50,083 --> 01:06:53,125 That hit us like whoo! 1428 01:06:53,208 --> 01:06:54,291 Hit us hard. 1429 01:06:54,375 --> 01:06:59,333 - Black power means black dignity. 1430 01:06:59,416 --> 01:07:01,875 Just as surely as you're proud to be white, 1431 01:07:01,958 --> 01:07:03,416 we're proud to be black. 1432 01:07:03,500 --> 01:07:06,291 Black is beautiful, baby. It's pretty. 1433 01:07:06,375 --> 01:07:07,541 [applause] 1434 01:07:07,625 --> 01:07:11,500 - Hey, white man. 1435 01:07:11,583 --> 01:07:14,208 Look at me. 1436 01:07:14,291 --> 01:07:16,000 Can't see me, huh? 1437 01:07:16,083 --> 01:07:19,375 Well, I'm gonna make you see me, 1438 01:07:19,458 --> 01:07:22,958 because black is beautiful, baby. 1439 01:07:23,041 --> 01:07:26,333 - I am your teacher. You are a negro. 1440 01:07:26,416 --> 01:07:27,708 - No! - What are you? 1441 01:07:27,791 --> 01:07:30,333 - I'm black and beautiful. - What's your nationality? 1442 01:07:30,416 --> 01:07:34,250 - My nationality is Afro-American. 1443 01:07:34,333 --> 01:07:36,625 - It was at the Apollo 1444 01:07:36,708 --> 01:07:39,875 in which James Brown got onstage 1445 01:07:39,958 --> 01:07:42,541 and rally-cried to the community, 1446 01:07:42,625 --> 01:07:43,750 "I'm black and I'm proud." 1447 01:07:43,833 --> 01:07:45,208 That wasn't just a performance. 1448 01:07:45,291 --> 01:07:48,333 That was an opportunity to really be in dialogue 1449 01:07:48,416 --> 01:07:50,541 about what was happening and how we needed 1450 01:07:50,625 --> 01:07:52,583 to continually embrace our own identity. 1451 01:07:52,666 --> 01:07:53,916 together: ♪ I'm black and I'm proud! ♪ 1452 01:07:54,000 --> 01:07:55,083 ♪ ♪ 1453 01:07:55,166 --> 01:07:56,375 Say it louder! 1454 01:07:56,458 --> 01:07:57,875 together: ♪ I'm black and I'm proud! ♪ 1455 01:07:57,958 --> 01:07:59,166 - ♪ Ow! ♪ 1456 01:07:59,250 --> 01:08:00,875 - James Brown, he just encapsulates everything 1457 01:08:00,958 --> 01:08:03,625 that black America was looking for at that time. 1458 01:08:04,666 --> 01:08:09,416 - He got rid of that hairdo and grew an Afro. 1459 01:08:09,500 --> 01:08:13,666 - I actually remember in 1968, 1460 01:08:13,750 --> 01:08:16,375 I went to my parents and I said, 1461 01:08:16,457 --> 01:08:18,750 "I'd like to grow a natural." 1462 01:08:18,833 --> 01:08:21,250 It was a conversation you had to have 1463 01:08:21,332 --> 01:08:23,417 because it was seen as 1464 01:08:23,500 --> 01:08:26,708 a radical militant act at that time, 1465 01:08:26,792 --> 01:08:29,457 even in the black community. 1466 01:08:29,542 --> 01:08:32,582 - Did you hear what I said? I'm a preacher. 1467 01:08:32,667 --> 01:08:35,457 Black power! [chuckles] 1468 01:08:35,542 --> 01:08:37,457 ♪ ♪ 1469 01:08:37,542 --> 01:08:38,542 ♪ Look here there's one more thing ♪ 1470 01:08:38,625 --> 01:08:39,917 ♪ I got to say right here ♪ 1471 01:08:40,000 --> 01:08:43,291 - I stand before you today 1472 01:08:43,375 --> 01:08:45,582 as a candidate for the Democratic nomination 1473 01:08:45,667 --> 01:08:49,082 for the presidency of the United States of America. 1474 01:08:49,166 --> 01:08:52,125 [applause] 1475 01:08:52,207 --> 01:08:55,125 [Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On?"] 1476 01:08:55,207 --> 01:08:58,792 I am not the candidate of black America, 1477 01:08:58,875 --> 01:09:02,291 although I am black and proud. 1478 01:09:02,375 --> 01:09:05,582 - ♪ Mother, mother ♪ 1479 01:09:05,667 --> 01:09:09,582 ♪ There's too many of you crying ♪ 1480 01:09:09,667 --> 01:09:11,958 ♪ ♪ 1481 01:09:12,041 --> 01:09:15,125 ♪ Brother, brother, brother ♪ 1482 01:09:15,207 --> 01:09:18,625 ♪ There's far too many of you dying ♪ 1483 01:09:18,708 --> 01:09:23,457 - If we are fighting for greater freedoms, for access, 1484 01:09:23,542 --> 01:09:25,457 and then that access happens, 1485 01:09:25,542 --> 01:09:28,041 what happens to the black institutions 1486 01:09:28,125 --> 01:09:31,667 that used to be the only place you could go? 1487 01:09:31,750 --> 01:09:33,667 They began to decline, 1488 01:09:33,750 --> 01:09:35,833 as did the general neighborhood 1489 01:09:35,917 --> 01:09:39,291 in which these institutions are situated. 1490 01:09:39,375 --> 01:09:43,833 - ♪ You know we've got to find a way ♪ 1491 01:09:43,917 --> 01:09:48,792 ♪ To bring some loving here today, oh ♪ 1492 01:09:48,875 --> 01:09:53,000 - The mainstream economy had moved to the suburbs. 1493 01:09:53,082 --> 01:09:56,833 And all that we had left was 1494 01:09:56,917 --> 01:09:59,332 street hustle. 1495 01:09:59,417 --> 01:10:01,500 - ♪ Talk to me ♪ - ♪ Sister ♪ 1496 01:10:01,582 --> 01:10:03,708 - ♪ So you can see ♪ - ♪ Sister ♪ 1497 01:10:03,792 --> 01:10:06,875 - The state of the union is not good. 1498 01:10:06,958 --> 01:10:10,000 Millions of Americans are out of work. 1499 01:10:10,082 --> 01:10:11,500 Recession and inflation 1500 01:10:11,582 --> 01:10:14,332 are eroding the money of millions more. 1501 01:10:14,417 --> 01:10:17,708 Prices are too high, and sales are too slow. 1502 01:10:17,792 --> 01:10:22,708 - [vocalizing] 1503 01:10:22,792 --> 01:10:24,041 - I'll tell you what happened. 1504 01:10:24,125 --> 01:10:28,207 The Apollo had 1,683 seats. 1505 01:10:28,291 --> 01:10:31,250 The Felt Forum had 4,600 seats. 1506 01:10:31,332 --> 01:10:37,375 1,683 seats cannot survive. 1507 01:10:37,457 --> 01:10:40,375 The industry has outgrown us. 1508 01:10:40,457 --> 01:10:43,708 - ♪ Home ♪ 1509 01:10:43,792 --> 01:10:47,000 ♪ Is where the heart is ♪ 1510 01:10:47,082 --> 01:10:48,833 ♪ ♪ 1511 01:10:48,917 --> 01:10:51,082 ♪ When I spread my wings and flew away ♪ 1512 01:10:51,166 --> 01:10:54,625 ♪ Spread my wings and flew away ♪ 1513 01:10:54,708 --> 01:10:57,750 ♪ I left my heart with you ♪ 1514 01:10:57,833 --> 01:10:59,375 - ♪ Whether my feet ♪ 1515 01:10:59,457 --> 01:11:01,792 ♪ Are walking ♪ - ♪ Walking, walking ♪ 1516 01:11:01,875 --> 01:11:04,417 - Gladys Knight, the first time I ever played her, 1517 01:11:04,500 --> 01:11:06,708 I paid her $800 1518 01:11:06,792 --> 01:11:11,041 for she and The Pips for 31 shows. 1519 01:11:11,125 --> 01:11:13,417 The last time I played her, 1520 01:11:13,500 --> 01:11:17,708 I paid her $80,000 for 16 shows. 1521 01:11:17,792 --> 01:11:19,917 - ♪ And when I spread my wings ♪ 1522 01:11:20,000 --> 01:11:20,917 - ♪ Spread my wings ♪ 1523 01:11:21,000 --> 01:11:23,125 - ♪ And flew away ♪ - ♪ Flew away ♪ 1524 01:11:23,207 --> 01:11:26,250 - ♪ I left my heart with you ♪ - ♪ I left my heart with you ♪ 1525 01:11:26,332 --> 01:11:27,917 - ♪ And when I spread my wings ♪ 1526 01:11:28,000 --> 01:11:29,250 - ♪ Spread my wings ♪ 1527 01:11:29,332 --> 01:11:31,457 - ♪ And flew away ♪ - ♪ Flew away ♪ 1528 01:11:31,542 --> 01:11:35,250 - ♪ I left my heart with you ♪ 1529 01:11:35,332 --> 01:11:36,792 It got to be that way. 1530 01:11:36,875 --> 01:11:39,125 Hey, if we gonna do all these shows, you got to pay. 1531 01:11:39,207 --> 01:11:40,291 - Right. 1532 01:11:40,375 --> 01:11:41,500 - 'Cause somebody was making the money. 1533 01:11:41,582 --> 01:11:44,750 ♪ Home is where the heart is ♪ 1534 01:11:44,833 --> 01:11:48,917 ♪ Not the sight of my eyes kept you ♪ 1535 01:11:49,000 --> 01:11:50,500 ♪ ♪ 1536 01:11:50,582 --> 01:11:53,667 - My partner was a fellow by the name of Walter Brecher. 1537 01:11:53,750 --> 01:11:55,166 He took care of the money. 1538 01:11:55,250 --> 01:11:56,792 He said to me, "Bobby, 1539 01:11:56,875 --> 01:12:00,457 we're having trouble making this work financially." 1540 01:12:00,542 --> 01:12:03,457 [slow piano music] 1541 01:12:03,542 --> 01:12:09,332 ♪ ♪ 1542 01:12:11,207 --> 01:12:16,542 - The Apollo, it gave pride to our people. 1543 01:12:16,625 --> 01:12:18,332 But if there was no Apollo, 1544 01:12:18,417 --> 01:12:22,166 there wouldn't be a place for African-American communities 1545 01:12:22,250 --> 01:12:26,207 to express their artistic visions. 1546 01:12:26,291 --> 01:12:29,667 We can't see those just slip beneath the waves 1547 01:12:29,750 --> 01:12:32,708 as if we weren't here. 1548 01:12:32,792 --> 01:12:39,750 ♪ ♪ 1549 01:12:46,625 --> 01:12:49,708 - Business began to fall off, 1550 01:12:49,792 --> 01:12:53,792 and the Apollo went into bankruptcy. 1551 01:12:53,875 --> 01:13:00,917 ♪ ♪ 1552 01:13:02,500 --> 01:13:05,917 And they closed the theater down. 1553 01:13:13,750 --> 01:13:16,708 [Kenny Burrell and Grover Washington, Jr.'s 1554 01:13:16,792 --> 01:13:19,667 "Asphalt Canyon Blues"] 1555 01:13:19,750 --> 01:13:22,667 [slow jazz music] 1556 01:13:22,750 --> 01:13:24,457 ♪ ♪ 1557 01:13:24,542 --> 01:13:28,041 Percy Sutton, who was a local leader in Harlem, 1558 01:13:28,125 --> 01:13:29,542 very well-known, 1559 01:13:29,625 --> 01:13:32,041 he had been a civil rights attorney. 1560 01:13:32,125 --> 01:13:34,833 He had represented Malcolm X. 1561 01:13:34,917 --> 01:13:39,082 He purchased the Apollo out of bankruptcy. 1562 01:13:39,166 --> 01:13:41,417 ♪ ♪ 1563 01:13:41,500 --> 01:13:43,917 - The Apollo had been dark for some time, 1564 01:13:44,000 --> 01:13:46,291 and my grandfather had this notion 1565 01:13:46,375 --> 01:13:50,792 to buy the Apollo Theater. 1566 01:13:50,875 --> 01:13:54,917 He saw the Apollo Theater as a beacon and a spark 1567 01:13:55,000 --> 01:13:59,917 that could ignite a revitalization of 125th Street. 1568 01:14:00,000 --> 01:14:02,750 - Percy Sutton called me up to his office, 1569 01:14:02,833 --> 01:14:05,917 and he had this idea 1570 01:14:06,000 --> 01:14:08,958 to restore and to bring back the Apollo Theater. 1571 01:14:09,041 --> 01:14:11,082 And he said, "I would like you to work with me on it." 1572 01:14:11,166 --> 01:14:14,082 [suspenseful orchestral music] 1573 01:14:14,166 --> 01:14:20,833 ♪ ♪ 1574 01:14:23,000 --> 01:14:25,250 [power tool whirs] 1575 01:14:25,332 --> 01:14:28,125 - Bob, what kind of tickets are you buying? 1576 01:14:28,207 --> 01:14:29,750 - I'm buying Tito Puente. 1577 01:14:29,833 --> 01:14:31,207 - He's buying Tito Puente 1578 01:14:31,291 --> 01:14:34,958 from the temporary box office at the Apollo Theater. 1579 01:14:35,041 --> 01:14:37,000 Pretty soon, you'll have your new box office. 1580 01:14:37,082 --> 01:14:44,041 ♪ ♪ 1581 01:14:49,542 --> 01:14:52,000 - I remember when it reopened, 1582 01:14:52,082 --> 01:14:55,125 and I remember the way the place looked. 1583 01:14:55,207 --> 01:14:58,582 It was just so special to all of us, you know what I mean? 1584 01:14:58,667 --> 01:15:02,125 It was like, wow, we have the Apollo back, 1585 01:15:02,207 --> 01:15:05,457 and look at it now. 1586 01:15:05,542 --> 01:15:09,667 You could feel the vibration in the street. 1587 01:15:09,750 --> 01:15:12,625 We were happy to have it back. 1588 01:15:12,708 --> 01:15:19,708 ♪ ♪ 1589 01:15:20,875 --> 01:15:23,917 - That building could not come down 1590 01:15:24,000 --> 01:15:28,667 because Harlem is the Apollo, 1591 01:15:28,750 --> 01:15:32,332 and the Apollo is Harlem. 1592 01:15:32,417 --> 01:15:35,332 [Kool & The Gang's "Steppin' Out"] 1593 01:15:35,417 --> 01:15:38,542 [upbeat disco music] 1594 01:15:38,625 --> 01:15:41,166 ♪ ♪ 1595 01:15:41,250 --> 01:15:45,166 - ♪ Every day, you find a way ♪ 1596 01:15:45,250 --> 01:15:49,250 ♪ To bring a smile to my face ♪ 1597 01:15:49,332 --> 01:15:52,542 ♪ All these things you do for me ♪ 1598 01:15:52,625 --> 01:15:56,582 ♪ That's why we're moving on ♪ 1599 01:15:56,667 --> 01:15:57,917 ♪ Steppin' out ♪ 1600 01:15:58,000 --> 01:16:00,250 ♪ ♪ 1601 01:16:00,332 --> 01:16:01,542 - The grand reopening, 1602 01:16:01,625 --> 01:16:04,207 it was a kind of a magical night. 1603 01:16:04,291 --> 01:16:06,875 Harlem was so excited for this. 1604 01:16:06,958 --> 01:16:09,375 Everyone came out. 1605 01:16:09,457 --> 01:16:11,708 - We're just delighted 1606 01:16:11,792 --> 01:16:15,542 to see this sense of joy return to Harlem. 1607 01:16:15,625 --> 01:16:18,792 - Having gone through the journey of the renovation 1608 01:16:18,875 --> 01:16:21,207 and seeing that grand chandelier 1609 01:16:21,291 --> 01:16:22,875 that's in the center of the house, 1610 01:16:22,958 --> 01:16:24,582 seeing that being put up 1611 01:16:24,667 --> 01:16:29,291 and now seeing that, you know, on the opening night, 1612 01:16:29,375 --> 01:16:30,582 that was amazing. 1613 01:16:30,667 --> 01:16:33,291 - I want you to get a little bit of this. 1614 01:16:33,375 --> 01:16:34,500 [cheers and applause] 1615 01:16:34,582 --> 01:16:35,542 ♪ Ooh ♪ 1616 01:16:35,625 --> 01:16:37,291 ♪ Sugar pie, honey bunch ♪ 1617 01:16:37,375 --> 01:16:38,417 Come on! 1618 01:16:38,500 --> 01:16:40,082 ♪ You know that I love-- ♪ 1619 01:16:40,166 --> 01:16:42,082 Let me hear everybody this time! 1620 01:16:42,166 --> 01:16:43,625 all: ♪ Can't help myself ♪ 1621 01:16:43,708 --> 01:16:44,625 - There it is! 1622 01:16:44,708 --> 01:16:47,875 ♪ I love you and nobody else ♪ 1623 01:16:47,958 --> 01:16:49,542 ♪ ♪ 1624 01:16:49,625 --> 01:16:51,917 ♪ In and out my life ♪ - ♪ In and out my life ♪ 1625 01:16:52,000 --> 01:16:54,875 - ♪ You come and you go ♪ - ♪ Come and you go ♪ 1626 01:16:54,958 --> 01:16:57,375 - ♪ Leaving your picture behind ♪ 1627 01:16:57,457 --> 01:16:58,417 - ♪ Ooh ♪ 1628 01:16:58,500 --> 01:17:00,417 - ♪ I've kissed it a thousand times ♪ 1629 01:17:00,500 --> 01:17:03,457 - ♪ Ooh ♪ 1630 01:17:03,542 --> 01:17:06,750 - ♪ World is spinning, I feel nothing ♪ 1631 01:17:06,833 --> 01:17:09,750 ♪ Burning sweet, away from me ♪ 1632 01:17:09,833 --> 01:17:11,667 ♪ But it's in the air ♪ 1633 01:17:11,750 --> 01:17:14,500 ♪ Everywhere, ooh ♪ 1634 01:17:14,582 --> 01:17:18,125 ♪ ♪ 1635 01:17:18,207 --> 01:17:21,207 [cheers and applause] 1636 01:17:22,917 --> 01:17:24,750 - "It's Showtime at the Apollo"! 1637 01:17:24,833 --> 01:17:26,625 ♪ ♪ 1638 01:17:26,708 --> 01:17:29,582 Tonight, the best of cutting-edge music. 1639 01:17:29,667 --> 01:17:33,417 - Percy Sutton, he pitched this idea of doing a show. 1640 01:17:33,500 --> 01:17:35,708 It was definitely a way to highlight and feature 1641 01:17:35,792 --> 01:17:37,542 R&B, hip-hop, rap. 1642 01:17:37,625 --> 01:17:38,833 - ♪ If you're a misogynist ♪ 1643 01:17:38,917 --> 01:17:40,667 ♪ Then you probably cannot get with this ♪ 1644 01:17:40,750 --> 01:17:42,958 ♪ If you sit with this we'll leave no witnesses ♪ 1645 01:17:43,041 --> 01:17:45,082 ♪ See, nobody can touch what Jah bless ♪ 1646 01:17:45,166 --> 01:17:46,125 ♪ And I mean this ♪ 1647 01:17:46,207 --> 01:17:47,500 ♪ So I be like Osiris ♪ 1648 01:17:47,582 --> 01:17:48,750 ♪ Better yet, I'm Isis ♪ 1649 01:17:48,833 --> 01:17:49,958 ♪ If you talking females ♪ 1650 01:17:50,041 --> 01:17:51,457 ♪ You should say that I'm the nicest ♪ 1651 01:17:51,542 --> 01:17:54,542 - A lot of people that heard about the Apollo, 1652 01:17:54,625 --> 01:17:56,166 now they can see it. 1653 01:17:56,250 --> 01:17:59,667 All the rap acts and the hip-hop acts, 1654 01:17:59,750 --> 01:18:01,792 they weren't getting on "The Tonight Show." 1655 01:18:01,875 --> 01:18:05,207 - ♪ Ba-da-ba, ba-da-ba, ba-da-ba, ba-da-ba ♪ 1656 01:18:05,291 --> 01:18:09,375 - Watching the Apollo, that was a religious thing. 1657 01:18:09,457 --> 01:18:12,041 It made people feel like, "Hey, this could be you." 1658 01:18:12,125 --> 01:18:13,625 - ♪ B-b-b-bounce, baby, bounce ♪ 1659 01:18:13,708 --> 01:18:15,958 ♪ Only one thing counts ♪ - ♪ Uh! ♪ 1660 01:18:16,041 --> 01:18:17,291 - ♪ And I'm here to announce ♪ 1661 01:18:17,375 --> 01:18:19,500 ♪ The flex, the X, when the wood is erect ♪ 1662 01:18:19,582 --> 01:18:22,166 ♪ And to the Mecca Audio crew, 'nuff respect ♪ 1663 01:18:22,250 --> 01:18:24,542 - I don't think I'd be a writer without hip-hop. 1664 01:18:24,625 --> 01:18:26,958 These guys are the first people 1665 01:18:27,041 --> 01:18:29,291 who showed me that words were beautiful 1666 01:18:29,375 --> 01:18:32,500 and I could feel it, I--I--I--I could imagine it. 1667 01:18:32,582 --> 01:18:35,542 In a way, these guys have moved words around. 1668 01:18:35,625 --> 01:18:37,082 And then there's the beat, right? 1669 01:18:37,166 --> 01:18:38,332 You know, there's a drum, 1670 01:18:38,417 --> 01:18:39,917 you know, which is in hip-hop, which, you know, 1671 01:18:40,000 --> 01:18:42,332 speaks to something deep and cultural and ancestral. 1672 01:18:42,417 --> 01:18:44,041 - ♪ So what you want, money? ♪ 1673 01:18:44,125 --> 01:18:45,082 - ♪ Pump it up, ha! ♪ 1674 01:18:45,166 --> 01:18:46,082 - ♪ So what you want, money? ♪ 1675 01:18:46,166 --> 01:18:47,542 - ♪ Pump it up, ha! ♪ 1676 01:18:47,625 --> 01:18:49,000 - ♪ Hey, so what you want, money? ♪ 1677 01:18:49,082 --> 01:18:53,082 Hip-hop brought our expression, our culture, 1678 01:18:53,166 --> 01:18:57,667 and just everything that we were about to the world. 1679 01:18:57,750 --> 01:18:58,708 ♪ Oh! ♪ 1680 01:18:58,792 --> 01:19:01,207 ♪ ♪ 1681 01:19:01,291 --> 01:19:04,417 I would go to school, and we would battle. 1682 01:19:04,500 --> 01:19:06,875 So I would go, uh, like a-- 1683 01:19:06,958 --> 01:19:08,875 [simple beatboxing] 1684 01:19:08,958 --> 01:19:11,667 And I had different sounds that I would use, so I'll... 1685 01:19:11,750 --> 01:19:15,417 [quick beatboxing] 1686 01:19:15,500 --> 01:19:17,417 And then I'll add other things to it. 1687 01:19:17,500 --> 01:19:21,958 [complex beatboxing] 1688 01:19:22,041 --> 01:19:23,417 - Kick up the fucking drums! 1689 01:19:23,500 --> 01:19:24,792 [Public Enemy's "Can't Truss It"] 1690 01:19:24,875 --> 01:19:26,582 - All right, all right. - Come on, come on! 1691 01:19:26,667 --> 01:19:29,332 - Penalty for the black people's damage 1692 01:19:29,417 --> 01:19:31,417 in the United States of Death. 1693 01:19:31,500 --> 01:19:32,917 Kick up the drums! 1694 01:19:33,000 --> 01:19:35,750 ♪ Pump it up, here I come, here I come, y'all ♪ 1695 01:19:35,833 --> 01:19:37,417 - One of the things 1696 01:19:37,500 --> 01:19:42,082 that the hip-hop revolution provided the music industry 1697 01:19:42,166 --> 01:19:47,082 is, we began to have young black men and women 1698 01:19:47,166 --> 01:19:49,958 address the power structures of the United States 1699 01:19:50,041 --> 01:19:53,291 in very direct and explicit terms. 1700 01:19:53,375 --> 01:19:55,207 - ♪ Lemme year you say fight the power! ♪ 1701 01:19:55,291 --> 01:19:56,917 Come on, New York! Pump it up, come on! 1702 01:19:57,041 --> 01:19:58,291 together: ♪ Fight the power! ♪ 1703 01:19:58,375 --> 01:19:59,708 ♪ Lemme hear you say fight the power! ♪ 1704 01:19:59,792 --> 01:20:01,500 ♪ Check it, pump it up, come on! ♪ 1705 01:20:01,582 --> 01:20:03,792 - Every week, we were putting on shows 1706 01:20:03,875 --> 01:20:05,625 and it was selling out. 1707 01:20:05,708 --> 01:20:09,457 It still was just barely covering it. 1708 01:20:09,542 --> 01:20:12,625 The big problem is the 1,500 seats. 1709 01:20:12,708 --> 01:20:14,457 It just isn't enough, 1710 01:20:14,542 --> 01:20:17,500 and, eventually, it just became too much of a burden. 1711 01:20:17,582 --> 01:20:20,457 - ♪ The rhyme designed to fill your mind ♪ 1712 01:20:20,542 --> 01:20:23,667 - I've been losing an average of $2 million a year 1713 01:20:23,750 --> 01:20:25,833 since I've been operating the Apollo Theater. 1714 01:20:25,917 --> 01:20:28,792 [Dizzy Gillespie's "Duke's Last Soliloquy"] 1715 01:20:28,875 --> 01:20:31,417 [morose trumpet music] 1716 01:20:31,500 --> 01:20:35,457 - Mr. Sutton would tell me how difficult it had been, 1717 01:20:35,542 --> 01:20:38,000 that the business model just couldn't work 1718 01:20:38,082 --> 01:20:41,166 as a commercial establishment. 1719 01:20:41,250 --> 01:20:43,166 It really, from a business standpoint, 1720 01:20:43,250 --> 01:20:46,792 was not, um, viable. 1721 01:20:46,875 --> 01:20:49,792 He made a deal with the state, 1722 01:20:49,875 --> 01:20:52,125 and the state took it over 1723 01:20:52,207 --> 01:20:55,582 and that's when the Apollo Theater Foundation, 1724 01:20:55,667 --> 01:20:57,667 a not-for-profit, was formed 1725 01:20:57,750 --> 01:21:01,833 in order to position ourselves for sustainability. 1726 01:21:01,917 --> 01:21:04,332 - Because of that flip, 1727 01:21:04,417 --> 01:21:07,332 we were able to put it on a stable financial basis 1728 01:21:07,417 --> 01:21:11,958 as a legitimate force in the cultural institution 1729 01:21:12,041 --> 01:21:14,207 and venue space here in New York City. 1730 01:21:14,291 --> 01:21:16,041 [Pharrell William's "Happy"] 1731 01:21:16,125 --> 01:21:19,166 - ♪ It might seem crazy, what I'm about to say ♪ 1732 01:21:19,250 --> 01:21:21,917 [upbeat pop music] 1733 01:21:22,000 --> 01:21:25,207 ♪ Sunshine, she's here, you can take a break ♪ 1734 01:21:25,291 --> 01:21:27,207 ♪ ♪ 1735 01:21:27,291 --> 01:21:31,375 ♪ I'm a hot air balloon that can go to space ♪ 1736 01:21:31,457 --> 01:21:33,041 ♪ ♪ 1737 01:21:33,125 --> 01:21:35,500 ♪ With the air like I don't care ♪ 1738 01:21:35,582 --> 01:21:38,542 ♪ Baby, by the way ♪ 1739 01:21:38,625 --> 01:21:40,000 ♪ Because I'm happy ♪ 1740 01:21:40,082 --> 01:21:44,500 ♪ Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof ♪ 1741 01:21:44,582 --> 01:21:46,582 - When you think about the music, 1742 01:21:46,667 --> 01:21:50,041 even the songs that we sing in our own private spaces 1743 01:21:50,125 --> 01:21:51,917 are so beautiful and speak to something 1744 01:21:52,000 --> 01:21:54,375 so human 1745 01:21:54,457 --> 01:21:58,542 that even the people who hold you underneath their boot 1746 01:21:58,625 --> 01:22:00,207 can't help but sing along. 1747 01:22:00,291 --> 01:22:02,750 [Aretha Franklin's "Rock Steady"] 1748 01:22:02,833 --> 01:22:04,250 [funky pop song] 1749 01:22:04,332 --> 01:22:06,417 - ♪ Rock steady, baby ♪ 1750 01:22:06,500 --> 01:22:09,417 ♪ That's what I feel, now ♪ 1751 01:22:09,500 --> 01:22:13,917 ♪ Let's call this song exactly what it is ♪ 1752 01:22:14,000 --> 01:22:15,582 ♪ Step and move your hips ♪ 1753 01:22:15,667 --> 01:22:18,625 ♪ With a feeling from side to side ♪ 1754 01:22:18,708 --> 01:22:22,041 ♪ Sit yourself down in your car and take a ride ♪ 1755 01:22:22,125 --> 01:22:24,917 ♪ And while you're moving, rock steady ♪ 1756 01:22:25,000 --> 01:22:27,792 ♪ Rock steady, baby ♪ 1757 01:22:27,875 --> 01:22:30,708 ♪ Let's call this song exactly what it is ♪ 1758 01:22:30,792 --> 01:22:32,750 - ♪ What it is, what it is, what it is ♪ 1759 01:22:32,833 --> 01:22:34,708 - ♪ It's a funky and low-down feeling ♪ 1760 01:22:34,792 --> 01:22:37,082 ♪ Move your hips from left to right ♪ 1761 01:22:37,166 --> 01:22:39,250 ♪ What it is, is I might be doing ♪ 1762 01:22:39,332 --> 01:22:41,625 ♪ This funky dance all night ♪ 1763 01:22:41,708 --> 01:22:44,457 - ♪ Wave your hands up in the air ♪ 1764 01:22:44,542 --> 01:22:48,457 - You just know that when one of these icons passes, 1765 01:22:48,542 --> 01:22:50,000 people will come to the Apollo 1766 01:22:50,082 --> 01:22:51,625 and that you know you'll be able to be there 1767 01:22:51,708 --> 01:22:55,625 with others that are also grieving 1768 01:22:55,708 --> 01:22:59,833 for the loss of someone that was important in our community. 1769 01:22:59,917 --> 01:23:04,125 ♪ ♪ 1770 01:23:04,207 --> 01:23:07,291 - I think that it has a lot to do with the marquee as well 1771 01:23:07,375 --> 01:23:10,833 and being under that banner 1772 01:23:10,917 --> 01:23:15,250 knowing that these people had been here. 1773 01:23:15,332 --> 01:23:18,000 You were sharing a little bit of their history. 1774 01:23:18,082 --> 01:23:20,833 - ♪ I lost someone ♪ 1775 01:23:20,917 --> 01:23:23,125 [somber soul music] 1776 01:23:23,207 --> 01:23:26,375 ♪ My love ♪ 1777 01:23:26,457 --> 01:23:29,000 ♪ ♪ 1778 01:23:29,082 --> 01:23:30,958 ♪ Someone ♪ 1779 01:23:31,041 --> 01:23:34,875 ♪ Who's greater than the stars ♪ 1780 01:23:34,958 --> 01:23:36,582 ♪ Above ♪ 1781 01:23:36,667 --> 01:23:39,375 - James Brown performed on the Apollo stage 1782 01:23:39,457 --> 01:23:41,000 over 200 times. 1783 01:23:41,082 --> 01:23:43,041 all: James Brown, James Brown, James Brown! 1784 01:23:43,125 --> 01:23:45,625 - The folks outside 1785 01:23:45,708 --> 01:23:50,457 were wrapped around the corner and on 125th Street, 1786 01:23:50,542 --> 01:23:52,542 so it really was home to him. 1787 01:23:52,625 --> 01:23:54,000 - ♪ Someone ♪ 1788 01:23:54,082 --> 01:23:56,041 ♪ ♪ 1789 01:23:56,125 --> 01:23:58,542 ♪ That's the one ♪ 1790 01:23:58,625 --> 01:24:00,125 ♪ ♪ 1791 01:24:00,207 --> 01:24:03,332 ♪ That's the someone ♪ 1792 01:24:03,417 --> 01:24:04,875 - It was James Brown 1793 01:24:04,958 --> 01:24:06,833 that with one song 1794 01:24:06,917 --> 01:24:10,875 erased the word "negro" from our vocabulary forever 1795 01:24:10,958 --> 01:24:13,582 and made us say it and say it loud, 1796 01:24:13,667 --> 01:24:15,542 that were black and we were proud. 1797 01:24:15,625 --> 01:24:17,500 [applause] 1798 01:24:17,582 --> 01:24:19,542 He made a way out of no way. 1799 01:24:19,625 --> 01:24:21,332 Open up the casket. 1800 01:24:21,417 --> 01:24:23,875 Let the world see a man's man. 1801 01:24:23,958 --> 01:24:27,542 Look at him: The Godfather, James Brown. 1802 01:24:27,625 --> 01:24:29,417 [applause] 1803 01:24:29,500 --> 01:24:31,207 - ♪ You know I like to sing this song ♪ 1804 01:24:31,291 --> 01:24:32,875 - Go and sing your song. 1805 01:24:32,958 --> 01:24:34,875 - ♪ I said, I like to sing this song ♪ 1806 01:24:34,958 --> 01:24:36,708 - Go and sing your song. 1807 01:24:36,792 --> 01:24:40,166 - People feel that the Apollo is their sanctuary. 1808 01:24:40,250 --> 01:24:42,207 It is their place of worship. 1809 01:24:42,291 --> 01:24:44,166 It is their place of convening. 1810 01:24:44,250 --> 01:24:48,582 - ♪ It makes me think about the good things ♪ 1811 01:24:48,667 --> 01:24:50,582 ♪ Ow! ♪ [audience screams] 1812 01:24:50,667 --> 01:24:52,750 - For many people, this is church. 1813 01:24:52,833 --> 01:24:54,375 - ♪ Ow! ♪ 1814 01:24:54,457 --> 01:24:55,500 - It's a place where people 1815 01:24:55,582 --> 01:24:58,250 come to see their dreams come true, 1816 01:24:58,332 --> 01:25:02,291 to look for hope and aspiration. 1817 01:25:02,375 --> 01:25:05,375 [crowds cheering] 1818 01:25:09,500 --> 01:25:13,457 - Harlem, it is now my honor to introduce 1819 01:25:13,542 --> 01:25:15,833 the first sitting president 1820 01:25:15,917 --> 01:25:18,417 to ever speak at the Apollo Theater. 1821 01:25:18,500 --> 01:25:20,417 Please welcome to Harlem 1822 01:25:20,500 --> 01:25:25,582 Barack Obama, the president of the United States! 1823 01:25:25,667 --> 01:25:28,582 [upbeat pop music playing] 1824 01:25:28,667 --> 01:25:30,417 ♪ ♪ 1825 01:25:30,500 --> 01:25:33,457 [cheers and applause] 1826 01:25:33,542 --> 01:25:38,000 ♪ ♪ 1827 01:25:38,082 --> 01:25:39,291 - Hello, Harlem! 1828 01:25:39,375 --> 01:25:42,291 [cheers and applause] 1829 01:25:42,375 --> 01:25:45,750 Oh, it is good to be here tonight! 1830 01:25:45,833 --> 01:25:47,291 [cheers and applause] 1831 01:25:47,375 --> 01:25:49,082 ♪ I... ♪ 1832 01:25:49,166 --> 01:25:52,291 [cheers and applause] 1833 01:25:52,375 --> 01:25:55,417 ♪ So in love with you ♪ 1834 01:25:55,500 --> 01:25:58,417 [loud cheers and applause] 1835 01:25:58,500 --> 01:26:00,250 [peaceful music] 1836 01:26:00,332 --> 01:26:02,625 - I believe as a master communicator, 1837 01:26:02,708 --> 01:26:07,625 he knew that music creates instant connection. 1838 01:26:07,708 --> 01:26:09,000 [applause] 1839 01:26:09,082 --> 01:26:11,000 - The Sandman did not come out. 1840 01:26:11,082 --> 01:26:13,332 [laughter and applause] 1841 01:26:13,417 --> 01:26:15,833 I--I--now, don't worry, Rev. 1842 01:26:15,917 --> 01:26:17,708 I--I cannot sing like you, 1843 01:26:17,792 --> 01:26:21,542 but I did--I just wanted to show my appreciation. 1844 01:26:21,625 --> 01:26:26,332 - He took the hearts of everybody that was there. 1845 01:26:26,417 --> 01:26:31,041 It was a way, and a beautiful way, of saying, 1846 01:26:31,125 --> 01:26:34,667 "Hey, I'm one of you." 1847 01:26:34,750 --> 01:26:38,041 - When you walk out of the wings 1848 01:26:38,125 --> 01:26:40,667 and you take the mic, 1849 01:26:40,750 --> 01:26:45,082 you have stood on top of the music scores, 1850 01:26:45,166 --> 01:26:50,000 the gag lines, the costumes, 1851 01:26:50,082 --> 01:26:52,417 the singers. 1852 01:26:52,500 --> 01:26:54,542 You've stood on top of all of them, 1853 01:26:54,625 --> 01:26:58,417 and their spirit and their souls 1854 01:26:58,500 --> 01:27:00,207 are in that floor. 1855 01:27:00,291 --> 01:27:03,166 [wistful piano music] 1856 01:27:03,250 --> 01:27:09,082 ♪ ♪ 1857 01:27:09,166 --> 01:27:10,833 - So I just wanted to take this opportunity 1858 01:27:10,917 --> 01:27:11,958 just to say ashe. 1859 01:27:12,041 --> 01:27:12,917 all: Ashe. 1860 01:27:13,000 --> 01:27:14,582 - Thank you, amen. all: Amen. 1861 01:27:14,667 --> 01:27:16,332 - Amen, ameen. all: Amen. 1862 01:27:16,417 --> 01:27:17,375 - [chuckles] 1863 01:27:17,457 --> 01:27:19,041 And just to have that moment, yeah? 1864 01:27:19,125 --> 01:27:20,082 Ta-Nehisi? 1865 01:27:20,166 --> 01:27:22,750 - I just want to say, um... 1866 01:27:22,833 --> 01:27:27,207 Prince was killed 18 years ago and, like, 1867 01:27:27,291 --> 01:27:29,750 he was killed in the era before camera phones 1868 01:27:29,833 --> 01:27:32,166 and this sort of thing used to happen regularly 1869 01:27:32,250 --> 01:27:34,875 and these folks would just be forgotten. 1870 01:27:34,958 --> 01:27:37,457 Kam knew Prince, Greg knew Prince, 1871 01:27:37,542 --> 01:27:41,917 and he is not forgotten, and that's so crucial. 1872 01:27:42,000 --> 01:27:44,542 Thank y'all. Thank y'all. 1873 01:27:46,457 --> 01:27:48,125 - I just want to welcome you all tonight 1874 01:27:48,207 --> 01:27:52,125 to the first showing of the adapted stage version 1875 01:27:52,207 --> 01:27:55,207 of "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates. 1876 01:27:55,291 --> 01:27:58,207 [cheers and applause] 1877 01:27:58,291 --> 01:27:59,542 So thank you very much 1878 01:27:59,625 --> 01:28:02,207 and welcome to the "Between the World and Me." 1879 01:28:04,500 --> 01:28:05,750 [low chords] 1880 01:28:05,833 --> 01:28:08,125 - "I kept thinking about how Southern men had 1881 01:28:08,207 --> 01:28:11,500 "and had always been ground zero for us. 1882 01:28:11,582 --> 01:28:14,125 "They auctioned our bodies down there 1883 01:28:14,207 --> 01:28:17,958 "in the same devastated and rightly named 1884 01:28:18,041 --> 01:28:20,417 "Financial District. 1885 01:28:20,500 --> 01:28:24,125 "There was once a burial ground for the auction there. 1886 01:28:24,207 --> 01:28:26,708 "They built a department store over it. 1887 01:28:31,917 --> 01:28:35,958 "I will never forget that. 1888 01:28:36,041 --> 01:28:39,457 "Neither should you. 1889 01:28:39,542 --> 01:28:41,375 "Damn it all. 1890 01:28:41,457 --> 01:28:43,125 "And hell upon those who would tell us 1891 01:28:43,207 --> 01:28:47,207 to be twice as good and shoot us no matter." 1892 01:28:49,125 --> 01:28:52,000 [applause] 1893 01:28:52,082 --> 01:28:55,000 [slow piano music] 1894 01:28:55,082 --> 01:28:58,582 ♪ ♪ 1895 01:28:58,667 --> 01:29:02,332 - "Samori, I am speaking to you as I always have, 1896 01:29:02,417 --> 01:29:05,000 "as the sober and serious man 1897 01:29:05,082 --> 01:29:08,332 "I have always wanted you to be, 1898 01:29:08,417 --> 01:29:11,457 "who does not apologize for his human feelings, 1899 01:29:11,542 --> 01:29:16,000 "who does not make excuses for his height, his long arms, 1900 01:29:16,082 --> 01:29:20,582 "his beautiful smile. 1901 01:29:20,667 --> 01:29:23,542 "You're growing into consciousness, 1902 01:29:23,625 --> 01:29:24,875 "and my wish for you is that 1903 01:29:24,958 --> 01:29:29,332 "you feel no need to constrict yourself 1904 01:29:29,417 --> 01:29:32,833 to make other people comfortable." 1905 01:29:32,917 --> 01:29:35,833 [applause] 1906 01:29:35,917 --> 01:29:37,166 ♪ ♪ 1907 01:29:37,250 --> 01:29:42,875 "I never wanted you to be twice as good as them. 1908 01:29:42,958 --> 01:29:45,750 "I have always wanted you 1909 01:29:45,833 --> 01:29:49,417 "to attack every day of your brief, 1910 01:29:49,500 --> 01:29:55,207 bright life in struggle." 1911 01:29:55,291 --> 01:29:58,207 [applause] 1912 01:29:58,291 --> 01:30:05,291 ♪ ♪ 1913 01:30:07,291 --> 01:30:09,958 Well, the Apollo, for me, 1914 01:30:10,041 --> 01:30:13,166 has always represented truth. 1915 01:30:13,250 --> 01:30:14,708 When you grace that stage, 1916 01:30:14,792 --> 01:30:17,417 when a performer would walk upon that stage, 1917 01:30:17,500 --> 01:30:19,542 you had to bring all of you: 1918 01:30:19,625 --> 01:30:21,082 All of your spirit, all of your soul, 1919 01:30:21,166 --> 01:30:24,833 all of your God-given talent, all of your authenticity. 1920 01:30:24,917 --> 01:30:28,625 This is what's going on in this world at this moment, 1921 01:30:28,708 --> 01:30:31,582 and we must attend to it, 1922 01:30:31,667 --> 01:30:33,500 we must prepare for it, 1923 01:30:33,582 --> 01:30:35,457 and we must struggle with it. 1924 01:30:35,542 --> 01:30:38,291 [piano-driven steady beat] 1925 01:30:38,375 --> 01:30:39,750 ♪ ♪ 1926 01:30:39,833 --> 01:30:41,875 - ♪ My grandmother's suits were tailor-made ♪ 1927 01:30:41,958 --> 01:30:43,375 ♪ Sundays, Mahalia played ♪ 1928 01:30:43,457 --> 01:30:45,750 ♪ Familiar ways like the way she knelt and prayed ♪ 1929 01:30:45,833 --> 01:30:46,958 ♪ Will the Master forgive us? ♪ 1930 01:30:47,041 --> 01:30:48,792 ♪ The trespasses had us real afraid ♪ 1931 01:30:48,875 --> 01:30:50,917 ♪ I never listened, but I still obeyed ♪ 1932 01:30:51,000 --> 01:30:53,417 ♪ I got to see how Philly played at such an early age ♪ 1933 01:30:53,500 --> 01:30:55,958 ♪ What my father was into sent him to his early grave ♪ 1934 01:30:56,041 --> 01:30:58,250 ♪ I started doing what I'm supposed to do in life ♪ 1935 01:30:58,332 --> 01:30:59,582 ♪ Trying to move out of the dark ♪ 1936 01:30:59,667 --> 01:31:01,125 ♪ Closer to the light ♪ 1937 01:31:01,207 --> 01:31:03,457 ♪ You get a chance to do it over, do it right ♪ 1938 01:31:03,542 --> 01:31:05,457 ♪ Tomorrow is a promise every time ♪ 1939 01:31:05,542 --> 01:31:06,625 ♪ You say good night ♪ 1940 01:31:06,708 --> 01:31:09,291 - ♪ Here we go, here, here we go again ♪ 1941 01:31:09,375 --> 01:31:11,958 ♪ Trayvon will never get to be a older man ♪ 1942 01:31:12,041 --> 01:31:14,291 ♪ Black children, they childhood stole from them ♪ 1943 01:31:14,375 --> 01:31:16,582 ♪ Let me do this again, check it out ♪ 1944 01:31:16,667 --> 01:31:19,625 ♪ Here we go, here, here we go again ♪ 1945 01:31:19,708 --> 01:31:22,125 ♪ Stephon Clark will never get to be a older man ♪ 1946 01:31:22,207 --> 01:31:24,792 ♪ Black children, they childhood stole from them ♪ 1947 01:31:24,875 --> 01:31:27,582 ♪ Robbed of our names and our language, stole again ♪ 1948 01:31:27,667 --> 01:31:29,457 ♪ Who stole the soul from black folk? ♪ 1949 01:31:29,542 --> 01:31:31,750 ♪ Same man that stole the land from Chief Black Smoke ♪ 1950 01:31:31,833 --> 01:31:33,750 ♪ And made the whip crack along our back slow ♪ 1951 01:31:33,833 --> 01:31:35,207 ♪ Made us go through the back door ♪ 1952 01:31:35,291 --> 01:31:37,750 ♪ And raffle black bodies on the slave blocks ♪ 1953 01:31:37,833 --> 01:31:39,041 ♪ I wish the hatin' would stop ♪ 1954 01:31:39,125 --> 01:31:41,625 ♪ War, war! And a battle with us ♪ 1955 01:31:41,708 --> 01:31:44,332 ♪ I know that Black Lives Matter, and they matter to us ♪ 1956 01:31:44,417 --> 01:31:46,542 ♪ These are the things we gotta discuss ♪ 1957 01:31:46,625 --> 01:31:49,667 ♪ The new plantation: Mass incarceration ♪ 1958 01:31:49,750 --> 01:31:52,332 ♪ The hate the hate made, I inherited from them ♪ 1959 01:31:52,417 --> 01:31:53,625 ♪ But I ain't gon' point the finger ♪ 1960 01:31:53,708 --> 01:31:55,000 ♪ We got anointed singers ♪ 1961 01:31:55,082 --> 01:31:57,625 ♪ Like Nina, Marvin, Billie, Stevie ♪ 1962 01:31:57,708 --> 01:32:00,041 ♪ Need to hear them songs sometimes, so believe me ♪ 1963 01:32:00,125 --> 01:32:01,041 ♪ Who freed me ♪ 1964 01:32:01,125 --> 01:32:02,082 ♪ Lincoln or Cadillac? ♪ 1965 01:32:02,166 --> 01:32:03,500 ♪ Drinking or battle raps? ♪ 1966 01:32:03,582 --> 01:32:05,332 ♪ So is it Godspeed that we travel at? ♪ 1967 01:32:05,417 --> 01:32:07,291 ♪ Endangered in our own habitat ♪ 1968 01:32:07,375 --> 01:32:10,000 ♪ With guns and dope, man, y'all can have it back ♪ 1969 01:32:10,082 --> 01:32:11,375 ♪ As a matter of fact ♪ 1970 01:32:11,457 --> 01:32:13,000 ♪ You know, we from a family of fighters ♪ 1971 01:32:13,082 --> 01:32:15,250 ♪ Fought in your wars and our wars ♪ 1972 01:32:15,332 --> 01:32:16,833 ♪ You put a nigger in "Star Wars" ♪ 1973 01:32:16,917 --> 01:32:18,875 ♪ Maybe you need two ♪ [laughter and applause] 1974 01:32:18,958 --> 01:32:20,917 ♪ Then, maybe then, we'll believe you ♪ 1975 01:32:21,000 --> 01:32:23,250 ♪ See black people in the future ♪ 1976 01:32:23,332 --> 01:32:25,792 ♪ We wasn't shipped here to rob and shoot ya ♪ 1977 01:32:25,875 --> 01:32:28,250 ♪ We hold these truths to be self-evident ♪ 1978 01:32:28,332 --> 01:32:30,207 ♪ All men and women are created equal ♪ 1979 01:32:30,291 --> 01:32:32,041 ♪ Including black Americans ♪ 1980 01:32:32,125 --> 01:32:35,125 [rapturous cheers and applause] 1981 01:32:40,041 --> 01:32:42,917 [upbeat jazz music] 1982 01:32:43,000 --> 01:32:50,000 ♪ ♪ 1983 01:33:00,875 --> 01:33:03,833 [applause] 1984 01:33:05,667 --> 01:33:08,667 [cheers and applause] 1985 01:33:13,542 --> 01:33:15,250 [slow piano music] 1986 01:33:15,332 --> 01:33:18,082 - "Son, 1987 01:33:18,166 --> 01:33:22,291 "I think back to our trip to Homecoming. 1988 01:33:22,375 --> 01:33:27,332 "I think back to the warm blasts rolling over us. 1989 01:33:27,417 --> 01:33:30,417 "We were at the football game. 1990 01:33:30,500 --> 01:33:31,917 "We were sitting in the bleachers 1991 01:33:32,000 --> 01:33:34,250 "with old friends and their children, 1992 01:33:34,332 --> 01:33:39,082 "caring neither for fumbles nor first downs. 1993 01:33:39,166 --> 01:33:40,750 "There was a moment, 1994 01:33:40,833 --> 01:33:44,667 "a joyous moment, beyond the Dream, 1995 01:33:44,750 --> 01:33:46,875 "a moment imbued by a power 1996 01:33:46,958 --> 01:33:50,417 "more gorgeous than any voting rights bill. 1997 01:33:50,500 --> 01:33:54,291 "This power, this black power, 1998 01:33:54,375 --> 01:33:57,500 "originates in a view of the American galaxy 1999 01:33:57,582 --> 01:34:01,582 "taken from a dark and essential planet. 2000 01:34:01,667 --> 01:34:06,582 "Black power is the dungeon- side view of Monticello, 2001 01:34:06,667 --> 01:34:10,958 "which is to say the view taken in struggle. 2002 01:34:11,041 --> 01:34:14,792 "And black power births a kind of understanding 2003 01:34:14,875 --> 01:34:16,457 "that illuminates all the galaxies 2004 01:34:16,542 --> 01:34:18,457 "in their truest colors. 2005 01:34:18,542 --> 01:34:20,792 "Even the Dreamers feel it, 2006 01:34:20,875 --> 01:34:24,166 "for it is Billie they reach for in sadness 2007 01:34:24,250 --> 01:34:28,625 "and Mobb Deep is what they holler in boldness 2008 01:34:28,708 --> 01:34:31,500 "and Isley they hum in love 2009 01:34:31,582 --> 01:34:34,875 "and Dre they yell in revelry 2010 01:34:34,958 --> 01:34:38,875 and Aretha is the last sound they hear before dying." 2011 01:34:38,958 --> 01:34:42,000 [stirring piano music] 2012 01:34:42,082 --> 01:34:45,625 "We have made something down here. 2013 01:34:45,708 --> 01:34:49,625 "We have taken the one-drop rules of Dreamers 2014 01:34:49,708 --> 01:34:51,457 "and flipped them. 2015 01:34:51,542 --> 01:34:54,958 "They made us into a race, 2016 01:34:55,041 --> 01:35:00,000 but we made ourselves into a people." 2017 01:35:00,082 --> 01:35:02,958 [smooth stirring music] 2018 01:35:03,041 --> 01:35:10,041 ♪ ♪ 2019 01:36:15,000 --> 01:36:16,917 - Come on down. Come on down. 2020 01:36:17,000 --> 01:36:18,917 This is 30 years of signatures 2021 01:36:19,000 --> 01:36:21,000 of all of the stars that performed here. 2022 01:36:21,082 --> 01:36:22,708 We have Snoop Dogg. 2023 01:36:22,792 --> 01:36:23,833 - Whoa! 2024 01:36:23,917 --> 01:36:25,750 - There's John Legend. There's Beyoncé. 2025 01:36:25,833 --> 01:36:26,750 [kids exclaiming] 2026 01:36:26,833 --> 01:36:29,082 There's Prince, Whoopi Goldberg, 2027 01:36:29,166 --> 01:36:30,958 Stevie Wonder. [kids exclaiming] 2028 01:36:31,041 --> 01:36:32,625 Then over here we have 2029 01:36:32,708 --> 01:36:35,667 Barack Obama, Michelle Obama! [kids shout] 2030 01:36:35,750 --> 01:36:37,667 Yeah, man. 2031 01:36:38,708 --> 01:36:43,291 - ♪ How many hills and mountains ♪ 2032 01:36:43,375 --> 01:36:47,917 ♪ We've had to climb? ♪ 2033 01:36:48,000 --> 01:36:51,166 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ 2034 01:36:51,250 --> 01:36:54,332 ♪ And how many ways ♪ 2035 01:36:54,417 --> 01:37:00,625 ♪ Have we had to sacrifice ♪ 2036 01:37:00,708 --> 01:37:03,750 ♪ Just to survive? ♪ 2037 01:37:03,833 --> 01:37:06,833 ♪ From slavery to segregation ♪ 2038 01:37:06,917 --> 01:37:10,125 ♪ For freedom and our liberation ♪ 2039 01:37:10,207 --> 01:37:16,291 ♪ Your number can't account for how much we've paid ♪ 2040 01:37:16,375 --> 01:37:19,582 ♪ And deep within this revolution ♪ 2041 01:37:19,667 --> 01:37:22,667 ♪ There lives a Harlem institution ♪ 2042 01:37:22,750 --> 01:37:28,166 ♪ Where many dreams were born and legends were made ♪ 2043 01:37:28,250 --> 01:37:33,667 ♪ So don't turn back now ♪ 2044 01:37:33,750 --> 01:37:38,500 ♪ We've come too far not to make it ♪ 2045 01:37:38,582 --> 01:37:41,792 ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2046 01:37:41,875 --> 01:37:46,332 ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2047 01:37:46,417 --> 01:37:51,166 ♪ It might be hard, you can take it ♪ 2048 01:37:51,250 --> 01:37:54,332 ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2049 01:37:54,417 --> 01:37:57,375 ♪ How many ways ♪ 2050 01:37:57,457 --> 01:38:03,250 ♪ Have we had to overcome? ♪ 2051 01:38:03,332 --> 01:38:06,708 ♪ ♪ 2052 01:38:06,792 --> 01:38:11,542 ♪ And how many lives must we lose ♪ 2053 01:38:11,625 --> 01:38:16,250 ♪ Until we are one? ♪ 2054 01:38:16,332 --> 01:38:19,417 ♪ Until we have won ♪ 2055 01:38:19,500 --> 01:38:22,708 ♪ Our music is a revelation ♪ 2056 01:38:22,792 --> 01:38:26,041 ♪ The sound of every generation ♪ 2057 01:38:26,125 --> 01:38:32,250 ♪ Powerful enough to free us from chains ♪ 2058 01:38:32,332 --> 01:38:35,375 ♪ And after everything we've been through ♪ 2059 01:38:35,457 --> 01:38:38,542 ♪ There is nothing that we can't do ♪ 2060 01:38:38,625 --> 01:38:44,250 ♪ There is nothing that can stand in our way ♪ 2061 01:38:44,332 --> 01:38:49,625 ♪ So don't turn back now ♪ 2062 01:38:49,708 --> 01:38:54,250 ♪ We've come too far not to make it ♪ 2063 01:38:54,332 --> 01:38:57,417 ♪ Don't turn back now, yeah, yeah ♪ 2064 01:38:57,500 --> 01:39:01,792 - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2065 01:39:01,875 --> 01:39:03,917 - ♪ It might be hard ♪ 2066 01:39:04,000 --> 01:39:06,917 ♪ It might be hard, yeah ♪ - ♪ You can take it ♪ 2067 01:39:07,000 --> 01:39:09,417 ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2068 01:39:09,500 --> 01:39:11,375 [piano trills] 2069 01:39:11,457 --> 01:39:14,917 ♪ We can never give up ♪ - ♪ We can never give up ♪ 2070 01:39:15,000 --> 01:39:17,917 - ♪ We were born to win ♪ - ♪ We were born to win ♪ 2071 01:39:18,000 --> 01:39:20,082 ♪ We can be there when times get rough ♪ 2072 01:39:20,166 --> 01:39:22,750 ♪ Oh, yes, we can ♪ 2073 01:39:22,833 --> 01:39:26,000 ♪ We're the builders of a nation ♪ 2074 01:39:26,082 --> 01:39:29,082 ♪ We're the source of inspiration ♪ 2075 01:39:29,166 --> 01:39:31,457 ♪ We're not backing down at all ♪ 2076 01:39:31,542 --> 01:39:35,457 ♪ We know ♪ 2077 01:39:35,542 --> 01:39:40,082 - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2078 01:39:40,166 --> 01:39:43,125 ♪ We've come too far ♪ - ♪ We've come too far ♪ 2079 01:39:43,207 --> 01:39:44,958 - ♪ Not to make it ♪ - ♪ Not to make it ♪ 2080 01:39:45,041 --> 01:39:46,958 - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2081 01:39:47,041 --> 01:39:53,125 - ♪ Don't ♪ - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2082 01:39:53,207 --> 01:39:55,792 ♪ It might be hard ♪ - ♪ It might be hard ♪ 2083 01:39:55,875 --> 01:39:57,291 - ♪ But we can make it ♪ - ♪ But we can never give up ♪ 2084 01:39:57,375 --> 01:39:58,792 - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2085 01:39:58,875 --> 01:40:00,625 - ♪ For you will get there ♪ 2086 01:40:00,708 --> 01:40:02,958 - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2087 01:40:03,041 --> 01:40:05,332 - [scatting] 2088 01:40:05,417 --> 01:40:10,166 - ♪ We've come too far not to make it ♪ 2089 01:40:10,250 --> 01:40:12,207 ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2090 01:40:12,291 --> 01:40:13,500 - ♪ Hold each other ♪ 2091 01:40:13,582 --> 01:40:18,000 - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ - ♪ Hold each other ♪ 2092 01:40:18,082 --> 01:40:20,750 - ♪ It might be hard, we can take it ♪ 2093 01:40:20,833 --> 01:40:23,041 - ♪ It might be hard, but don't give up ♪ 2094 01:40:23,125 --> 01:40:26,625 - ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ - ♪ Never give up ♪ 2095 01:40:26,708 --> 01:40:32,667 ♪ Don't turn back now ♪ 2096 01:40:32,750 --> 01:40:36,958 ♪ We've come too far not to make it ♪ 2097 01:40:37,041 --> 01:40:40,625 ♪ Oh, oh, yeah ♪ 2098 01:40:40,708 --> 01:40:43,332 ♪ ♪ 2099 01:40:43,417 --> 01:40:49,082 [scatting] 2100 01:40:49,166 --> 01:40:51,250 ♪ ♪ 2101 01:40:51,332 --> 01:40:57,667 ♪ Don't you turn, don't you turn ♪ 2102 01:40:57,750 --> 01:41:01,417 ♪ Hold on ♪ 2103 01:41:01,500 --> 01:41:08,417 ♪ ♪ 2104 01:41:08,500 --> 01:41:11,667 [scatting] 2105 01:41:11,750 --> 01:41:18,750 ♪ ♪ 2106 01:41:56,667 --> 01:41:58,666 [bright tone] 153672

Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.