Pictures of Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and James Brown hang from the wall, greeting visitors and reminding everyone who enters the Continental Club that they are treading where the giants of blues, soul, rock and R&B once strode.
“That’s like a Woodstock,” West Coast Blues Society founder Ronnie Stewart remarks of the legendary talent who performed at this West Oakland club back in the ’60s. “Otis Redding was a regular here.”
Listen to the colorful stories about the club, from Stewart and others who have been associated with the venue over the decades, and it’s easy to understand why the Continental is regarded as one of the key sites that connect us with West Oakland’s deep and, at times, underappreciated musical legacy.
Thus, it only seemed natural to focus on the Continental as we celebrate Black History Month by kicking a series on some of the people and places who once helped transform this West Oakland area — in and around the onetime 7th Street entertainment district — into a blues/R&B hotbed.
Fillmore Slim, 90, performs during the West Coast Blues Society’s Legacy of Blues show at the Continental Club in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
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What’s truly special about the Continental, however, is that the decades of music history have been woven into the present and future. That’s thanks owner Ron Frydberg, who took over the dilapidated club in 2014, with hopes of reopening it in six months. “Six months turned into seven years,” says Frydberg, who was 26-years old when he took over the venue.
The club eventually did re-open in Dec. 31, 2021, with a New Year’s Eve concert featuring Bay Area Afrobeat/dance/fusion act Afrolicious. Since then, the 1,350-capacity venue has been actively hosting a wide range of shows, from hip-hop and electronic music to traditional Mexican and, of course, the blues. (See oaklandcontinentalclub.com for the current schedule.)
The entertainment offerings extend to other types of entertainment, as well, including comedy, the touring party/game show know as Bingo Loco and even wrestling. Organizers regularly set up a ring inside the club so that the Oakland-based wrestling group Hoodslam can mix it in front of large gatherings of fans.
“They have hardcore fans who have been following them for years,” Frydberg adds.
Wrestling matches probably weren’t in the plans when brothers Ross and Curtis Christy first opened the Continental Club in 1961 — reportedly on Halloween night — transforming the building at 1658 12th St. that had previously been their family restaurant, Christy Grill, and then a jazz/blues spot called Rumboogie Lounge.
“Terrible Tom” Bowden, right, sings Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ by the Dock of the Bay” with Fillmore Slim during the West Coast Blues Society’s Legacy of Blues show at the Continental Club in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
A big turning point occurred when the Christy brothers connected with a young “Terrible” Tom Bowden, who grew up on nearby Wood Street and had been performing at spots on 7th Street since he was a young boy. A fiercely talented blues/R&B vocalist, Bowden also had a knack for spotting talent and wound up booking a number of up-and-coming acts into the Continental.
“I got Aretha Franklin. I got the Temptations. I had Marvin Gaye. We had B.B. King, of course,” remembers Bowden, who is often referred to as “The Mayor of West Oakland.” “(Crowds) knew it was going to be happening at the Continental Club.”
These crowds were also getting a sneak peek at the future of music, as a number of these acts who played the Continental would go on to become major stars in the not-so-distant future.
“They were still honing their careers,” Stewart says. “They didn’t have gold records at that point.”
Oh, but these Continental acts — who also included Etta James, Nina Simone and Richard Pryor — sure had talent. Bowden points to The Temptations as one of the acts that really stood out at the Continental Club.
“The harmony was tight as a bullfrog’s ass — and that’s watertight,” he jokes.
“Soul Train” Lorraine, center, and Dusty Hudson, right, listen during the West Coast Blues Society’s Legacy of Blues show at the Continental Club in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
One of the greatest talents to ever play the Continental , was Jimi Hendrix. Yet, he wasn’t doing so as the leader of his own legendary band — that was still years away — but rather as a member of Little Richard’s group. And the gig didn’t end up going so well for flamboyant young guitarist.
“This is where Little Richard fired Jimi Hendrix,” Stewart recounts as he walks through the Continental. “He kept taking too many solos. So, Little Richard said, ‘You’re fired!’”
Hearing Stewart and Bowden share tales of the venue’s and 7th Street’s storied past brings a smile to Frydberg’s face. His own chapter with the club came when he saw a post on Craigslist — yes, Craigslist — that the club was for sale. So, he decided to take a look at the place, which had been used for years primarily as a rental space.
“It was a total disaster,” Frydberg says of the condition of the club at that time.
Still, there was something about the place — the retro cool vibe that still lingered from its ’60s heyday — that intrigued him and made him think that he might want to try his hand at running the club.
“I envisioned myself in a red booth with a cocktail in my hand and thought, ‘This could be me,’” he remembers dreamily. “I was like, ‘If I don’t do this I’m going to regret it my entire life.’”
So — spoiler alert — he did it, launching on a 10-year-plus odyssey that continues to this day. A quick glance around the place, with special attention paid to the glorious antique wooden bar sourced from an old drinking establishment in San Jose, a sound system from a now-closed club in San Francisco and a new rooftop lounge area, and it’s clear that Frydberg has put a lot of money into fixing up this place — even though he won’t go on record as to exactly how much.
“A lot,” he says in summary. “More than I had.”
The result is a glorious testament to the club’s storied past, with a subtle nod to the present and future.
“I didn’t want to make it too modern,” Frydberg says. “My goal was to preserve the history and carry on the legacy of the Continental.”
The result is a place that so many former Continental Club greats — from B.B. King to Tina Turner — would have probably enjoyed spending time in. And it’s certainly a spot that one West Oakland living legend greatly appreciates.
“They put in the work,” Bowden says of restoration of the Continental Club. “It’s beautiful.
“I’m home.”
