From the 1930s to the present, the Apollo Theater, located on West 125th Street in the New York community of Harlem, has been the premier venue in the United States for African American entertainment. The Apollo is no ordinary performing arts hall. It is a cultural institution: a showplace and a meeting place in which black Americans have gathered to celebrate their culture. Countless African American performers have appeared at the Apollo: jazz (see entry under 1900s—Music in volume 1) greats; rhythm and blues (see entry under 1940s—Music in volume 3), rock and roll (see entry under 1950s—Music in volume 3), and soul performers; tap dancers; comedians; and amateurs breaking in their acts.

The Apollo, constructed in 1913, originally was an Irish music hall. Five years later, it became Hartig & Seamon's Burlesque Theater. By the 1920s and 1930s, population shifts and changing demographics resulted in Harlem's becoming...