The Cadillac Club / Ben Bynum, Sr.
Inducted: 2025
The Bynum family has been a longstanding, important presence in the Philadelphia jazz club scene for decades, beginning with The Cadillac Club which opened in 1965 at 3738 Germantown Ave. just off Broad St. in North Philadelphia. This venue, along with the family’s other venues in the city including Impulse, Starlight Supper Club, Warmdaddy’s, Zanzibar Blue, Paris Bistro, Relish and South, have long exemplified Philadelphia’s reputation for great live music.
The patriarch of the family was serial entrepreneur and jazz impresario Ben Bynum, Sr. who was a member of the Montford Point Marines, the first African Americans to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. He and his wife Ruth, who handled the finances, owned The Cadillac Club, which featured an eclectic mix of artists and played hosts to legends-in-the-making like George Benson and Aretha Franklin. The soft-spoken nightclub and bar owner deftly merged the worlds of Philly entertainment and politics and set the stage for his similarly entrepreneurial sons Robert and Benjamin, Jr.
Bynum booked an incredible array of entertainers at The Cadillac Club such as Nina Simone, B.B. King, Redd Foxx, Kenny Gamble, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Gladys Knight, Fats Domino and The Stylistics. Soul singer Billy Paul’s 1968 debut album was named “Feelin’ Good at The Cadillac Club,” paying respect to the venue; this record was the second LP ever produced by the team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
In 1976, Bynum led Philly into the disco era with Impulse at the same location as The Cadillac Club, keeping up with changing times and customer tastes. His sons worked for their father during their high school and college days and one of Bynum’s first DJs was a college kid who called himself Mixmaster Mike AKA Michael Nutter who credits Mr. Bynum for his political career.
When the Impulse closed, Bynum worked for his sons and could frequently be seen working at the door of Warmdaddy’s on Delaware Avenue on weekends. Bynum kept up that schedule well into his 90s, often saying he would never fully retire.
Radio personality Patty Jackson has hosted many events at Bynum-owned establishments and says “There was a feeling of warmth every time you greeted Benjamin. He looked with pride at his sons and their work, saying ‘This is the seed that I planted.'” Bynum passed away in October of 2021 at the age of 98.