Club Zanzibar was a dance club that opened in 1979 at 430 Broad Street in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Downtown Newark Downtown Newark is the Central Business District of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Downtown is the site of the original Puritan settlement of Newark located at a bend in the Passaic River. The first settlers, led by Robert T ...

was noted for its influence on

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

and

garage house Garage house (originally known as "garage"; local terms include "New York house" and New Jersey sound) is a dance music style that was developed alongside Chicago house music. The genre was popular in the 1980s in the United States and the 1990s ...

genres and scene. Club Zanzibar, along with other gay and straight clubs in the era, was both a straight and LGBT black and Latino nightlife destination.

The Jersey Sound

DJ Tony Humphries began his residency at the club in 1982 and, along with others, helped "spawn the sometimes raw but always soulful, gospel-infused subgenre" of

known as the Jersey sound. The club scene also gave rise to the

ball culture The Ballroom Scene (also known as the Ballroom community, Ballroom culture, or just Ballroom) is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City. Beginning in the late 20th century, Black and Latino ...

scene in Newark hotels and nightclubs. New Jersey artists like

Jomanda Johanna Wilhelmina Petronella Damman, known under her nickname Jomanda (born May 5, 1948), is a controversial Dutch healing medium who refers to herself as the ''Lady of the light.'' Background Born Johanna Wilhelmina Petronella Damman in Dev ...

found success on the house music scene. Abigail Adams's house-music record label and store, Movin’ Records in adjacent

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

was another contributor to the sound. Well-known

deep house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ( ...

Kerri Chandler Kerri Camar Chandler (born 28 September 1969) is an American house DJ and record producer. Biography Chandler's influences go back to New Jersey, growing up in a family of jazz musicians. His father, Joseph Chandler, was a DJ and provided him wi ...

was also a resident DJ at the club. His girlfriend was brutally attacked and killed by another man outside the club in a horrific attack in the 1980s. Some have said that "when New York went to rap uring this period Jersey stayed with club. Because of Zanzibar.” The sound was exported to London during the era and eagerly devoured by house music enthusiasts across the pond. The music video for K-YZE's "Stomp (Move Jump Jack Your Body)" was filmed at the Zanzibar in 1989.

History

The club opened in 1979. The sound system was developed, designed, and installed by Richard Long of Richard Long & Associates (RLA). The club transitioned to hip-hop in the 1990s, rebranding as Brick City, and eventually closed. Newark-Area-Map

In 1988,

Paris Dupree Paris Dupree (also stylized as Paris Duprée or Paris DuPree; 1950 – August 2011) was an American drag performer and documentary participant featured in Jennie Livingston's 1990 documentary, ''Paris is Burning'', which was named after Dupree' ...

held her famous Paris Is Burning ball at the club, namesake to the famous film. Newark-area annual summer events like the Roselle House Music Festival in

Warinanco Park Warinanco Park (pronounced by locals as War-Rah-NINK-co) is a county park in Union County, New Jersey. It is located in Roselle at the border with the neighboring cities of Elizabeth and Linden. History In 1921, a group of local citizens ala ...

, the

Weequahic Park Weequahic Park ( (pronounced , or WEEK-wake "when spoken rapidly") is a park located in the South Ward of Newark, New Jersey, USA, designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, (who also designed Branch Brook Park in Newark). The park is 311.33 acres inc ...

House Music Festival, and the

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

Music Festival serve as unofficial "Zans" reunions.

Performers

Notable performers who have played "the Zanzibar" include: *

Larry Levan Larry Levan (; born Lawrence Philpot, July 20, 1954 – November 8, 1992) was an American DJ best known for his decade-long residency at the New York City night club Paradise Garage, which has been described as the prototype of the modern da ...

* Tony Humphries *

François Kevorkian François Kevorkian (born 10 January 1954), also known by the stage name François K, is a French-born, U.S.-based DJ, producer, remixer and label owner of Armenian descent, who started his career DJing in clubs such as the Paradise Garage an ...

Tee Scott Marc Allen Scott (September 17, 1948 – December 12, 1995), also known as Toraino Scott or Tee Scott, was an American DJ and remixer in the disco era working in New York city. He was born in the Bronx. Biography Tee's remixes includes First Choi ...

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

Fonda Rae Fonda Rae Wood (performing as simply Fonda Rae) is an American R&B singer best known for her club hits like "Over Like a Fat Rat" and " Touch Me" (the latter which was later covered by Cathy Dennis). She has also worked with artists such as Don ...

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

Vicki Sue Robinson Vicki Sue Robinson (May 31, 1954 – April 27, 2000) was an American theatre and film actress, and singer, closely associated with the disco era of late 1970s pop music; she is most famous for her 1976 hit, "Turn the Beat Around". Early life Bor ...

Linda Clifford Linda Clifford (born 1944) is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", " Bridge over Troubled Water", " Runaway Love" and " Red Light". Career ...

Crystal Waters Crystal Waters (born November 19, 1961) is an American house and dance music singer and songwriter, best known for her 1990s dance hits " Gypsy Woman", " 100% Pure Love", and 2007's " Destination Calabria" with Alex Gaudino. All three of her s ...

Jocelyn Brown Jocelyn Lorette Brown (born November 25, 1950), sometimes credited as Jocelyn Shaw, is an American R&B and dance singer. Although she has only one ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart entry solely in her name, she has an extensive background in the musi ...

CeCe Rogers CeCe Rogers (born Kenneth Jesse Rogers III, April 30, 1962), is a two time Grammy nominated American singer, songwriter and record producer from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He was given the nickname CeCe by James Brown, who watched him perf ...

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and Soul music, soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified Music recording certification, gold ...

Sharon Redd Sharon Redd (October 19, 1945 – May 1, 1992) was an American singer from New York City. She was the half sister of Snap! singer Penny Ford. Life and career Sharon Redd was born on October 19, 1945 in Norfolk, Virginia, to Gene and Katherine Re ...

Loleatta Holloway Loleatta Holloway (, ; November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation". In December 2016, ''Billboard'' named her the 95th most successful dance artist of all time. Acco ...

Thelma Houston Thelma Houston ( Jackson; born May 7, 1946) Retrieved . is an American singer. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit record in 1977 with her recording of " Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Gramm ...

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...

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Indeep Indeep was a 1980s New York-based group that was best known for its song "Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life". Career The group was led by its songwriter-musician Michael Cleveland, and it was known for employing a strong disco-esque bass line and ...

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Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

* Sylvester *

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CeCe Peniston Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song "Finally" rea ...

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* Central Line *

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* Blaze *

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* Modern Romance *

Aly-Us Aly-Us is a house music group from New Jersey that was active mostly in the early 1990s. Their most famous record was “Follow Me” from 1992. Members and history Aly-Us originally started as trio composed of vocalist “Supa” aka Eddie L. Lew ...

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Building

The Lincoln Motel, which housed Club Zanzibar, was torn down in 2007 as one contemporary developer called it a “ blemished, rat-infested drug-haven eyesore."Newark Loses Unwanted Landmark as Lincoln Motel Goes https://nyti.ms/2FynAwu It had degenerated into a notorious hotspot for crime, drug abuse, prostitution, murder and violence. Its owner, Miles Berger of the Berger Organization, was also the owner of a number of welfare hotels at the time throughout the city. "For a time, arrests were so common that a motel floor plan graced the wall of the public defender’s office to assist lawyers juggling cases. Then-Mayor

Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. sena ...

manned the bulldozer that began the building's demolition in 2007." In the 1980s, Mr. Berger had turned its 200 rooms into a haven for welfare recipients, earning about $1,000 a month per person." Berger's Berger Organization has expressed interest in building a casino on the site.

References

{{LGBT culture in New Jersey 1979 establishments in New Jersey 1979 in LGBT history Ball culture Buildings and structures demolished in 2007 Companies established in 1979 Culture of Newark, New Jersey Defunct LGBT nightclubs in the United States LGBT history in New Jersey LGBT nightclubs in New Jersey Demolished buildings and structures in New Jersey Electronic dance music venues LGBT African-American culture Music venues in New Jersey

The Jersey Sound

History

Performers

Building

See also

References