My Grandmother’s Harlem Renaissance Wedding

By A’Lelia Bundles Langston Hughes called A’Lelia Walker “the joy goddess of Harlem’s 1920s” Whenever I see my grandmother Mae’s 1923 wedding photographs, I can’t help but marvel at the elegance and extravagance. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive…

Harlemite Sammy Davis, Jr., “The Candy Man” (video)

Samuel George “Sammy” Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer. Primarily a dancer and singer, he also had many acting roles on stage and screen, and was noted for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World…

HW Questionnaire: K Black Is Back

Harlem World Magazine caught up with K Black as he talked about working with Shyne (Bad Boy), Lil’ Wayne, TOTAL, Jaheim, Hezekiah Walker’s and Liz Black, having music in the family, starting his own label and his upcoming new CD Marva. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World…

Fats Waller On The Keys In Harlem

Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an influential jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer, whose innovations to the Harlem stride style laid the groundwork for modern jazz piano, and whose best-known compositions, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Honeysuckle Rose”, were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame posthumously, in…

Big Maybelle Louis Smith, Harlem (video)

Mabel Louise Smith was born in Jackson Tennessee (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972). In the early nineteen thirties the young Mabel won an amateur singing contest in Memphis, and decided that performing was for her. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I…

Harlem’s Duke Ellington, Photograph By Lee Tanner (video)

Duke Ellington When his drummer Sonny Greer was invited to join the Wilber Sweatman Orchestra in New York City, Ellington made the fateful decision to leave behind his successful career in Washington, D.C., and move to Harlem, becoming one of the figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select…

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie In Harlem (video)

John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie (pronounced /ɡɨˈlɛspi/; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from Harlem World Magazine. (You can unsubscribe anytime)Constant Contact…

Irene Reid: A Harlem Great dies

On Friday January 4th, the legend/vocalist Irene Reid, one of Harlem’s greatest vocalists that ever graced a stage, has passed. Become a Harlem Insider! Sign-Up for our Newsletter *Select list(s) to subscribe toHarlem World Magazine Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from Harlem World Magazine. (You can unsubscribe anytime)Constant Contact Use. Please leave…