Richard's Club
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Richard's Club was a nightclub and music venue in Lawtell, Louisiana. Proprietor Eddie Richard opened the club in 1947.[1] It was a venue of the Southern Chitlin' Circuit, particularly as a stop between New Orleans and Houston on US Highway 190. Later it became a well known and historically significant zydeco venue. By the late 1990s, the club was regarded as "zydeco's answer to the Grand Ole Opry."[1]
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Address | 11154 Hwy. 190 Lawtell, Louisiana United States |
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Owner | Eddie Richard, Kermon Richard |
Type | dancehall, music venue |
Genre(s) | zydeco, rhythm and blues, blues |
Capacity | 350 |
Opened | July 4, 1947 |
Closed | 2006 |
Years active | 1947–2006 |
The building was described by Rounder producer Scott Billington as "a long, low-ceilinged building that seemed in danger of shaking loose from its foundations when the music got loud and the dancers filled the floor."[2] In 2008, journalist Nathan Stubbs described the club as still having "7-foot high ceilings, the small wooden tables and 1970s bucket chairs, the well-worn uneven wooden floor, the screen windows with no glass. The bandstand is the same basic platform, one foot up from the dance floor. There are fans, but still no air conditioning."[3]