NPR News, Classical and Music of the Delta

Byway Blues: Savoy Ballroom

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Miller-Roy building in dowtown Monroe
Preston Lauterbach

The African-American Business Enterprise established the Miller-Roy building in 1929.

The building housed the Savoy Ballroom.  Kirby and LesliRambin catch up with Roosevelt Wright about the ballroom's heyday.  Wright shares that following the stock market's crash, musical acts at the Savoy helped keep the enterprise district alive.

Renowned names like Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Fats Domino, and Duke Ellington, all performed at the Savoy in Monroe.

Byway Blues is produced with the generous support of Washington Wine and Spirits, the Entergy Charitable Foundation, and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.

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