Esquire Show Bar

The Esquire Show Bar is an old jazz and rhythm and blues nightclub in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, popular during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, located in the city's downtown district at 1224 Rue Stanley.[1] Esquire Show Bar was owned and run by Norman Silver.[2]

Numerous international artists have performed there, including James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Otis Redding, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Jackie Shane, Fats Domino, Wilson Pickett, B.B. King, Chubby Checker, Etta James, Joe Tex, Percy Sledge, Jackie Wilson, George Benson and the Avalons, James Cotton, Larry Coryell, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.[3][4] In the 1960s, bands such as those led by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, drummer Buddy Rich and others played two-week gigs. As part of the deal, they would play dry matinees on Sunday afternoons. This enabled people under the age of 21 to attend.

References

1. Esquire Show Bar Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine, TourismeMontreal.org website. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
2. "Norm Silver in 1972 just before Esquire Show Bar closed its doors. ****MANDATORY CREDIT OF "MONTREAL STAR COLLECTION"***". Archived from the original on 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
3. Burnett, Richard. Fun Esquire Show Bar revue returns to Corona Theatre – but without soul singer Skipper Dean Archived 2014-08-26 at the Wayback Machine, Montreal Gazette, July 9, 2011.
4. Hum, Peter. "I will always love jazz, but I’m ready to take a break from it" (the Katie Malloch interview) Archived 2012-06-18 at the Wayback Machine, Ottawa Citizen, March 12, 2012.