Savoy Record Mart
Title
Savoy Record Mart
Connected to Club 51 Records (1955-57)
Subject
527 East 63rd St.
Description
In 1955, Lillian and Jimmy Davis, who owned a store called the Savoy Record Mart, started the Club 51 Record Company in the back of their retail space. There were a total of eight singles released on the label by previously obscure acts like Prince Cooper, Rudy Greene, Bobbe James, Honey Brown, Sunnyland Slim, the Five Buddies, and the Kings Men. During the 1950s Jimmy Davis was also a principal owner of The Park City Bowl at 345 East 63rd and served as an assistant manager of the rink at The Savoy Ballroom on 47th and South Parkway. Both spaces allowed he and his wife to conduct a&r work for their label, which closed near the end of 1957. Club 51's closing was followed by the shuttering of the Davis' record store in 1958.
Source
http://campber.people.clemson.edu/club51.html
http://vocalgroupharmony.com/5ROWNEW/YouMeanEverything.htm; Pruter, Robert. Doowop: The Chicago Scene. Music in American Life. Urbana, Ill: University of Illinois Press, 1996, 141.
Date
1950s
Connected to Club 51 Records (1955-57)
Closed 1958
Contributor
Victoria Sockwell
Location
Recording Industry & Radio Stations
Citation
“Savoy Record Mart,” Chicago Black Social Culture Map, accessed January 15, 2025, https://cbscmap.omeka.net/items/show/423.