The Barrelhouse Club, at 107th and Wilmington in Watts, Los Angeles, was a rhythm and blues nightclub opened in 1948Otis, Johnny (2009) Listen to the Lambs, pp. 156-7. University of Minnesota Press At Google Books. Retrieved 7 September 2013. and co-owned by Johnny Otis, Bardu Ali, and Tila Ali.Lipsitz, George (2010) Midnight at the Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story, p. xxv. University of Minnesota Press At Google Books. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
It was named in honour of the Barrel House in Omaha, Nebraska, the first club in that district to welcome both black and white customers.Lipsitz, George (2010) Midnight at the Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story, pp. 20-23. University of Minnesota Press At Google Books. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
Featured artists Artists who performed at the venue included Mel Walker, Esther Phillips, who first performed there at a talent show, The Robins,Warner, Jay (2006 American Singing Groups: A History from 1940 to Today, p. 285. Hal Leonard Corporation At Google Books. Retrieved 7 September 2013. The Hollywood Flames, and tenor saxophonist Big Jay McNeely. Many of the performers at the club would join Otis' California Rhythm and Blues Caravan in the early 1950s. Pete "Guitar" Lewis, who played with the Johnny Otis Orchestra between the late 1940s and mid-1950s, also recorded an instrumental, "Midnight in the Barrelhouse" (the flip-side, "Barrelhouse Stomp" was by McNeely), for the Excelsior record label, presumably in honor of the club.Les Fancourt & Bob McGrath, "The Blues Discography," p 425. Eyeball Productions, 2006.
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