The Chitlin’ Circuit Continues

Denver Ferguson lived in Indianapolis in a neighborhood known as Bronzeville. The stroll in Bronzeville was Indiana Avenue, and Ferguson owned a print shop in the neighborhood, Ferguson Printing Company. Ferguson was also in the numbers game (illegal gambling) and printed ticket slips, receipts, and tally cards. He was very successful with the numbers racket, which enabled him to become financially very comfortable. His brother Sea Ferguson joined him in Indianapolis and opened a real estate brokerage. 

The brothers got into the music business when Denver and Sea bought the old (White-owned) Odd Fellows Hall in Indianapolis, and Sea opened the Cotton Club in 1931 on the lower level. Denver converted the top two floors into the Trianon Ballroom. Ferguson Brothers Booking Agency was started in 1941, just after Walter Barnes’ death. As an owner of clubs, Denver understood the circuit, the needs of bands, and issues with record companies. 

Ferguson Brothers Booking Agency worked as promoters with club owners across the South. Florida was a part of the circuit that Ferguson managed. Ferguson worked with Bill Rivers in South Florida, Cracker Johnson in West Palm Beach, and Charlie “Edd” Craddock in Jacksonville and north Florida.