The Apollo Theater — Harlem, New York

The Apollo Theater at 253 West 125th Street in Harlem is the most important venue in African American music history — the stage from which Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Jackson 5, and hundreds of other artists launched or defined their careers. The Amateur Night at the Apollo, in continuous operation since 1934, was the competitive proving ground from which Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, and many others emerged. James Brown's Live at the Apollo (1963) is one of the most celebrated live albums ever recorded and was initially opposed by his label on the grounds that live recordings didn't sell.

The Apollo opened as a whites-only burlesque house in 1913 and was converted to a Black music and comedy venue in 1934, when it became the anchor of Harlem's entertainment district. The Wednesday Amateur Night — hosted for decades by the irrepressible Ralph Cooper — gave unknown performers three minutes to impress an audience notoriously unforgiving of mediocrity. A performer who failed was literally pulled from the stage with a hook. A performer who succeeded could launch a career in an afternoon.

The Apollo Theater is a National Historic Landmark and still operates as a major live music and events venue. It presents a varied programme of concerts, broadcasts, and the continuing Wednesday Amateur Night. 125th Street in Harlem is the main commercial thoroughfare of the neighbourhood, and the Apollo's marquee remains one of the most recognisable sights in New York. The theatre's interior retains much of its historic character.