Expand / Collapse search
☰

Rhythm Roots: Tampa Bay's musical connections to Black music history

By
Published  June 2, 2025 10:52pm EDT
Rhythm Roots
FOX 13 News
Rhythm Roots: Chitlin Circuit

Rhythm Roots: Chitlin Circuit

Briona Arradondo reports.

The Brief

    • June is Black Music Month.
    • Tampa Bay has some amazing musical connections to Black music history.
    • "Central Avenue was like a safe refuge for Black people," said Fred Hearns, a Tampa historian.

TAMPA - Tampa Bay has some amazing musical connections to Black music history, with Black musicians being the cultural bedrock of many genres of music for generations.

"You have Ray Charles in the mural. You have Ella Fitzgerald. You have Cab Calloway who also came here and performed," said Fred Hearns, a Tampa historian at the Tampa Bay History Center.

The backstory:

Tampa can name-drop these legendary acts for good reason. The city was a popular stop for Black musicians at a time when the United States did not recognize African Americans as worthy of equal rights.

"Central Avenue was like a safe refuge for Black people," said Hearns, of what the area was like during the 1920s, 30s and 40s and beyond. "We had the Cotton Club here. We also had the Apollo Ballroom. The big bands would come here and perform."

The area thrived on the Chitlin Circuit, providing jobs and refuge. The Chitlin Circuit was a network of venues in cities across the East Coast in the U.S. for Black performers to play during the Jim Crow era. Black entertainers, despite their fame, weren’t welcome in white spaces.

"Ella Fitzgerald, one of the greatest vocalists ever, if you can imagine her being 18, 19-years-old, coming to Tampa with Chick Webb, who owned the band. She sang in his band. And just starting out, people were just being introduced to who she was in these places on Central," said Hearns.

It earned the city a name.

"This was like a Black paradise, it really was. In fact, it was called the Harlem of the South by many people because of all the entertainers and the venues here," said Hearns.

Ray Charles lived right across the street from the action.

"He wrote in his autobiography that he rented a room at 813 Short Emory Street, just a block away from where we're standing right now. And that's where he made his first record," said Hearns during a walking tour of old Central Avenue.

Dig deeper:

Hearns gives walking tours of those snapshots of Tampa’s history. But as he shows the official historical markers, his own connections to these stories are just as impactful.

"I grew up in the 1950s and 60s in Tampa. So, I didn't get to see Louis Armstrong, and I didn't to see some of the other people who came before I was old enough to come down on Central," said Hearns. "My parents did, and they were able to come on Central Avenue in the 40s when they were growing up. Again, you can see Louis Armstrong for less than $3."

That would be around $50 in today’s money, and a steal considering the caliber of talent. Listening to those tunes got people dancing, leading to what Hearns said is a lesser-known Tampa moment.

"The Twist, that many people have heard the record, they've seen Chubby Checker doing the dance and singing the song," said Hearns. "But many people don't realize it was Hank Ballard who actually wrote that record. And he said that he was inspired when he came to Tampa and saw kids doing this twisting motion, dance. He went back to the studio, and he wrote the record in the late 1950s."

Black performers lived, performed and got inspired in Tampa. The city also produced some greats.

What they're saying:

"We also have two brothers who were born here, Cannonball and Nat Adderley. And for people who love jazz, they may remember the record. It was the number one record all over the world in 1965, ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,’" said Hearns.

From jazz to blues, Hearns said there’s one musician’s name with origins that are hard to miss.

"Tampa Red, who goes back to the 1920s, who sharpened his craft here in Tampa, performing on Central Avenue and other venues, and became a big star in Chicago," said Hearns. "He kept the name Tampa Red, and that was his performance name. That's what people knew him by."

These historical stories sing on their own. But as noted in Tampa’s composition, it makes music. They are sounds that Hearns will keep on playing to anyone who will listen.

"Black history is 12 months a year. But June, I'm happy, is focused on Black music," said Hearns.

The Source: FOX 13's Briona Arradondo did the interview and research for this story.

STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA:

Rhythm RootsTampa