Cocoanut Grove Ambassadors, Volume 1

When those who celebrate the Golden Age of Hollywood reflect back on the halcyon days of the early 1930s, one particular nightspot comes immediately to mind: the Cocoanut Grove at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel. This lavishly appointed club, part of the massive 23-acre Ambassador resort that also included four restaurants, a bowling alley, a billiard room, and even a movie theater, was decorated in Moroccan style and featured full-sized palm trees reportedly salvaged from Rudolph Valentino's The Sheik. In addition to the decor, which also offered a night sky filled with stars (thanks to about 1000 small light bulbs), an elevated stage, and both dining and dancing room for several hundred patrons, customers came for the smooth musical entertainment provided by a series of dance orchestras and their popular vocalists - many of whom would later go on to star careers in radio, recordings, and the film industry.