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Copyright Hudson West Productions

Season 2
Saloon Singers

Maya Angelou, who was known as Miss Calypso when she was a nightclub entertainer in the 1950s.

Maya Angelou, who was known as Miss Calypso when she was a nightclub entertainer in the 1950s.
source: Dr Maya Angelou

“Saloon Singers” examines the allure of musical nightlife, from Mississippi juke joints (where Michael dazzles the crowd with some impromptu boogie-woogie blues) to the neon of Las Vegas, where he gets a private tour of the now-closed Liberace Museum, and plays one of the rhinestone encrusted pianos. While keeping up his own busy schedule of live performances at his New York nightclub, and the brand new performing arts center in Carmel, IN, Michael delves into the history of nightclub entertainment, from the Cotton Club in Harlem to Sinatra’s Rat Pack. He goes through the archives of composer Jimmy McHugh—whose career spans Vaudeville to Vegas—and visits with nightclub pioneers Rose Marie (she literally “opened” Las Vegas in the 1940s) and the poet and author Maya Angelou, who used to make her living doing a calypso club act in San Francisco.
by Amber Edwards

Liberace performing in Las Vegas in one of his trademark over-the-top costumes, circa 1970s.

Liberace performing in Las Vegas in one of his trademark over-the-top costumes, circa 1970s.
source: Las Vegas News Bureau

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