An authentic, original Ruth Brown concert poster advertising her performance at the Mambo Club in Wichita, Kansas on August 5, 1956.
As you can see, this item’s condition is really nice for an old cardboard telephone-pole concert poster. The first term that comes to mind in seeing this is, “unused.”
This Ruth Brown broadside measures about 14×22” and was constructed on heavy-duty cardboard.
Vintage Mambo Club concert posters have popped up over the years for a wide assortment of R&B legends, because Wichita was an important stop on the “Chitlin circuit” in the 1950s. This specific Mambo Club placard advertises just two artists, but others had three or four musicians on there.
On the other hand, I’ve seen a Mambo Club window card with just a single musician “carrying” the whole poster, if they’re big enough.
Ruth Brown was the biggest-selling Atlantic Records recording artist in the fifties, so that makes this vintage R&B boxing-style concert poster all the more collectible for music hounds.
Now, as I usually do, here is the entire text found on this vintage rhythm & blues billboard, as it reads from top to bottom:
(In the white space up top): Mambo Club – Sun. Nite, Aug. 5 – Wichita, Kansas – 9:PM to 1:AM – Adm. $2.50 (only one price level, that’s unusual)
(Black stripe): BIG Double Attraction – “Sweet Baby of Mine” RUTH BROWN “5-10-15 Hours”
(And below Ruth) – In Person – Billy Clark and his Orchestra
(And in the bottom white margin area): Tour Direction: Shaw Artists Corp., 565 5th Ave., N.Y.C. & 203 N. Wabash, Chicago
A vintage Ruth Brown concert placard from rock ’n’ roll’s first decade is pretty collectable because so many were discarded right after the concerts took place. Authentic R&B show posters for Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, Lavern Baker and other Atlantic Records musicians are all pretty coveted by music freaks.
As a cute little side note, it’s odd the way this Ruth Brown window display features two song titles from the “Mama girl” and zero from the opening act, Billy Clark.
This Ruth Brown concert placard video was filmed and presented by me, Pete Howard in California, a serious music collector since 1972! (805-540-0020 or pete@postercentral.com). I pay the very best prices for almost any vintage concert poster used to sell tickets.
Additionally, I have a web site page that shows only these vintage R&B window broadsides, so to view those, just click over to this page right here on my site: http://www.postercentral.com/rhythmnblues.htm
