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Discothèque Opens at Stork Club

Jan. 28, 1965 - The discothèque, the system by which dance music is provided in nightclubs through elaborate record players operated by a disc jockey, has made an appearance at the Stork Club and, from all indications, is there to stay.

Sherman Billingsley, operator of the club, said today: “We have to keep up with the times. Ninety percent of our customers want it. If you get a demand for certain food or liquor, you put it on the menu.”

The discothèque is in operation at the club’s Shermaine Suite after 10 p.m., Billingsley said. Earlier in the evening, the suite adheres to its policy of sedate music in stereo. Of the club’s 14 rooms, which include eight private dining places, only the Shermaine has music.

The discothèque, Billingsley observed, will enable patrons to engage in such steps as the frug, the twist, the monkey, the hitchhiker, the fish, and the watusi.

The term “discothéque” is at least 20 years old and originated in France.

In occupied France during World War II, jazz and bebop music and the jitterbug dance were banned by the Nazis as “decadent American influences.” As an act of resistance, people met in hidden basements called “discothéques” where they danced to jazz and swing music, played on a single turntable when a jukebox was not available.



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© 2024 by Joe Rubenstein

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