The Bahamas Salutes The Greats
Raphael Munnings
Silver Slipper Night Club
Raphael Munnings walks Raphael Munnings II down memory lane and points out the highlights of The Silver Slipper Night Club, East Street Nassau Bahamas.
"Central Supercenter
presents
Silver Slipper Night Club
Nassau Bahamas"
The Rudy Williams Orchestra turned into the Freddie Munnings Sr. Orchestra and performed with all of the Great Bahamian Musicians and Entertainers of the time like, Blind Blake (Alphonso Higgs),Charlie Adamson, Andre Taussaint, Maureen (Bahama Mama) Duvalier, George Symonette, Eloise Lewis and Dancers like,John and Becky Chipman, Noami Taylor (Jungle Queen) just to name a few. Entertainment was alive "Over the Hill."
Raphael Munnings was four years old when his father first invited him to sing on stage with the Orchestra in the Silver Slipper Club at a matinee. .
How many of this generation even knew that the Silver Slipper existed much less that it hosted Royalty of every color from true blue bloods to the Kings of Jazz and Calypso and black revolutionary leaders like Sir Randal and the Great Martin Luther King? How many young black Bahamians growing up on in the Border, Lewis St, Hay St and on the Fort Hill and Masons know of the great role that that site that was left to fall into ruins played in our Bahamian history? How many histories have been lost and torn down without so much as a plaque to commemorate what was there? The Royal Victoria...is gone...buildings that housed who knows what were recently unceremoniously cleared to make way for the US Embassy and Church House would have gone with them had it been up for sale...Montagu Hotel is gone...two Victorian era homes were destroyed for the Central Bank parking lot...
That this tribute was done and that a wall was saved as a memorial to what was once there is a testament to the sensitivity of the developer who has gone beyond that which has been done by most of us born Bahamian and in that; it is amazing...what is sad; is that we didn’t do it ourselves.
John Bostwick II It is a good thing, a very good and caring thing that didn’t in any way have to be done.
Music: "Coconut Woman" Freddie Munnings Sr. OBE Orchestra, featuring Dudley Capron (Vocals)
A Lavado Stubbs Production
