Flame Show Bar

Opened in 1949 by Morris Wasserman, the Flame Show Bar was known as “Little Las Vegas,” and situated on John R Street or Paradise Valley's "street of music" (Peters,  2020, p.25). Though white-owned, the Flame Show Bar contributed greatly to the introduction of large Black performers to the Paradise Valley business district. The Flame Show Bar hosted music legends such as Billie Holiday, Della Reese, Etta James, Dinah Washington, B.B. King, and Joe Turner (McGonigal, 2015). Notably, Detroit music legend, Maurice King, directed the resident band at the Bar which became the iconic band for Motown Records. The bar eventually closed in 1963.