S4: E2. Topless Roanoke
In the 1960s, Papa Joe’s in Roanoke, Virginia, became the very first club in the state and among the earliest in the nation to feature topless dancing. While some heralded Papa Joe’s owner, George Christofis, as a sexual revolutionary, many religious leaders and local residents condemned him. But Papa Joe’s history is not a simple tale of moral outrage in a part of the country that birthed the Religious Right. Instead, the story of Papa Joe’s reveals how sexual entertainment flourished on Southern soil while upholding the color line.
Private members key chain from Joe & Johnny’s that was sold to white patrons in order to keep the club segregated.
Hosts and Creators: Gillian Frank and Lauren Gutterman
Senior Producer: Saniya Lee Ghanoui
Producer and Story Editor: Rebecca Davis
Assistant Producers: Mallory Szymanski
Research Assistants: Stephen Colbrook and Caroline Azdell
Episode Music:
The Royal Kings, “Lets Do the Tighten Up,” Reverb Records, 1968.
Sir Guy and the Rocking Cavaliers, “Funky Virginia,” DPG Records, 1969.
Bobby Freeman, “C’mon and Swim,” Autumn Records, 1964.
Mahalia Jackson, “Trouble of the World,” Legacy Records, 1956.
The Divots, “I Itch,” Mart Records, 1959.
Bald Bill Hagan and his Trocaderons, “ A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody,” Music to Strip By, Matrix Records, 1966.
Bob Freedman and his Orchestra, “Three for the Show,” Music to Strip By, 1961.
Tim Rose, “Roanoke,” Columbia Records, 1969.
Nina Simone, “Old Jim Crow,” Live in Concert, Mercury Records, 1964.
Bald Bill Hagan and his Trocaderons, “ Bedroom Blues,” Music to Strip By, Matrix Records, 1966.
Rose Maddox, “Smoke, Fire and Brimstone,” Glorybound Train, Capitol Records, 1960.
The Telstars, “Spaghetti Strap,” ‘Teen Records, 1964.
Swingin’ Medallions, “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love),” Smash Records, 1966.
The Yellow Payges, “Jezebel,” Cameo Parkway Records, 1967.
Miklos Rozsa, “Theme” and “Answer to a Dream,” Sodom and Gomorrah, RCA/Victor 1962.
The Motions, “Freedom,” Decca, 1969.
Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, “Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance,” Verve Records, 1975.
Roy Hammond and The Souls, “Shotgun Wedding,” Hammond, 1965.
Jimmy Reed, “Down in Virginia,” Veejay Records, 1959.
Bobbie Gentry, “Fancy,” Capitol Records, 1969.
The Dixiebells, “(Down At) Papa Joe’s,” Sound 7 Stage, 1963.
Archival Audio:
WROV, “the Blue Ridge & Alleghenies,” courtesy of www.patrckgarrett.com.
“Man on the street interviews about stripper clubs in Roanoke,” WSLS-TV News Film Collection.
“Papa Joes (Go Go Controversy)”
“Exotic Dancing in Roanoke Debated,” WSLS-TV News Film Collection.
“Two Local Go Go Girls Want to Change Careers to Become Sanitation Workers,” May 8, 1969 WSLS-TV News Film Collection.
Special thanks to Drake Covey, Jimmy Downing, and Maria Christofis for sharing their stories with us.
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Further Readings
