NEW YORK CITY, THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD, IS ALSO
            HOME TO HARLEM, THE LARGEST AFRICAN AMERICA 
            NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE WORLD. FROM THE 1920S THROUGH THE
            1950S AND BEYOND, THE CULTURAL CAPITAL OF HARLEM WAS
            ITS FAMED APOLLO THEATER ON 125TH STREET. THAT'S THE 
            PLACE WHERE MOST OF THIS CENTURY'S JAZZ GREATS 
            PERFORMED AND WHERE MANY MUSICAL LEGENDS GOT THEIR 
            FIRST BIG BREAKS DURING THE APOLLO'S WEEKLY "AMATEUR 
            NIGHTS." 

            DURING THE 1960S AND 70S, THE GLORY OF THE APOLLO 
            BEGAN TO FADE BUT NOW, BOTH THE THEATER AND ITS 
            AMATEUR  NIGHTS ARE ON THEIR WAY BACK.

            JUST EAST OF WHERE THE FABLED "A" TRAIN OF DUKE 
            ELLINGTON FAME LETS YOU OFF AT 125TH STREET AND 
            EIGHTH AVENUE, LIES THE COMMERCIAL HEART OF HARLEM --
            THE LARGEST -- AND BUSIEST -- AFRICAN-AMERICAN 
            NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE WORLD. LIKE MANY OTHER INNER CITY
            NEIGHBORHOODS IN AMERICA, HARLEM SAW SOME HARD TIMES 
            AFTER WORLD WAR TWO. 

            BUT, IN RECENT YEARS, LOCALS LIKE ELLIOT AT THE HOLY 
            FAMILY BARBER SHOP ON 125TH STREET HAVE WATCHED AS 
            THE FORTUNES OF 125TH STREET HAVE BEEN MAKING A 
            COMEBACK. HE SAYS HARLEM IS NOW AS ALIVE AS IT EVER 
            WAS IN THE OLD DAYS. HE LOVES TO PEER THROUGH THE 
            PICTURE WINDOW OF HIS SHOP AT ALL THE STREET HAWKERS,
            HUSTLERS, CORNER PREACHERS, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND 
            ENTREPRENEURS. 

            "YOU GET GOOSEBUMPS WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLE GOING TO AND 
            FRO. ALL DIFFERENT CULTURES WALKING BACK AND FORTH, 
            TOUR BUSES GOING BACK AND FORTH. IT GIVES YOU SUCH A 
            WARM FEELING OF BEING IN HARLEM. IT'S LIKE, ONCE YOU 
            STEP INTO HARLEM, IT IS JUST A SAFE FEELING OF 'I AM 
            WHERE I BELONG!' I LOVE HARLEM."

            THE RESURGENCE OF THE 125TH STREET STRIP HAS BEEN 
            PEGGED TO THE RE-OPENING OF THE APOLLO THEATER -- A 
            HARLEM INSTITUTION THAT CAME TO SYMBOLIZE THE HEYDAY 
            OF JAZZ AND RELATED AFRICAN AMERICAN ART FORMS FROM 
            THE MID-1920S THROUGH THE 1950S.  

            PERCY SUTTON IS THE BIG CITY POLITICIAN, MEDIA MOGUL 
            AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST WHO BOUGHT THE SHUTTERED 
            APOLLO IN 1980 AND REFURBISHED IT IN THE OLD STYLE. 
            ACCORDING TO HIM, THE APOLLO'S INITIAL POPULARITY 
            AMONG BLACKS WAS DUE TO THE RACISM OF NEW YORK'S 
            ENTERTAINMENT WORLD DURING THE 1930S AND 40S. 

            "THE APOLLO THEATER HAS A GREAT HISTORY. 
            HISTORICALLY, IT WAS THE RESULT OF DISCRIMINATION. IT
            WAS, TOGETHER WITH THEATERS IN SEVEN OTHER CITIES, 
            THE PLACE WHERE BLACK ENTERTAINERS COULD GO AND HONE 
            THEIR TALENTS AND WHERE BLACK PEOPLE COULD COME. 
            BLACKS COULDN'T GO INTO WHITE THEATERS. THEY HAD TO
            GO INTO BLACK THEATERS. ** BLACK PERFORMERS COULDN'T 
            GO INTO WHITE THEATERS. THEY HAD TO GO IN BLACK
            THEATERS."

            ALL THE BLACK JAZZ GREATS, FROM BILLIE HOLIDAY TO 
            LOUIS ARMSTRONG, AND FROM DUKE ELLINGTON AND COUNT 
            BASIE TO THE GREAT LIONEL HAMPTON REGULARLY "PLAYED 
            THE APOLLO" AND CONTRIBUTED TO ITS FAME. 

            "IT WAS SO POWERFUL. IT WAS LIKE A BOMBSHELL! IT WAS 
            SO POWERFUL, THE WHOLE WORLD KNEW ABOUT IT...  IT WAS
            JUST SOMETHING THAT HAD TO HAPPEN.  GOD WANTED IT 
            THAT WAY!" 

            THAT'S LIONEL HAMPTON HIMSELF. THE LEGENDARY "SWING 
            ERA" MUSICIAN WHO FIRST MADE THE VIBRAPHONE FAMOUS AS
            A JAZZ INSTRUMENT IS NOW 89 YEARS OLD. STILL, HE 
            EASILY RECALLS WHEN THE APOLLO THEATER WAS GROUND 
            ZERO FOR HARLEM AND HARLEM WAS "GROUND ZERO" FOR
            JAZZ. 

            "... WE HAD TO DO TEN SHOWS A DAY. BOY, I'M TELLING 
            YOU PEOPLE LINING UP AROUND SEVENTH AVENUE ONE WAY, 
            AROUND EIGHTH AVENUE  THE OTHER [WAY].  AND THE CROWD
            WOULD MEET ON 126TH STREET BEHIND THE APOLLO THEATER 
            AT THE BACK DOOR. THE CROWD WAS SO TREMENDOUS! IT WAS
            JUST JOY ALL THE WAY."

            THESE DAYS, IT IS RAP AND HIP-HOP, NOT JAZZ THAT 
            YOU HEAR ON THE STREET AND IN THE CONCERT HALLS OF 
            HARLEM. RAP AND HIP-HOP MUSIC LIKE THIS ARE CERTAINLY
            THE MAINSTAY FEATURES OF ANOTHER VENERABLE APOLLO 
            TRADITION: "AMATEUR NIGHT" CONTESTS. 

            EVERY WEDNESDAY AT SEVEN SHARP, UNKNOWN LOCALS -- AND
            THE OCCASIONAL FOREIGNER -- TAKE TO THE STAGE TO TRY 
            TO PLEASE THE FAMOUSLY TOUGH CROWD, HOPING FOR A 
            BREAK. *** MS. GRACE BLAKE OF THE APOLLO THEATER 
            FOUNDATION, SAYS THAT THE PERFORMERS LOVE TO STRUT 
            THEIR STUFF BEFORE THEIR PEERS. 

            "THEY ALL THINK THEY ARE GOING TO BE THE NEXT STAR OF
            TOMORROW. LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON, HE PLAYED THE APOLLO 
            AT ONE TIME. AND LUTHER VAN DROSS. HE WAS BOOED OFF 
            OF HERE ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE TIMES. SO THERE IS HOPE. 
            THERE ARE KIDS FROM GERMANY AND JAPAN AND ALL OVER 
            THE WORLD WHO FEEL THAT IF THEY CAN MAKE IT ON THE 
            APOLLO STAGE, THEY CAN MAKE IT ANYWHERE. " 

            DURING AMATEUR NIGHT, THE AUDIENCE IS THE JUDGE, AND 
            CONTESTANTS ARE RANKED ACCORDING TO THE APPLAUSE AT 
            THE END OF THE SHOW. UNLIKE THE ETIQUETTE AT THE MORE
            STAID VENUES DOWNTOWN, THE MOSTLY TEENAGE APOLLO 
            AUDIENCE IS ENCOURAGED TO CHEER OR BOO AS LOUD AS IT 
            LIKES. STILL, MS. BLAKE SAYS SHE SOMETIMES FEELS FOR 
            THE HOPEFULS WHO COME ONSTAGE TO SING ONLY TO BE 
            SUMMARILY USHERED OFF IN A PANDEMONIUM OF LIGHTS AND 
            SOUND BY THE APOLLO'S RESIDENT CLOWN, C-P -- FOR 
            "CROWD-PLEASER" -- LACEY. 

            "BECAUSE IT'S TOUGH! YOU COME AND YOU PREPARE AND YOU
            PREPARE AND AFTER ABOUT THE THIRD NOTE IT'S 
            'ZOOOMMMM!' HERE COMES THE C-P LACEY TO TAKE YOU OFF 
            THE STAGE. C-P LACEY HE'S THE EXECUTIONER." 

            FOR AUDIENCE MEMBERS LIKE MERLINE AND HER PALS FROM 
            QUEENS, THE CLOWN IN THE MUTLI-COLORED WIG IS AN 
            ESSENTIAL PART OF THE DRAMA. BUT THERE ARE OTHER 
            REASONS FOR GOING TOO.

            "Q: WHY'D YOU COME HERE TONIGHT? A: TO SEE AMATEURS. 
            Q: WHAT'S THE DRAW? A: BOOING PEOPLE. AND TO SEE WHO 
            GOT TALENT... GIVES PEOPLE A CHANCE TO START A 
            CAREER. Q: DID YOU EVER BOO ANYONE THAT EVERYONE ELSE
            LIKED OR VICE VERSA? A: YEAH. YEAH YEAH. YEAH!" 

            NOT EVERYONE LOSES OF COURSE. ON THIS WEDNESDAY, 
            AMATEUR NIGHT FIRST PRIZE WENT TO A TEENAGE GIRL IN 
            RADIANT WHITE WHO SANG A SOULFUL SONG THAT PLEASED 
            THE CROWD. PERHAPS SHE WILL WIN THE SEMI-FINALS AND 
            GO ON TO FAME AS NINA SIMONE, ELLA FITZGERALD, GLADYS
            KNIGHT, THE INK SPOTS AND NUMEROUS OTHER AMATEUR 
            NIGHT WINNERS HAVE DONE BEFORE HER.  

            BUT WINNING IS NOT THE MAIN POINT FOR BILLY MITCHELL,
            AN ENTERTAINER WHO DOES DOUBLE DUTY GIVING TOURS TO 
            THE MANY VISITORS WHO COME TO THE THEATER HOPING FOR 
            A PIECE OF HARLEM HISTORY. FOR HIM, THE APOLLO'S 
            ILLUSTRIOUS PAST IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THIS YEAR'S 
            AMATEURS -- OR NEXT YEAR'S SUPERSTARS. 

            "... THERE IS A LOT OF TIMES AFTER THE CONCERTS, I 
            WILL GO INTO THE THEATER, THERE IS NO ONE HERE AND I 
            WILL SIT THERE AND I CLOSE MY EYES AND TAKE IN THE SPIRITS 
            OF ALL OUR ANCESTORS WHO HAVE PERFORMED HERE. ** I FEEL 
            THEIR PRESENCE. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SAY 'BILLY! WHAT 
            ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?' BUT I AM TAKING IT IN. WHEN 
            YOU HAVE A LOVE FOR A PLACE.... THERE IS NO OTHER 
            PLACE I WANT TO WORK EXCEPT FOR THE APOLLO THEATER. I
            REALLY, REALLY LOVE IT HERE."