The Howard Theatre Walk of Fame

Sister Rosetta Tharpe broke race and gender barriers with genre-bending gospel music and guitar prowess, pioneering a blend of gospel, soul, and jazz that became a precursor to rock and roll and influenced Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Chuck Berry. Billy Eckstine spent his young adult years in the nearby Truxton Circle neighborhood before launching his career at Howard Theatre Amateur Night talent competitions; his big band helped pioneer bop jazz and featured emerging artists including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey, while later solo hits helped establish him as one of the country's most influential jazz vocalists. Ella Fitzgerald got her start as a teenager at one of the Howard Theatre's first Amateur Night competitions before moving to Harlem, and with 13 Grammy Awards and the million-selling "A-Tisket, A Tasket," became internationally regarded as one of the most influential female singers of the twentieth century. Cab Calloway led one of the most prominent swing-era big bands of the 1930s and 1940s, and his hit "Minnie the Moocher" earned him the nickname "The Hi Di Ho Man" and showcased his showmanship and scat-style singing. Mamie Smith, credited as the first recorded blues singer, helped establish records marketed primarily to Black Americans and with "Crazy Blues" broke color barriers in the recording industry while propelling blues and jazz into mainstream audiences of the 1920s. Abbie Mitchell, known for playing Clara in George Gershwin's 1935 opera Porgy and Bess and for making the first recording of "Summertime," had also appeared on Howard Theatre's opening night on August 22, 1910. The Howard Theatre Walk of Fame honors artists who performed at the Howard Theatre and reflects the District of Columbia's rich musical history through honorees representing varied genres, important contributions to the District's cultural life, and national artistic excellence.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States