Pictures

Unknown location 2
The pictures of the Squires discussed on this page were for decades though to have been taken at the Cheetah, Broadway & 53rd Street, New York City. Hence the specially made "Cheetah skin" -stage clothing - this assumption was mainly based on what Curtis Knight himself had written about the Cheetah gig and the stage costumes in his book.

I however ended up doubting this very much, and wrote about why I didn't believe that the shots were taken at the Cheetah on this page. One visitor to the website saw my writings and send fresh evidence for a completely different date and location for the pictures. But let's start with my original assessment on why these pictures in my opinion had not been taken at Cheetah:

If you look at other 1966 photographs taken at Cheetah a couple of things do not quite fit. The stage at Cheetah was elevated so that the band was above the audience and the dance floor at the front. The shots of the Squires look like they would have been taken at the front of the stage but from an angle of someone standing higher than stage level. That would not have been possible at Cheetah unless the photographer was standing on a ladder or shooting from the back of the club with a teleobjective. A Teleobjective in turn would suggest a professional photographer but the pictures are fuzzy & out of focus, more like the work of an amateur with a pocket camera.

The backdrop behind the Squires is nowhere to be seen in the photos of the club, the back of the Cheetah stage was covered with mirrors. All the other live shots of the Squires show much more of the interior of the clubs and in some cases also several members of the audience. There is no audience to be seen in the Cheetah shots and the only thing that you can see of the surroundings is the backdrop. The band is tightly cropped against a neutral background so these shots could have been taken anywhere.

Also, photographs exist of Jimi wearing a cheetah-print jacket in February 1966. What the band wears in the "Cheetah" -pictures here are not the same sort of garments though, they have the same kind of printing but are cut differently. Though the band`s clothing is not the same here this in any case casts further doubt on the claim that these pictures were taken at the Cheetah in May 1966. Unlike stated by Curtis Knight, the band did NOT wear cheetah-clothing specially for the Cheetah-gigs but had been wearing the same type of clothing already months before.

See the "Jimi Hendrix And Cheetah" -section for more information on the Cheetah club and Jimi's bookings there.


THE IN-CROWD
In 2022 Simeon Lipman very kindly send me photos of the front and back of one of the original "Cheetah" Polaroids that he has in his collection and these partly solve the mystery. The back of the picture has a lot of information written on it: "THE IN-CROWD", "QUEENS", "MAY 21st, 1966" and "ONE NIGHT"

Let's start with the date. 21 May 1966 was a Saturday night and "ONE NIGHT" very likely means that this was a one night booking.

So the "Cheetah" pictures were taken on Saturday 21 May 1966, a one night booking - but where? The notes say "Queens" which must mean Queens, a borough of New York City.





So we have the exact date for the pictures and the city - the only problem is "THE IN-CROWD". There are several options what this could mean:

Option 1
the pictures were taken at a club called The In-Crowd. I have been unable to find any trace of a club by that name in NYC in 1966

Option 2
the band was the support act for headliners "The In-Crowd". There have been several bands called the In-Crowd so this is a possibility but I haven't been able to find any ads for a gig by The In-Crowd on the 21st of May 1966 anywhere in NYC.

Option 3
the Squires themselves were appearing as "The In-Crowd". Also possible as the band is already known to have appeared under several different names.

Option 4
the caption "THE IN-CROWD" is a joke and refers to the band's new status as an in demand act. They had after all just three days earlier finished a booking at the Cheetah (12 May - 18 May 1966), perhaps the hottest new club in town at the time.

Option 5
David Henderson mentioned in his book ³ that the Squires played at "the Queen's Inn". As incorrectly spelled and remembered names frequently pop up when researching things it's entirely possible that something called "the in crowd" that was located in Queens could have morphed into "the Queen's Inn" in someone's recollections. I tried to find a club called "the Queen's Inn" in New York City but such a place doesn't seem to have existed either - which may or may not be a sign that there is a mistake in the name. Or that I just haven't looked hard enough.

All of these options are possible and there may also be others. If anyone has any answers please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


PROBLEMATIC DATES
There is also another small puzzle to solve: I have Jimi listed as appearing at the Cheetah with The Soul Searchers, Carl Holmes and the Commanders for 19 May - 1 June 1966.

This clash / overlap of dates isn't necessarily one. As we don't know what the showtimes were at either venue Jimi may have played at one location earlier in the day and at the other later in the evening. Or, he may not have played on all of the dates that Carl Holmes and the Commanders had at the Cheetah. Or there is an error in the dates of the Cheetah booking.

Richie Havens recalled a conversation that he had with Jimi at Cheetah during an interview in 2001:
'How long you been playing with these guys?' He goes, 'Just today. I got the job through the union.' ²

So, Jimi may not have been there for the whole Carl Holmes and the Commanders booking at the Cheetah, he may also have just been filling in on some of the dates. Getting "a job through the union" could mean that Jimi was just a temporary replacement for someone that couldn't make the gig? This remains to be sorted out...


Personnel
Personnel in the pictures includes:

Curtis Knight - vocals, rhythm guitar
Jimi Hendrix - vocals, lead guitar
Marion Booker - drums
Nathaniel Edmonds Sr. - organ
Napoleon "Hank" Anderson - bass

The 10 June 1966 RSVP contract lists this line-up, and Curtis Knight identified the players from the pictures ¹ (including "Hank", see also the personnel -section).

Jimi Hendrix - guitar, Marion Booker - drums, Nate Edmonds - organ,
Curtis Knight - guitar

Jimi Hendrix - guitar, Marion Booker - drums, Nate Edmonds - organ,
Curtis Knight - guitar

Napoleon Anderson - bass (behind Jimi), Jimi Hendrix - guitar,
Nate Edmonds - organ, Curtis Knight - guitar

Nate Edmonds, Jimi Hendrix, Marion Booker (in the back),
Napoleon Anderson (in front), Curtis Knight