Peppermint Lounge
Encyclopedia
The Peppermint Lounge was a popular discotheque located at 128 West 45th Street in New York City
that was open from 1958 to 1965. It was the launchpad for the global Twist
craze in the early 1960s, and also where Go-Go dancing
originated.
, New York
. It had a lengthy mahogany bar running along one side, lots of mirrors and a dance floor at the back, a capacity of just 178 people, and a gay clientele
.
As the Twist craze hit in 1960-1961, celebrities swarmed into the Peppermint Lounge: Audrey Hepburn
, Truman Capote
, Marilyn Monroe
, Judy Garland
, Liberace
, Noel Coward
, Frank Sinatra
, Norman Mailer
, Annette Funicello
, even the elusive Greta Garbo
, to dance to the house band Joey Dee and the Starliters
. Jackie Kennedy was such an enthusiast that she arranged for a temporary 'Peppermint Lounge' to be mounted in the White House
. One such event even took place at a meeting of the austere Council of the Organization of American States
.. A sister club was opened in Miami Beach.
During 1961 Paramount Pictures
filmed the movie Hey, Let's Twist, a fictional story of Joey Dee and the Peppermint Lounge starring Jo Ann Campbell
and Teddy Randazzo
. At the end of the year the Starliters' "Peppermint Twist
" became a hit, spending 3 weeks at #1 in January 1962. This brought the club wide recognition, re-inforced later in the year by Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away
" which, while not mentioning the club by name, was about a "a place/Somewhere up a New York way/Where the People are so gay". The movie and soundtrack album also did their part in making the Peppermint Lounge a world-famous venue. Successful singles spawned from Hey, Let's Twist were the title track and "Shout - Part I". Other albums released during this time were Doin' The Twist At The Peppermint Lounge, which was recorded live at the venue, and All The World's Twistin' With Joey Dee & The Starliters.
The Beatles
were filmed visiting the club during their first U.S. visit in 1964.
Artists who performed at the Peppermint Lounge include The Beach Boys
, the Ronettes
(who made their professional debut here in 1961), the Crystals
, The Isley Brothers
, Chubby Checker
, Liza Minnelli
, and The Four Seasons. In the mid 1960s, the house band was The Wild Ones
. The Denos, a traveling road house band, were another featured act. Members of the Starliters later went on to form the Young Rascals.
Both the NYC and Miami clubs were sold in 1965. The New York club was run by Genovese crime family associate Matty 'The Horse' Ianniello
who managed many gay bars and strip clubs in Manhattan. It closed when it lost its liquor license on December 28, 1965.
, who went on to great success at Studio 54
.
dancers performed on trapezes over a net above the dance floor. G.G. Barnum's Room was a popular meeting place for transsexuals, drag queen
s and homosexuals. The "G.G." was a reference to the Ianniello-owned Gilded Grape located at 719 8th Avenue, a notorious gay bar which operated from the early 1970s until 1977.
and the burgeoning hip hop
scenes. Some of the regular featured acts were the Cramps, X, the Raybeats
, the Go-Gos, Marshall Crenshaw
, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
, Billy Idol
, Afrika Bambaataa
, the Bangles, the Waitresses, and Joan Jett
. V.I.P. guests such as Mick Jagger
and David Bowie
added to the club's cachet. Yoko Ono
visited the club soon after John Lennon
's death to deliver a copy of their new album.
In 1982, the Peppermint Lounge moved downtown to 100 5th Ave, changing its name to the New Peppermint Lounge, before closing in the mid 80's.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
that was open from 1958 to 1965. It was the launchpad for the global Twist
Twist (dance)
The Twist was a dance inspired by rock and roll music. It became the first worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed...
craze in the early 1960s, and also where Go-Go dancing
Go-Go dancing
Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at a discotheque. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s when women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City began to get up on tables and dance the twist...
originated.
Original Peppermint Lounge
The Peppermint Lounge opened in 1958 at 128 West 45th Street in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It had a lengthy mahogany bar running along one side, lots of mirrors and a dance floor at the back, a capacity of just 178 people, and a gay clientele
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
.
As the Twist craze hit in 1960-1961, celebrities swarmed into the Peppermint Lounge: Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
, Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
, Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
, Annette Funicello
Annette Funicello
Annette Joanne Funicello is an American singer and actress. She was Walt Disney's most popular cast member of the original Mickey Mouse Club, and went on to appear in a series of beach party films.-Early life and early stardom:...
, even the elusive Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
, to dance to the house band Joey Dee and the Starliters
Joey Dee and the Starliters
Joey Dee and The Starliters is an American popular music team. Best known for their successful million-selling recording "Peppermint Twist" , the group was initiated by Joey Dee.-Early singles:...
. Jackie Kennedy was such an enthusiast that she arranged for a temporary 'Peppermint Lounge' to be mounted in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. One such event even took place at a meeting of the austere Council of the Organization of American States
Permanent Council of the Organization of American States
The Permanent Council is one of the two main political bodies of the Organization of American States, the other being the General Assembly.The Permanent Council is established under Chapter XII of the OAS Charter. It is composed of ambassadors appointed by the member states , and it meets regularly...
.. A sister club was opened in Miami Beach.
During 1961 Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
filmed the movie Hey, Let's Twist, a fictional story of Joey Dee and the Peppermint Lounge starring Jo Ann Campbell
Jo Ann Campbell
Jo Ann Campbell is an American pop singer.Campbell began attending music school at the age of four, and won many honors as a drum majorette at Fletcher High School...
and Teddy Randazzo
Teddy Randazzo
Teddy Randazzo was a NYC born pop songwriter who composed 1960s hit songs such as "Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", and "Hurt So Bad"...
. At the end of the year the Starliters' "Peppermint Twist
Peppermint Twist
"Peppermint Twist" is a song written by Joey Dee and Henry Glover, recorded and released by Joey Dee and the Starliters in 1961. Capitalizing on the Twist dance craze and the nightclub in which Dee performed , the song hit number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in early 1962...
" became a hit, spending 3 weeks at #1 in January 1962. This brought the club wide recognition, re-inforced later in the year by Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away
Twistin' the Night Away
"Twistin' the Night Away" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke. It was released as a single in 1962 and became very popular, charting in the top ten of both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard's R&B chart ,...
" which, while not mentioning the club by name, was about a "a place/Somewhere up a New York way/Where the People are so gay". The movie and soundtrack album also did their part in making the Peppermint Lounge a world-famous venue. Successful singles spawned from Hey, Let's Twist were the title track and "Shout - Part I". Other albums released during this time were Doin' The Twist At The Peppermint Lounge, which was recorded live at the venue, and All The World's Twistin' With Joey Dee & The Starliters.
The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
were filmed visiting the club during their first U.S. visit in 1964.
Artists who performed at the Peppermint Lounge include The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, the Ronettes
The Ronettes
The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett ; her older sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley...
(who made their professional debut here in 1961), the Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
, The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers
The Isley Brothers are a highly influential, successful and long-running American music group consisting of different line-ups of six brothers, and a brother-in-law, Chris Jasper...
, Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
, and The Four Seasons. In the mid 1960s, the house band was The Wild Ones
The Wild Ones (band)
The Wild Ones were an American rock band from New York City. They are perhaps best known for recording the first version of Chip Taylor's song "Wild Thing", which would later be a smash hit for The Troggs. Their version of "Wild Thing" was produced by Gerry Granahan. Their 1965 album The Arthur...
. The Denos, a traveling road house band, were another featured act. Members of the Starliters later went on to form the Young Rascals.
Both the NYC and Miami clubs were sold in 1965. The New York club was run by Genovese crime family associate Matty 'The Horse' Ianniello
Matthew Ianniello
Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello is a New York mobster with the Genovese crime family mobster who specialized in vice operations. He was acting boss of the family from 1998–2005 and is the owner of numerous nightclubs in the New York City area.-Little Italy:Ianniello got the nickname "Matty the...
who managed many gay bars and strip clubs in Manhattan. It closed when it lost its liquor license on December 28, 1965.
Hollywood
The 128 West 45th St venue re-opened as a gay bar named Hollywood, most notable for the DJ residency in the 70s of Richie KaczorRichie Kaczor
Richie Kaczor was among the earliest DJs during Disco's infancy in the 1970s.Starting his DJ career in New Jersey, Richie played at clubs in New York and surrounding states before being asked by nightclub owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager to start as a resident at the famous Studio 54, which...
, who went on to great success at Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
.
G.G. Barnum's Room
The 45th St space re-opened as G.G. Barnum's Room on July 20, 1978, and continued until November 1980. Male go-go dancersGo-Go dancing
Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at a discotheque. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s when women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City began to get up on tables and dance the twist...
dancers performed on trapezes over a net above the dance floor. G.G. Barnum's Room was a popular meeting place for transsexuals, drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s and homosexuals. The "G.G." was a reference to the Ianniello-owned Gilded Grape located at 719 8th Avenue, a notorious gay bar which operated from the early 1970s until 1977.
Second Peppermint Lounge
In November 1980, after G.G. Barnum's closed, the Peppermint Lounge name was revived for a new music night club run by Frank Roccio and Tom Goodkind. The club's DJ was David Azarc. The club featured top international music acts, both from alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and the burgeoning hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
scenes. Some of the regular featured acts were the Cramps, X, the Raybeats
Raybeats
The Raybeats were an instrumental neo-surf rock combo from New York City that arose from the No Wave musical scene. The original line-up consisted of Don Christensen , Jody Harris , Pat Irwin , and George Scott III .- History :The Raybeats formed in 1979, brought together by George Scott...
, the Go-Gos, Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...
, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. Composed of one DJ and five rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an influential American hip-hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in...
, Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
, the Bangles, the Waitresses, and Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
. V.I.P. guests such as Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
added to the club's cachet. Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
visited the club soon after John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's death to deliver a copy of their new album.
In 1982, the Peppermint Lounge moved downtown to 100 5th Ave, changing its name to the New Peppermint Lounge, before closing in the mid 80's.
External links
- Iggy Pop plays the Peppermint Lounge - 1982 East Village Other ad