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The Cotton Club Boys were nationally acclaimed American chorus line entertainers who, from 1934, performed precision unison dance drills as part of musical revues produced almost exclusively by the Cotton Club in New York until 1940 – when the Broadway Cotton Club closed – then as part of Cab Calloway's Revue on tour, until the end of 1942. They debuted in the 24th edition of Cotton Club Parade, spring 1934 — (i) a period that marked the beginning of the swing era, (ii) the post-Harlem Renaissance, (iii) about a year after the Prohibition, and (iv) the trough of the Great Depression. The chorus line name often included a prefix that reflected the number of members; viz., "The Six Cotton Club Boys," "The 12 Cotton Club Boys," and the like.

The Cotton Club Girls had already become an institution in their own right and the Club's management, feeling they needed a new gimmick, decided to use a line of young male dancers. Dozens were auditioned, and ten were finally chosen: Maxie Armstrong, Louis Brown, Charles "Chink" Collins, Howard "Stretch" Johnson, Thomas "'Chink" Lee, Eddie Morton, Tommy Porter, Walter Shepherd, William Smith, and Jimmy Wright. They were made a feature act of the show and their new style of group dancing, in which all moved together in rhythmic unison, was immediately popular.

Some of the alumni went on to become major influences in American arts and entertainment, which, in the case of Cholly Atkins, extended to, among other things, Motown (1965–1971), musical theatre, and film. The performing artists were African American. Yet, their home venues – the Uptown Cotton Club, and later, Broadway Cotton Club – maintained a whites-only policy for patrons.

Overview of the Cotton Club Review
The first Cotton Club Revue was in 1923. For the first 16 years, there were 2 productions a year. Leonard Harper directed and produced the first two Cotton Club Revues. The earliest shows were staged by Lew Leslie, widely known for his Blackbirds, musical revues produced in 1926, 1928, 1930, and 1939.

Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh, a songwriting team, scored much of the music for the earlier productions. Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen, collaborators, scored much of the music later.

Cotton Club house bands
Fletcher Henderson's band, his very first band, opened the club. Coleman Hawkins Don Redman were in the band.

When Henderson left, a 'house band' briefly took over.

In the fall of 1927, the Duke Ellington Orchestra became the house band.

In 1930, Cab Calloway and His Missourians debuted at the Cotton Club when the Ellington Orchestra went on tour. The shows were broadcast twice a week, nationally on NBC radio and locally on WMCA. In 1931, Cab Calloway began his residency at the Cotton Club and changed the name of his band to "Cab Calloway's Cotton Club Orchestra."

The original Cotton Club, Harlem (1923–1936)
The Cotton Club first opened in 1923 in Harlem on the 2nd floor of a building at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue, Harlem, Manhattan — not far from Sugar Hill. The space had been formerly leased and operated by Jack Johnson, the boxer, as the Club Delux, an intimate supper club. Owney Madden, a bootlegger and gangster, had taken over the the lease in 1923 after serving time in Sing Sing. He was the head of the syndicate owners that included beer baron Bill Duffy, boxer Tony Panica (né John Francis Panica), known in the boxing world as Tommy Wilson, and Harry Block. Madden redecorated the space and changed the name to the Cotton Club. The Cotton Club sold liquor during the Prohibition, which lasted until 1933. Madden ran it as a whites-only club. When it opened, George "Big Frenchy" Demange (1896–1939) was the manager. Walter Brooks (1884–1968), who had brought Shuffle Along to Broadway in 1921, served as (slang for "nominal owner").

The Savoy Ballroom, which, unlike the Cotton Club, always had a no-discrimination policy, was one block south at 596 Lenox. Smalls Paradise, which also had a no-discrimination policy, was 7 blocks south and 1 avenue west, at 2294 Seventh Avenue.

The old home of the Harlem Club (at 142nd and Lenox) was re-opened in May 1937 as the Plantation Club.

During the swing era, there were Cotton Clubs in other cities, such as:
 * The "New Nashville Cotton Club," operated in the 1930s by Thomas T. Wilson.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 * The Cicero Cotton Club, Chicago, managed by Ralph Capone
 * Cotton Club, Philadelphia
 * Cotton Club, Lubbock, Texas
 * Cotton Club, Cleveland, taken over in 1934, by Connie Immerman, of the Immerman Brothers and former operator of the famed Connie's Inn

Race riots of 1935
Following the repeal of the prohibition in 1933 and the Harlem riot of 1935, jazz venues began shifting from Harlem to Midtown (52nd Street) and Downtown

The New Cotton Club, Midtown (1936-1940)
The new Cotton Club opened September 24, 1936, at Broadway and 48th Street, in the Great White Way area of the Theater District near Times Square. The original Cotton Club had been closed for a season (1936) while its owners were planning the move. During the interim, some of the performers from the original club performed in productions billed as the Cotton Club Revue at the Alhambra.

Closing of the Cotton Club (1940)
The last show in the Cotton Club ran Saturday night, May 15, 1940. The timing occurred just before Madden left New York. The impetus for the closing was likely the result of demands by Local 802 (New York musicians union) for back pay, specifically salaries owed to Andy Kirk's band. The location subsequently became the Latin Quarter.

Legacy of the Revue
In 2012, the Cotton Club Review was re-created in New York in a production by Encores! and Jazz at Lincoln Center.

From 1926 to 19??, performed at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem.

The so-called "original Cotton Club Revue"

Originally six male dancers, the troupe increased to ten

Excerpt from LOC ''The Cotton Club Girls had already become an institution in their own right and the Club's management, feeling they needed a new gimmick, decided to use a line of young male dancers. Dozens were auditioned, and ten were finally chosen: Maxie Armstrong, Louis Brown, Charles "Chink" Collins, Howard "Stretch" Johnson, Thomas "'Chink" Lee, Eddie Morton, Tommy Porter, Walter Shepherd, William Smith, and Jimmy Wright. They were made a feature acct of the show and their new style of group dancing, in which all moved together in rhythmic unison, was immediately popular. At the end of an eight-month run they became an established feature at the Club. The Boys later performed in specialty acts at the Apollo Theater and also toured with Cab Calloway and his band. Subsequent members of the Cotton Club Boys include Julius Adger, Al Alstock, Roy Carter, Sherman Coates, Warren Coleman, Ernest Frazier, Freddie Heron, and Roy Porter.''

Cotton Club Review before the Cotton Club Boys

 * 1927: Cotton Club Revue at the Lafayette Theatre, Harlem, Manhattan
 * 1927: Cotton Club Revue featuring Whitey's Lindy Hoppers toured Europe under the billing of Harlem on Parade
 * 1934: July: Cotton Club Revue at Loews State Theater

1934

 * 24th edition of The Cotton Club Parade
 * Opened March 23, 1934 ... opening night was the largest show ever staged there ... the production ran for nine months, merging into the Fall edition
 * Produced by Dan Healy (né Daniel E. Healy; 1888–1969)
 * This was Harold Arlen's last show with the Cotton Club Parade
 * Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra featuring Adelaide Hall
 * Debut of the Cotton Club Boys: Stretch Johnson, Charles "Chink Collins, William Smith, Walter Shepherd, Tommy Porter, Maxie Armstrong, Louis Brown, Jimmy Wright, Thomas "'Chink" Lee, and Eddie Morton
 * Songs introduced: "Ill Wind" and "Primitive Prima Donna," both written by Arlen (music) and Koehler (words) for Hall in this production


 * 25th edition of The Cotton Club Parade
 * Produced by Dan Healy (né Daniel E. Healy; 1888–1969)
 * Ran 8 months
 * Featuring: Adelaide Hall, Avon Long, and Lena Horne
 * Dances by Elida Webb (Elida Webb Dawson; 1893–1975); Staged by Dan Healy

1935

 * 26th edition of The Cotton Club Parade
 * August 2, 1935
 * Co-stars included Nina Mae McKinney
 * Claude Hopkins and His Orchestra with singer Orlando Roberson (vocalist)
 * Music scoring and arranging: Will Vodery, Claude Hopkins, Alex Hill, Ted Koehler
 * Cotton Club Girls: Dolly McCormack, Lucille Wilson (who married Louis Armstong in 1942), Anna Jones, Joyce Beasley, Mae Williamson, Hy Curtiss, Tony Ellis, Ione Sneed, Anna Bell Wilson, Nan Joyce, Marie Robinson, Myrtle Quinland, Arlene Payas
 * Cotton Club Boys: Chink Lee, Freddie Heron, Ernest Frazier, Eddie Morton, Al Alstock, Louis Brown, and Jules Adger


 * At the Apollo
 * November 29, 1935 – December 6, 1935
 * Featuring: Claude Hopkins and His Band with Orlando Roberson (vocalist) and the New Fall Edition of the Cotton Club Revue:
 * Butterbeans and Susie, Babe Matthews, Cook and Brown — tap dance duo of Charles Cook and Ernest Brown — Miller and Mantan, Jesse Cryor (de) (1906–2006), Cora LaRedd (died 1968), Bob Wallace, Lena Horne, Dolly McCormack, the Cotton Club Boys, the Cotton Club Girls

1936

 * 26th edition of The Cotton Club Parade
 * Opened mid-September 1936, this production of the Cotton Club Revue was directed by Clarence Robinson; music was scored by Benny Davis and J. Fred Coots
 * A "sepia swing musical comedy" by Donald Heywood (né Donald Gerard Heywood; 1896–1967); directed by Earl Dancer, and Lionel Heywood; produced by Earl Dancer and J.H. Levey
 * Production included the Cotton Club Boys


 * At the Apollo
 * Opening June 26, 1936 – for 1 week
 * Chick Webb and His Band with Bardu Ali (vocalist and MC)
 * Taft Jordan, trumpeter, was in the band
 * Staging by Addison Carey (likely a pseudonym; 1899–1952)
 * Cotton Club Boys
 * Stars include Charles Linton, Teddy McRae, Charlie Ray, Kitty Aublanche;
 * Pete, Peaches and Duke – precision dancers
 * Gary Lambert "Pete" Nugent (1909–1973)
 * Irving "Peaches" Beamon (born 1911)
 * Duke Miller (1910–1937)
 * Pigmeat-Mason-Baskette
 * Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham
 * John Mason
 * Jimmy Baskette
 * Vivian Harris (1902–2000)


 * At the Comedy Theater, 110 West 41st Street, Manhattan
 * Black Rhythm, in 2 acts
 * By Donald Heywood
 * Produced by Earl Dancer and J.H. Levy
 * December 19, 1936, to December 24, 1936
 * Principal stars included Jeni LeGon and dancer Avon Long
 * Note: The opening performance was panned by the New York Times theater critic, Bosley Crowther

1937

 * 2nd edition of the Cotton Club Parade
 * Duke Ellington and His Orchestra featuring Ethel Waters and the Nicholas Brothers


 * At the Nixon Grand Theatre, Philadelphia
 * April 1937
 * Jimmy Lunceford and His Orchestra, Phantom Steppers, Sandy Burns, Dusty Fletcher, George Wiltshire, the Six Cotton Club Boys


 * 3rd edition of the Cotton Club Parade at the midtown Cotton Club
 * Staged by Leonard Reed
 * Duke Ellington (house band), Ethel Waters, Nicholas Brothers, George Dewey Washington (1898–1954), Bill Bailey, Renee and Estelle, Kaloah, Tip, Tap, and Toe (Samuel Green, Ted Frazier, Ray Winfield), Dynamite Hooker
 * The Chocolateers (acrobatic dance team); possible the original members: Al Bert "Gip" Gipson, Paul Black, known for his Chinese splits (straddling the floor as he walked), and Eddie West, with James Buster Brown replacing West for a short period of time

1938

 * 4th edition of the Cotton Club Parade


 * 5th edition of the Cotton Club Parade


 * At the Apollo
 * August 26–31, 1938;
 * WMCA broadcast
 * Luis Russell Orchestra featuring Red Allen (without Louis) and Sonny Woods, Hazel Diaz (1908–1997), the Cotton Club Boys

1939

 * At the Apollo
 * January 7–8 (midnight)
 * Featuring Jimmy Lunceford and His Band
 * Stars included Lora Pierre, tap dancer, Flash and Dash, The Three Chocolateers, Jackie Mabley, Dusty Fletcher, The Cotton Club Boys and the Harperettes


 * Cotton Club Revue (opened March 24, 1939)
 * Directed by Bill Robinson and Cab Calloway, score by Ted Koehler and Rube Bloom; Koehler supervised the whole production; featured Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, Sister Tharpe, Tanya, Katherine Perry, the Beachcombers, Glenn and Jenkins — comedy team of William "Willie" Henry Glenn and Walter Jenkins (né Walter Jenkins Manigault; 1884–1953) — Ruby Hill, Myra Johnson, Son and Sonny — tap dancers Roland James and Sonny Montgomery) — Will Vodery's choir, the Six Cotton Club Boys, and a full complement of fifty Harlem dancing girls; Socarres's band alternated with Calloway's


 * 6th edition of the Cotton Club Parade
 * Opened November 1, 1939


 * World's Fair edition of the Cotton Club Revue
 * Opened May 30, 1939, at the Broadway Cotton Club


 * The Hot Mikado 1939 New York World's Fair edition
 * The Six Cotton Club Boys, 14-month run with Bill Robinson, traveling with Cab Calloway and His Band

1940

 * 1940: The Hot Mikado
 * The Six Cotton Club Boys, 14-month run with Bill Robinson, traveling with Cab Calloway and His Band


 * At the Apollo
 * May 23 to May 30, 1940


 * On tour


 * At the State Theater, Main Street and Morgan Street, Hartford
 * May 25 and 26, 1940,
 * Included The Six Cotton Club Boys


 * At the Apollo
 * Opened June 21, 1940
 * Anise and Aland and Pete Nugent along with the Cotton Club Boys and the Apollo Dancing Girls
 * Show included The Six Cotton Club Boys: Jules Adger, Louis Brown, Freddie Heron, Chink Lee (manager), Charles Atkinson, Eddie Morton


 * In Montreal
 * In Wrentham
 * In Norfolk
 * In Raleigh
 * In Knoxville


 * At the Paramount Theatre


 * On tour, Brendt circuit


 * At the Strand Theatre, 501 South Salina Street, Syracuse, New York
 * September 13, 1940


 * In Flatbush, Brooklyn
 * Opened around September 30, 1940, for a week engagement


 * At the Apollo
 * Cab Calloway's New Revue
 * Opened Friday, Novembver 22, 1940
 * Stars included Avis Andrews, Anice and Aland, Cook and Brown, Sixteen Apollo Rockettes, and
 * The Six Cotton Club Boys: ???

1941

 * At the State-Lake Theater, Chicago
 * January 1941


 * At the Paramount Theater, 509 Grand Avenue, Des Moines
 * January 1941


 * At Shea's in Buffalo
 * February 1941
 * Featuring Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
 * Included The Six Cotton Club Boys


 * At the RKO Temple Theatre, 35 Clinton Avenue S., Rochester, New York
 * From February 7 – 13, 1941


 * At the Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh
 * February 19, 1941


 * At the State Theater, Main Street and Morgan Street, Hartford
 * March 14, 15, 16, 1941


 * At the State Theater, 212 Locust Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
 * March 18, 1941


 * At the Earle Theatre, 11th and Market, Philadelphia


 * Cab Calloway's Quizzicale
 * National boadcasts of live performances
 * July 6, 1941, to October 5, 1941
 * Mutual Broadcasting System
 * At Camp Wheeler, Macon, Georgia
 * At Fort Dix, near Trenton, New Jersey


 * At the State-Lake Theater, Chicago
 * 4th appearance in 24 months


 * At the Rialto, Louisville, Kentucky
 * Opened October 25, 1941


 * At the Palace Theatre, Canton, Ohio


 * At the State Theatre, Uniontown, Pennsylvania


 * At the State Theater, Hartford


 * At the Adams Theatre, 28 Branford Place, Newark


 * At the Strand Theatre, Brooklyn

1942

 * Cab Calloway's Quizzicale
 * National boadcasts of live performances
 * Blue Network, ran weekly on Tuesday evenings for 6 months
 * February 25, 1942;
 * From Detroit, March 4, 1942;
 * From The Panther Room, Hotel Sherman, Chicago, April 21, 1942


 * At the Casa Mañana nightclub, 8781 Washington Boulevard in Culver City
 * Opened July 23, 1942
 * Largest 4-day opening in the club's history; opening night drew 9,084 patrons

1942–44 musicians' strike

 * Commencing August 1, 1942, no musician could perform on a radio broadcast or make a recording


 * At the Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis
 * November 1942


 * At the Paradise Theatre, Detroit
 * December 4–10, 1942
 * Stars included Cholly and Dotty (Dotty Saulters; 1922–1962) (dancers), Benny Payne (de) (1907–1986) (vocalist), Cotton Club Boys

Selected personnel
Ten original members
 * 1) Howard Johnson (aka "Stretch Johnson," né Howard Eugene Johnson; 1915–2000); his sister, Winnie Johnson, was a member of the Cotton Club Girls, and, from 1937 to 1938 was married to Hollywood actor Stepin Fetchit
 * 2) Charles (Ross?) "Chink" Collins (Chick Collins?), married to singer-dancer Lillian Fitzgerald??
 * 3) Billy Smith (né William Smith) went into the restaurant business; but during World War II, he served in the first fully integrated outfit in the U.S. Army as an entertained in Irving Berlin's stage production, This Is The Army
 * 4) Walter Shepherd
 * 5) Tommy Porter (né Thomas Porter)
 * 6) Maxie Armstrong (né Maxwell Armstrong, Jr.; 1914–2001) sang with the 366th Infantry Band during World War II
 * 7) Louis Brown went on the become a liquor salesman
 * 8) Jimmy Wright
 * 9) Thomas "Chink" Lee (manager), went on to become a tavern manager
 * 10) Eddie Morton (né Edward James Morton, Jr.; 1910–1998), who, in 1951, married singer Ida James (de) (née Ida Mae James), then, in 1960, married Nan Steinburg

Subsequent members
 * 1) Cholly Atkins (né Charles Sylvan Atkinson; 1913–2003) began dancing with the Cotton Club Boys as a substitute from someone who was ill; Honi Coles, who lived in the same building as Atkins, made the recommendation; the production was Bill Robinson's The Hot Mikado, the biggest hit of The Cotton Club Revue; Atkins soon became a choreographer with Cotton Club Boys


 * 1) Jules Adjer (né Julian Francis Adger, Jr.; 1913–1991) – among other things, was a dancer in the 1943 film, Cabin in the Sky
 * 2) Freddie Heron (né Frederick Clinton Heron; 1910–1977), born in the Panama Canal Zone, went on to become chief bartender at Shalimar by Randolph at 3638 Broadway (at 150th Street) and 2065 7th Avenue (at 123rd Street), owned by Luther "Red" Randolph (né Luther Jerry Randolph; 1912–2005); the club flourished from 1939 to 1966; in 1954, he went out on his own, taking on the food concession at the Silver Rail in Harlem — current location of Magic Johnson Theatres in Harlem
 * 3) Warren Coleman (1900–1968), brother of Ralph Coleman
 * 4) Roy Chink Baker went on to own the Mona Lisa Tavern on Lexington Avenue
 * 5) Al Martin
 * 6) Ernest Frazier
 * 7) Al Alstock (né Paxton Alfonson Allstock; 1914–1937); he died October 18, 1937; yet, had married Mary Leah Harris February 12, 1937
 * 8) Roy Carter
 * 9) Sherman Coates

Influences

 * John Tiller (1854–1925), a pioneer of so-called precision dancing, influenced The Cotton Club Girl and Boys, who performed can-cans