The Barrelhouse Club, at 107th and Wilmington in Watts, Los Angeles, was a rhythm and blues nightclub opened in 1948[1] and co-owned by Johnny Otis, and Bardu and Tila Ali.
[2] It was named in honour of the Barrel House in Omaha, Nebraska, the first club in that district to welcome black and white customers.
[3] Artists who performed at the venue included Mel Walker, Esther Phillips, who first performed there at a talent show, The Robins,[4] 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.
[1] 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.