Potter flourished regionally in Cleveland during the prohibition, on into the Great Depression, from the late 1920s, then relocated in Harlem, Manhattan, beginning around 1934, performing through the early 1950s with Art Tatum, Dickie Wells, Willie "the Lion" Smith, Ollie Shepard, and others. She made very few recordings — an extant four — but had been acclaimed by various musicologists and critics for one in particular — a 1941 amateur recording with Art Tatum and other singers at "Gee-Haw Stables,"[a] in Harlem. That particular recording was not released until 1971. In 1934, Marcus Wright, columnist for the New York Age stated that she was one of Harlem's favorite entertainers.[NY Age 1]
In October 1932, Potter performed at the Plaza Club in Cleveland[2][b]
In January 1933, Potter was performing at the Creole Kitchen (aka Creole Club) in Cleveland,[3][c] acclaimed that year by the Pittsburgh Courier as one of the "Hottest Nite Spots In The Entire Country;"[4] Mammy Louise Brooks (1882–1960)[5] was the manager
In October 1933, Potter, billed as a torch singer, was performing at the Paramount Inn, in Harlem, owned by Joe Rubin. The club admitted whites only. The floor show included singers Jimmy Hays and Edith King; Johnny Perchey, snakehips dancer; and a female sextet chorus. All shows were produced by Billy Maxey, who also emceed the show. Music was furnished by Sherdena Walker (1904–1982) and Her Orchestra.[6]
Beginning January 27, 1934. for week at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, Potter was a featured stage celebrity in a new musical review staged by Addison Carey (1900–1952);[d] other celebrities included Doris Rheubottom (born 1905) (vocalist), the Three Yorkers,[e]Dewey Brown, George Wiltshire, and George Gee James.[NY Age 4]
In December 1935, nationally syndicated columnist Allan W McMillan (1900–1991) wrote "Someone ought to give Ollie Potter (God's gift to the blues) an opportunity on Broadway."[7]
Potter debuted at the Elks Rendezvous in Harlem, 464 Lenox Avenue,[g] in February 1939, in a musical review singing "That's Why I Am In Harlem Every Night," which was well received by the audience.[NY Age 6]
Art Tatum (piano, vocalist on track 1) Chocolate Williams (bass) Anna Robinson (vocalist 2) Ethel White (vocalist 4) Charlie Shavers (vocalist 5) Ollie Potter (vocalist 6)
Recorded live "Gee-Haw Stables,"[a] New York, July 26 or 27, 1941
Side A: Ollie Potter and Her After Hours Orchestra
"Too Much E-E-L," by Gerald "Corky" Williams (1896–1950) Matrix: H-110
: Side B: Ollie Potter and Her Buck Eye Boys
"Big Fat Dollar Bill"
Ollie Potter & Emmett Wallace (1909–2006) (w&m) Matrix: H-108
Harlem Records 1020 (1945 or 1946)
Note: Harlem Records was one of several labels founded by J. Mayo Williams; his other labels were Ebony Records, Chicago Record Company, Southern Record Company
Published works
"That Fat Dollar Bill"
Ollie Potter & Emmett Babe Wallace (1909–2006) (words & music)
(1946)
Marriages
On November 3, 1931, Variety magazine published that Potter was going to marry Herman Ferdinand (1905–1989) in December 1931. Potter was, at the time, performing at the Plaza Club in Cleveland[b] and Ferdinand (born February 1, 1881, Russia) was a Cleveland club manager.[11]
^ abGee-Haw Stables, West 132nd Street between 7th & Lenox Avenue, c. 1940-45; an after-after-hours club
^ abThe Cleveland Plaza Club was located at 2515 East 61st Street; in 1931, Frank Burns was the manager; the address is the same as that of the Cleveland Home Brewing Company, Black Forest Beer
^The Creole Kitchen (aka Creole Club), in Cleveland, was, in 1933, managed by Mammy Louise Brooks (née Louise Mae Brooks; 1884–1960); but in 1934, management was taken over by Elmer Waxman (1907–1973) in 1934
^Addison Carey (likely a pseudonym; 1899–1952) was initially a dancer and bass singer; he became a prominent choreographer and producer of musical reviews, notably at the Harlem Opera House and the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem from the mid-1920s to the late 1940s; He often collaborated with Charles Davis
aka C. Columbus Davis (1894–1963), also a choreographer; the Lafayette, owned and operated by Frank Schiffman (1893–1974), was at the time Harlem's flagship vaudeville theatre
^The Three Yorkers were composed of one female and two male singers who also danced
^ abThe Old Poospatuck Club, 773 St. Nicholas Avenue at 149th Street, Harlem, was the original name of St. Nick's Pub in the 1930s. In the 1940s, it was named the Sugar Hill Rendezvous by its new owner Charles Luckeyth Roberts or Luckey Roberts, the great stride pianist whose span on the keys was so wide and so quick, it's been said, because he had the skin between his fingers surgically cut. Later, in the 1950s, the club added opera to its repertoire; the new owners called it the Pink Angel, because, it's been said, it was a popular haunt for homosexual men. And lastly, since the 1960s, it has endured as St. Nick's Pub.
^Elk's Rendezvous, 464 Lenox Avenue, c. 1930-45 - held social club dances
^"I Cover New York – From Broadway to Harlem," by Allan McMillan, Kansas Whip (newspaper, Topeka), December 12, 1935 (retrieved via genealogybank.com February 24, 2016)
