The Blue Room

The Blue Room, across the street at 602 Clay Street, was one of the South's most storied night spots and was operated for more than thirty years by Tom Wince. Beginning in 1937 as a one-room operation selling beer and Coca-Colas, it grew into a multi-purpose complex with a ballroom, restaurant, gambling casino, guest rooms, and living quarters for Wince and some of his family. Ray Charles, Fats Domino, B. B. King, Dinah Washington, Louis Armstrong, Little Milton, and many other stars played there, while its upstairs ballroom, the Skyline, hosted performers including Ruth Brown, Lionel Hampton, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Jackie Brenston, Erskine Hawkins, Cootie Williams, Joe Liggins, Roy Brown, Andy Kirk, Lucky Millinder, Charles Brown, and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Vicksburg's Red Tops were a regular attraction, and Jivin' Jones' group from Vicksburg and the Sounds of Soul and Booker Wolf's band from Jackson also appeared. Teens had their own nights in the Blue Spot room, while the Blue Room Circle restaurant stood next door. In the 1940s and 1950s Wince was Mississippi's most important blues promoter, booking bands through a network of nightclubs and halls across the state and in Louisiana, and he also booked acts into other venues including Ruby's Nite Spot in Leland and New Club Desire in Canton. Even during segregation, white patrons attended when certain acts, especially Louis Armstrong, were booked. Born on July 11, 1910, or 1909 according to Social Security files, in Oak Ridge northeast of Vicksburg, Wince was the son of white plantation owner Tom Harris and Rosie Brown, an African American who lived on the plantation; after Brown married Tom Wince, Sr., her son became known as Tom Wince, Jr. The Winces sharecropped until the 1920s, when they moved to Vicksburg. Wince, Jr., a hotel bellhop with a fourth grade education, became a wealthy man and big spender known as "Fancy Tom" for his elegant attire. He had seven wives and fourteen children, most of whom worked at the Blue Room. An avid sports fan, he befriended Joe Louis and other famed athletes as well as leading African American blues and jazz performers, and he became a celebrity in his own right while also being remembered for greeting anyone who entered his club, regardless of status. With specially tailored pockets in his pants to hold his pistol, he prided himself on providing a safe, courteous atmosphere for top-notch entertainment. According to his son Billy Wince, Sr., B. B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, T-Bone Walker, and Muddy Waters were among his favorite artists. Wince also owned several smaller local businesses. Urban renewal ended the Blue Room in 1972, but by 1974 he had opened the Barrel Club at 1021 Walnut Street, a place known for its prayer room. Religion was one of his keen interests, and he was also a 33rd degree Mason and a ruler in the Black Elks, I.B.P.O.E.W. Wince died on September 15, 1978, and his tombstone in City Cemetery bears a large star like the one above the Blue Room entrance.

Vicksburg, Mississippi · United States