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THE SINGER defiantly struts onto the Apollo Theatre stage wearing a black sequined dress, the darkness of which is matched only by the scowl on her face.
Before she can clear her throat to sing, people in the audience clear theirs, showering the woman with a loud chorus of boos and expletives, the prevalent one - to borrow a line from George Bush's wife - rhyming with witch.
Unfazed, the woman breaks into a soulful rendition of pop star Anita Baker's "Sweet Love" and turns the boos into frenzied cheers. The still-evident scowl is so forgiven that a former detractor seated in the balcony jumps up, cups his hands, and utters his approval in a manner that could bring new meaning to the phrase "backhanded compliment."
"Sing that song, you ugly heifer!"
Welcome to amateur night at the Apollo.
For more than 40 years, the Apollo's Wednesday amateur night has been a fixture in Harlem. The show is a launch- ing pad where a performer can take off to stardom or crash and burn in the attempt, depending on the applause of a fickle audience that serves as judge, jury and sometimes hangman.
"We have a very knowledgeable audience," says Ralph Cooper, amateur night's emcee, producer and creator. "They know when you're good, they know when you're fair and they know when you're bad. The amateurs are trying to entertain and the audience is saying, `I dare you to be good.' "
Those who have undergone the audience's scrutiny reads like a "Who's Who" of black entertainers: Ella Fitzgerald, Pearl Bailey, Leslie Uggams, the Jackson 5, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Ben E. King, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, James Brown, the Ron- ettes, the Isley Brothers, Stephanie Mills and Luther Vandross, although he was booed off the stage four different nights, according to Apollo legend.
Those stars, along with established performers such as Jackie (Moms) Mabley, Jackie Wilson and Billie Holiday, helped carve the Apollo's image as the Mecca of black entertainment and forged the theory that if you wanted to be discovered, go to 253 W. 125th St.
That's what Hezikiah Maddox did one recent Wednesday evening. After weeks of faithfully practicing at home and fine-tuning at small clubs in New Jersey,...