Many of the names and dates have begun to fade from the memories of those who once performed there, and even from the memories of those who ran the shows. But they still remember how much the place meant to them, to the artists, to the families, and to the community.
That feeling is forever recorded on the hundreds of faces in the photographs, images that show people dancing their way through one of the most turbulent times in American history.
In the late 1960s, legendary musicians from B.B. King to Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces heated up the nights at Montgomery’s Laicos Club that’s “social” spelled backward while playing to Black crowds who spent their days struggling against the boot of Jim Crow. For west Montgomery, it was a place to unwind. For Black performers, it was a goal.