What do you think?
Rate this book
The Copa: Jules Podell and the Hottest Club North of Havana
This beautifully illustrated history of Jules Podell's legendary club Copacabana features colorful characters, romance, and intrigue from the golden age of nightclubs.
In this fascinating look behind the scenes of one of the world's most legendary nightclubs, the story of the Copa begins and ends with its fiery owner, Jules Podell. A Russian immigrant, Jules dropped out of the fourth grade to make money for his family and went on to create the number one destination for the rich, famous, and dangerous of New York.
All the legends of the fifties and early sixties stood on his stage, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Tom Jones, Sam Cooke, Johnny Mathis, and the Temptations.
This book, which includes the Podell family's never-before-seen photos, menus, and club memorabilia, as well as interviews, allows us to truly get a peek at the Copa and its great moment in New York history.
In this fascinating look behind the scenes of one of the world's most legendary nightclubs, the story of the Copa begins and ends with its fiery owner, Jules Podell. A Russian immigrant, Jules dropped out of the fourth grade to make money for his family and went on to create the number one destination for the rich, famous, and dangerous of New York.
All the legends of the fifties and early sixties stood on his stage, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, Bobby Darin, Tom Jones, Sam Cooke, Johnny Mathis, and the Temptations.
This book, which includes the Podell family's never-before-seen photos, menus, and club memorabilia, as well as interviews, allows us to truly get a peek at the Copa and its great moment in New York history.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
8 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 27, 2021
This could've been a really good book had it been written by a professional.
September 17, 2020
I knew Jules Podell before I met Mickey in college. I knew, or knew of Jules because my father was at times in the house band. It was in the fifties when my dad worked there and would come home and talk about all the famous people who ate, drank, and just populated the great nightclub. My dad played with Harry James when Sinatra was singing with James. They met again at the Copa. So when Mickey and I met at college we could talk easily about the Copa. I haven't seen Mickey in years and she sent me the book as a gift.
So here it is fifty years later and I finally am giving the review that I may have promised. I can say this: The Copa was the top dog with the Stork Club. The two clubs didn't compete, they complimented each other. They were like a brther and sister. And only Mickey could have created a book that would bring out the essence of a major piece of NYC nightlife for many decades. The greatest entertainers in the world performed there.
Read this book, enjoy the pictures, and then you are opening your private entrance to what most New Yorkers never saw.
This is a good deal.
So here it is fifty years later and I finally am giving the review that I may have promised. I can say this: The Copa was the top dog with the Stork Club. The two clubs didn't compete, they complimented each other. They were like a brther and sister. And only Mickey could have created a book that would bring out the essence of a major piece of NYC nightlife for many decades. The greatest entertainers in the world performed there.
Read this book, enjoy the pictures, and then you are opening your private entrance to what most New Yorkers never saw.
This is a good deal.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews