There’s something about a well-framed night shot that reeks with atmosphere, isn’t there? This is the Hollywood Palladium nightclub at 6215 Sunset Blvd in 1946. The draw that week was Buddy Rich, a virtuoso jazz drummer who led his own orchestra after serving with the U.S. Marines during WWII. You can tell how big of a draw he was by the size of that vertical banner—it’s almost as big as the blade neon sign spelling out “PALLADIUM.”
The Palladium is still there – and so are the dancing figures on each side of the vertical sign. This image is from May 2019.
They did a nice job restoring the place, hope it lasts.
I booked Buddy Rich into a venue in Reno around 1982. He demanded cash before he would go on stage. Still a great drummer, with a bunch of kids backing him.
Cash before performance? Sounds like he’d been dinged in the past with shady promoters who failed to pay him.
If you want to see how great Buddy was, check out “Insane drum solo” on Youtube. He was the best ever.
Thanks Michael, I will!