S.V. Henson, Jr.

Stanley V. Henson, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and lived the first year of his life, in the Annapolis, Maryland home of Abraham and Elizabeth Carr-Smith (owners of Carr's Beach) with his parents, who rented a room in the home. Carr's Beach was the east coast mecca for black entertainers in the 50's and 60's. Among the entertainers who performed at Carr's Beach were jazz legends such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, and Lionel Hampton, as well as soul artists Ray Charles, James Brown, Otis Redding and Jackie Wilson. Rock 'n' Roll pioneers Fats Domino and Buddy Holly also performed at Carr's Beach. On July 21, 1956, an estimated 70,000 people traveled to Carr's Beach to hear Chuck Berry perform, although only 8,000 made it past the gates because the grounds were filled beyond capacity. By the early 1960s, the list of popular entertainers included Little Richard, Lloyd Price, Etta James, Sam Cooke, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin...