East St. Louis in southwestern Illinois and its iconic entertainment venues were more than just places to unwind—they launched a range of talents in rhythm and blues, dance, gospel, rock and roll, and more.
“I remember Ike and Tina [Turner]. They lived on Virginia Place, a nice area with well-kept homes. They would entertain in East St. Louis and St. Louis,” said Verna Rivers, a lifelong resident of East St. Louis.
Tina Turner, the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” was discovered in East St. Louis at the Club Manhattan in the late 1950s. It’s said that she stole the microphone (and the show!) from the night’s performers (Ike’s band, Kings of Rhythm) and sang a blues ballad.
“We had the Blue Note Club, too. It was owned by a man named Leo Gooden. Ike and Tina used to play there as well,” said Rivers. The Blue Note was the premier after-hours venue in “East Boogie.”
After the clubs closed in St. Louis, revelers made their way across the Mississippi where the party did not end until the sun came up. The Blue Note hosted legends Ray Charles and Redd Foxx, along with Leo’s Five, a popular Soul Jazz band formed by Gooden.
Another notable spot was the Cosmopolitan or Cosmos, where young Chuck Berry took the stage with the Johnnie Johnson Trio.
The Talent of East St. Louis
Although not a music venue, Lincoln High School—founded in 1909 for East St. Louis’s Black community—produced incredible talent. It was largely due to its music teacher and instructor, Elwood Buchanan.
His most famous pupil was Miles Davis, a 1944 graduate. A great trumpeter in his own right, Buchanan, according to the Initiative for Urban Research at SIU-Edwardsville, gave “Miles his first structured musical foundation, teaching him how to read music, breath[e] properly, and [master] other technicalities of the trumpet.”
According to the East St. Louis Historical Society, Lincoln also produced several talented musicians and entertainers who went on to have illustrious careers, including Barbara Ann Teer, dancer and founder of the National Black Theatre; Mitchell Gabrielle Hearns, DJ, and musician; and Brother Joe Louis, a gospel soloist who toured with notable choirs and was eventually signed by a major talent scout.
Pianist Eugene Haynes, born in East St. Louis and a classmate of Davis, was discovered while working at Stix, Baer, and Fuller, a department store in St. Louis. He went on to receive a Juilliard scholarship and have an illustrious career, performing at Carnegie Hall and concert halls around the world.
Actress and comedian LaWanda Page attended Lincoln High and went on to play Aunt Esther on NBC’s popular comedy series Sanford and Son in the 1970s.
“When it all came down to it, it was fun—so much fun. I wouldn’t trade my upbringing or all the good times we had for anything.”
This is a two-part series capturing the oral histories of the city’s music and culture shared by East St. Louis residents. Complete your reading of the series with ‘East St. Louis, the Entertainment Gateway Across the Mississippi’