Great American Music Hall
Former names | Blanco's (1907 - 1935, 1948) Music Box (1936 - 1945) |
---|---|
Location | 859 O'Farrell Street San Francisco, California United States |
Coordinates | 37°47′06″N 122°25′08″W / 37.785048°N 122.418835°W |
Owner | Slim's Presents |
Type | Nightclub |
Capacity | 470 |
Construction | |
Opened | 1907 |
Renovated | 1972 |
Website | |
gamh |
The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconies, columns, and frescoes and for its history of unique entertainment, which has included burlesque dancing as well as jazz, folk music, and rock and roll concerts. The capacity of the hall is 470 people.[1]
History
Blanco's and Music Box
The hall was established in 1907 during the period of rebuilding that followed the 1906 earthquake. Its interior was designed by a French architect. It was originally called Blanco's, after a notorious Barbary Coast house of prostitution.[2]
In 1936, Sally Rand, known for her fan dance and bubble dance acts, acquired the property and branded it the Music Box. It closed with the end of World War II, reopened in 1948 as a jazz club that reused the name Blanco's, and in the 1950s the building was used by members of the Loyal Order of the Moose.[3] The venue went into a long decline that nearly resulted in the demolition of the building.[4]
Great American Music Hall
In 1972 the venue was purchased by Tom Bradshaw. Newly refurbished and painted, the building was renamed the Great American Music Hall. In 1973-1974 the Stuart Little Band became the GAMH house band and performed as opening act for many GAMH headliners:
Live Performances at the Great American Hall
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Great American Canyon Band opened for Tennis at the Great American Music Hall on February 25, 2017[6]
Recordings
- Billy Joel recorded a set on June 8, 1975. He recorded “New York State of Mind” there that year which was released on Spotify, et al, on November 4, 2021. The album "Live from the Great American Music Hall" was released in April 2023.
- The Grateful Dead's album One from the Vault, the first of its "From the Vault" series, was recorded at the Great American Music Hall in August 1975.
- David Bromberg recorded portions of How Late'll Ya Play 'Til? at the Great American Music Hall in June 1976.
- Ry Cooder recorded Show Time on December 14 & 15, 1976.
- McCoy Tyner recorded The Greeting on March 17 & 18, 1978.
- Sonny Rollins recorded Don't Stop the Carnival on April 13, 14 & 15, 1978.
- Carmen McRae recorded "At The Great American Music Hall" in 1976.
- Doc and Merle Watson recorded "Live and Pickin' " on October 11–13, 1978. At the Grammy Awards of 1980 "Big Sandy/Leather Britches" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance.
- live vocal jazz album The Audience with Betty Carterat the Great American Music Hall in 1979.
- The Carmen McRae-Betty Carter Duetsrecorded on January 30 - Feb 1, 1987 at the Great American Music Hall.
- Herbie Mann made a direct-to-disc recording, All Blues/Forest Rain, in 1980.[7]
- Carla Bley recorded Live! on August 19–21, 1981.
- Robin Williams filmed his 1982 HBO special, "An Evening with Robin Williams" at the Great American Music Hall.
- The Radiators (American band) Live at the "Great American Music Hall" in 1998.
- Boz Scaggs recorded his CD/DVD Greatest Hits Live in 2004
- The Live at the Great American Music Hall in 2007.[8]
- Jonathan Coulton recorded his album Best. Concert. Ever. in February 2008.[9]
- Fantômas recorded their album and video The Director's Cut Live: A New Year's Revolution on December 31, 2008.[10]
- Richard Thompson recorded portions of his album Dream Attic in February 2010.[11]
- The Mother Hips Live at the Great American Music Hall[12] December 15-16 2017
- Ry Cooder recorded his 2011 concert with Corridos Famosos at the Great American Music Hall[13]
References
- ^ ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
- ^ "Great American Music Hall". SF Weekly. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ "Great American Music Hall". www.slimspresents.com. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
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- ^ Chonin, Neva (December 12, 2000). "Riffage Puts Music Hall Up for Sale". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "2017 Great American Canyon Band Tour History". Jambase. JamBase Inc. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ^ All Blues/Forest Rain, Herbie Mann (Herbie Mann Music HMM1, 1980)
- ^ "Web of Mimicry catalog". Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
- ^ Jonathan Coulton Album Promotion
- ^ "rock-a-rolla.com » Fantômas 'The Director's Cut' Live DVD and Album on the Way"
- ^ Dream Attic credits & notes @ richardthompson-music.com
- ^ "The Mother Hips discography", Wikipedia, 2022-07-23, retrieved 2022-11-28
- ^ Nonesuch Records Journal 2013-09-10
External links
- Sally Rand and The Music Box at Virtual Museum of SF
- Great American Music homepage on the website of Slim's Presents