The Gate of Horn was a 100-seat

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

club, located in the basement of the Rice Hotel at 755 N. Dearborn St. at the corner of Chicago Avenue, on the near north side of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, in the 1950s and 1960s. It was opened by journalist Les Brown and

Albert Grossman Albert Bernard Grossman (May 21, 1926 – January 25, 1986) was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music and rock and roll scene. He was famous as the manager of many of the most popular and successful performers of folk ...

in 1956 and was where

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire c ...

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. As a ...

and others made their name. Also appearing at the club were Theodore Bikel,

Josh White Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the South ...

(Sr. and Jr.),

Oscar Brown Oscar Brown Jr. (October 10, 1926May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor. Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully for office in both the Illinois state legislature and the U. ...

Jo Mapes Jo Mapes (July 20, 1931 - February 2, 2018) was an American folk singer, songwriter, critic and writer. She was prominent in the folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s and later became an advertising copywriter and nightclub critic for the Su ...

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee wa ...

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and occ ...

, Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, the

New Lost City Ramblers The New Lost City Ramblers, or NLCR, was an American contemporary old-time string band that formed in New York City in 1958 during the folk revival. Mike Seeger, John Cohen and Tom Paley were its founding members. Tracy Schwarz replaced Pal ...

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of odd jobs to pa ...

and Bonnie Dobson.

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentri ...

and

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

also performed as comedians at the club. Bob Gibson was its frequent Master of Ceremonies (M.C.) and often introduced new talent at the Gate of Horn. He met a quiet, shy songstress with a great voice named

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

at the Newport Folk Festival and persuaded her to perform at the Gate of Horn after the festival. Many of those who performed at the Gate of Horn were interviewed by

Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for '' The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral hi ...

for his radio show "Studs Terkel's Wax Museum" which also helped build the folk music revival in Chicago. Bob Gibson was also one of the forces behind the influential Old Town School of Folk Music for several decades after the 1960s. In April 1961, Gibson and

Bob Camp Robert Frank Camp (born February 7, 1956) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. Camp has been nominated for two Emmys, a CableACE Award, and an Annie Award for his work on ''T ...

recorded their folk album ''Bob Gibson & Bob Camp at the Gate Of Horn'' at the club. The Gate of Horn outgrew its basement and moved to a larger venue on Rush Street near Oak. This was also one of the clubs at which

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

played, in December 1962, before his arrest and trial for

obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin ''obscēnus'', ''obscaenus'', "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Such loaded language can be us ...

. When the Gate of Horn folded, its space was filled for several years by Second City. The original Gate of Horn site at 755 N. Dearborn is now a hi-rise rental apartment building; a similar fate befell the building which last housed the 1950s and 1960s free-speech

coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-c ...

"The College of Complexes" which was at 515 N. Clark Street—a few short blocks away. McGuinn later wrote the song "Gate of Horn" about the venue and the way it affected him.

Albums recorded at the Gate of Horn

*1957: '' At the Gate of Horn'' (

, 1957), Tradition TLP1025 **''Although titled "At the Gate of Horn," Odetta's album is not a live recording from the club. Rather, it is named such because it is representative of the set she performed there. *1959: '' Memphis Slim at the Gate of Horn'' (

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

, 1959) *1961: '' Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn'' (

and

, 1961) *1967: '' Hearty and Hellish'' ( The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, 1961) *1995: ''Live 1962: Busted!'' (

, recorded Dec. 4, 1962)

Appearances in film

The Gate of Horn appears in the 2013

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Inside Llewyn Davis ''Inside Llewyn Davis'' () is a 2013 period black comedy musical drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1961, the film follows one week in the life of Llewyn Davis, played by Oscar Isaac in his breakt ...

''; its exterior as a

visual effect Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

with a

set construction Set construction is the process undertaken by a construction manager to build full-scale scenery, as specified by a production designer or art director working in collaboration with the director of a production to create a set for a theatric ...

interior.

References

External links

* Nightclubs in Chicago Music venues in Chicago Former music venues in the United States Folk music venues {{Chicago-struct-stub