It's showtime at the Apollo

0 Comments | USA TODAY, June, 2009 | by Elysa Gardner

The venue that Smokey Robinson calls "the granddaddy of all theaters" has reached an age befitting that title, and it is celebrating in style.

Tonight, New York's Apollo Theater hosts its 75th anniversary fundraising concert and awards ceremony. The Harlem landmark -- a launching pad for such icons as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, James Brown and Michael Jackson -- will induct Quincy Jones and Patti LaBelle into its Apollo Legends Hall of Fame, which welcomed Robinson last year.

Jamie Foxx and Mariah Carey will be on hand to honor the inductees, and Anita Baker and The O'Jays will perform. Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, will be presented the Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis Arts & Humanitarian Award.

"The Apollo is a national treasure," says LaBelle, who is...