656 WEST 125th STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10027, PHONE: (212-663-7980)

PLEASE CALL OUR TOLL FREE NUMBER ( 888-640-7980  888-640-7980 ) FOR RESERVATIONS AND MORE INFORMATION. 

  ABOUT US-

Since its inception in 1923, The Cotton Club has gained worldwide notoriety for booking the finest musical entertainment in the country. The Cotton Club has been home to numerous legendary greats, including Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Ethel Waters and Lena Horne. After some renovation and a grand re-opening in December 1977, The Cotton Club continues to live up to its star-studded legacy. With a warm, intimate interior, The Cotton Club allows its patrons to enjoy the simple things in life – delectable food, raw talent and good company.
 
On its main stage are The Cotton Club All Stars – the Jewel of the The Cotton Club. The All-Stars are composed of two separate power-packed bands: a thirteen-piece Swing band and a seven-piece Blues and Jazz band. There’s never a dull moment when The Cotton Club All-Stars are around.
 
 

It all began when Heavyweight Boxer Jack Johnson opened an                                                                                               establishment at 142nd street and Lenox Avenue, New York City: Club DeLux.
 
The failure of this club in1923 forced Jack Johnson to sell it to gangster Owney Madden. Madden had been seeking a Harlem location from which he could sell his Madden’s #1 beer. Thus, The Cotton Club was born.
 
Madden and his gangster cohorts devised The Cotton Club motif. The name (synonymous with its location in Harlem) was chosen to conjure up thoughts of a stylish plantation environment. To further this connotation, while enhancing the décor of the Club, all musicians and performers were black, and, with rare exceptions, the owners and all the guests were white.
 
The Club’s "white only" policy heightened its appeal for patronage: not only for "downtown" New Yorkers but also for world-wide visitors. Featuring the most talented black entertainers it could get its hands on, The Cotton Club attracted a host of celebrity clientele, including Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, Fanny Brice, Irving Berline, Cole Porter, Dorothy Kilgallen, Doris Duke, as well as the famous Dutch Shultz. Many of the early black entertainers got their start at The Cotton Club, such as Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Dorothy Dandridge, Avon Long, Lena Horne and the Nicholas Brothers.
 
The Cotton Club was definitely the hot-spot to be for both guests and performers. It was not only the aristocratic sphere of Harlem, but of the whole nightclub scene. Only the wealthiest, most influential, famous or notorious went there or could get in. Not only did The Club give its clientele the opportunity to rub shoulders with celebrities and gangsters, but it also exposed them to The Club’s unmatched décor, cuisine and entertainment.
 
The Cotton Club, in its grand return to Harlem, reopened its doors in 1978 with Cab Calloway and other noted entertainers as the featured attraction. Mr. John Beatty, the current owner of The Cotton Club, has instituted a policy of operation whereby formerly excluded clientele can now patronize The Club.  

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