HISTORY OF MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, SHOWBIZ AND CABARET IN FRANCE FROM THE 17th CENTURY TO PRESENT.
This
is the true history of Cabaret and how it came to existence. Our story will
bring so many memories and passages of history forgotten in the dark alleys of
life and on the dusty shelves of our mind. Some names and places are familiar,
while others are obscure and unknown for obvious reasons. More precisely,
because many of those places disappeared long time ago from the old Parisian
landscape. Some were ravished by the hardship of time, others demolished to
give place and definition to modern edifices, offices buildings, parking lots,
and in some instances to be replaced by modern Cabarets, facilities and
locals. As to people’s names, some were forgotten because, they shined for a
while and vanished for reasons we know and reasons we ignore. Once upon a
time, their music and words entertained many sad souls and adventurers who
found comfort and consolation in their warmth and imaginative style. But,
unfortunately, they lost appeal because they became “Demodes” meaning out of
fashion and out of style.
Les Hydropathes:
The
world’s first and oldest Café-Cabaret was “Les Hydropathes”.
It opened on October 11, 1878 on Rue des Boulangers, in Le Quartier Latin (The
French Quarter) in Paris, France. Very few people noticed its grand opening,
because in May 1878, “L’ Exposition Universelle de Paris” (Paris World
Exhibition or Paris World Fair) opened its doors and attracted the public
attention. In a way, the Paris Fair was the only show and major attraction in
town. So, opening a new and a small Café-Cabaret like “Les Hydropathes” in a
Parisian neighborhood during the grand event of the Paris international fair,
did not mean much for the French, and consequently did not attract much
attention, generated enough interest or created Parisian curiosity. Besides,
the proprietor of the Cabaret, Mr. Emile Goudeau was looked upon as “not much
of a Parisian” because he came from the province. This establishment began to
operate like an intellectual café-cabaret in the tradition of old Parisian
salons of literature, poetry and arts. It had a piano, a bar, a small dancing
floor and a few female dancers and singers. The very first artists and
intellectuals who offered their talents to Mr. Goudeau were Georges Lorin,
Maurice Rollinat, Rives and Abram. In the very first days of the business, the
café-cabaret did not do well. Customers complained, for the ladies of the
establishment did not show enough “skin”. The music was good and the menu was
very a propos but, not much too “skin” as they said. Besides, the place has
become a literary center for intellectuals and artists. To many clients, the
café-cabaret’s intellectual ambience began to bore the hell out of them.
Grosso modo, Goudeau began to loose customers. He needed money to cover
the daily expenses and to pay the accumulating debts.
He
decided to run a baccara circle, a sort of a “mini-gambling joint” in the
back of his café. This was a fatal mistake. The French gendarmerie (Police)
knew about it, and shut down his business. But this guy was a trooper. A few
weeks later, he reopened another spot on Rue Jussieu. Poets, artists,
hustlers, self-proclaimed philosophers and adventurers followed him and kept
him in business for a while. This time, Goudeau thought about something else.
This character had passion for risky undertakings and quite often, his
approach to business was not “ Tellement Catholique”, (meaning not totally
honest and correct) as his compatriots used to say. Goudeau’s café-cabaret
became France’s first “after hour” drinking joint. This was reported by Jules
Jouy in the newspaper “Edition du Tintamarre”, dated February 2, 1879. Two
years later, Goudeau and his “boite” disappeared from circulation, but not for
long time, for he co-established and created a new cabaret which took Paris
by storm. A new kind of Cabaret which defined the new concept of “Cabaret
without Rules”. And that notorious Cabaret was Le Chat Noire!!
Le
Chat Noir
Le Chat Noir known to Parisians as « Le Cabaret Artistique » (The Artistic Cabaret), as well as « Le Cabaret Hors-Norme » meaning a cabaret outside or above the norms or rules. In other words, it was the world’s first intellectual-artistic-musical-anarchist cabaret which gathered all sorts of painters, poets, artists, philosophers, “Raconteurs” (story-Tellers) and performers of the era.