Joe Delaney remembers 1960: Duke Ellington at the Riviera

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 10:11 a.m.

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra were major contributors to American popular music from the late 1920s until Ellington's death in 1974. The Riviera Starlight Room was actually a mini-showroom, later the bailiwick of comedian Shecky Greene. (There is a current Duke Ellington Orchestra, directed by Duke's grandson, Paul Mercer Ellington.) The Playboys, Johnnie Hamlin Quintet with Marcie Miller, and Johnnie McCormick were lounge acts that alternated with the headliner, in this case Ellington. Ellington's Orchestra co-starred in major Las Vegas showrooms as well top hotel lounges.

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