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The Club Imperial was a nightclub at 6306-28 West Florissant Ave in St. Louis, Missouri. During the club's heyday in the 1950s through the 1960s, acts such as Ike & Tina Turner, Chuck Berry, and Bob Kuban and the In-Men performed at the Club Imperial.[1][2]
The Club Imperial was owned by George Edick who turned the nightclub into a private hall in the 1970s.[3] In the last few decades, the building went through different ownership and was almost demolished in 2018, but preservationists fought to save the site of the historic music venue.[2]
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The building which is the site of the Club Imperial at 6306-28 West Florissant Ave was built in 1928. It was a dance hall, bowling alley, and restaurant complex in an all-white neighborhood.[4]
Chicago-born George S. Edick moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1928.[5] Edick purchased the venue and opened the Club Imperial with the music of Al Tucker & his Orchestra on March 22, 1952.[6] Edick booked swing bands such as Stan Kenton's orchestra and Louis Prima for entertainment at the ballroom.[4] Jazz musician Jimmy Forrest, known for his 1952 hit "Night Train," played piano at the club for years.[4] By the mid-1950s, Rhythm & Blues was taking over the city as the word got across the river of the exciting bands in East St. Louis, Illinois.[7]
In 1954, bandleader Ike Turner relocated his Kings of Rhythm from Clarksdale to East St. Louis where he built the Club Manhattan nightclub.[7] Edick got word of the buzz about Turner and booked his band to revitalize the Club Imperial.[4] Turner's King's of Rhythm became the hottest attraction in the St. Louis music scene, attracting black and white audiences. DJ Gabriel (Mitchell Hearns) remembered: "Ike Turner just took over this area. He created a ripple effect with his energy and ambition, he sent word back to Mississippi and was followed here by Albert King and Little Milton, he was a premier blues pianist who later became a great guitarist."[4][8]
After Ike & Tina Turner attained success with their single "A Fool In Love" and moved to California, they continued to occasionally perform at the Club Imperial.[9][10] They recorded their first live album, Ike & Tina Turner Revue Live, at the club in 1964.[11] Greg Edick, son of the owner George S. Edick, grew up in the club and later took over ownership.[12] He recalled that Jimi Hendrix was a guitarist in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, but he was fired for his long solo that "brought the dancers to a halt."[4] Hendrix met Jazz musician Miles Davis at the club, and Davis remarked that Hendrix's guitar sounded like a "machine gun."[4] The Turners were performing at the club in 1966 when the Rolling Stones paid a visit and invited them to be the opening act on their 1966 British tour.[4]
In the 1950s, a type of swing dance known as the "Imperial Style" originated at the Club Imperial.[3][13] Tommy Clements's dance studio, The Tommy Clements School of Dance, was located at the Club Imperial.[14]
In 1959, Edick hosted a television show at the Club Imperial, TV Party, which was broadcast on KTVI-2.[15][5]
In the early 1970s, Edick closed the nightclub and ran the Club Imperial as a banquet and reception hall.[11][16] After the nightclub closed, dancers formed the non-profit St. Louis Imperial Dance Club.[3][17]
Edick died at the age of 86 from congestive heart failure on June 11, 2002.[5]
In August 2017, Robert Vroman bought the building in an auction with the intention of finding a buyer to renovate it.[18][19] By 2018, no one had offered to buy the building for renovation and Vroman concluded that it was too dilapidated to save. A beauty products company wanted to buy the building and demolish it to build a new structure. In January 2018, The St. Louis Preservation Board unanimously denied a demolition permit for the former Club Imperial.[2][18]
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