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The Mississippi Coast, long a destination for pleasure seekers, tourists, and gamblers, as well as maritime workers and armed services personnel, developed a flourishing nightlife during the segregation era. While most venues were reserved for whites, this stretch of Main Street catered to the African American trade, and especially during the boom years during and after World War II, dozens of clubs and cafes here rocked to the sounds of blues, jazz, and rhythm & blues.

Biloxi was already a bustling city by the late 1800s. The city's musical culture was heavily influenced by artists such as Jelly Roll Morton and Bill Johnson, who lived in the city in the early 1900s before relocating to bigger cities. By the 1940s, Biloxi was a bustling city full of blues music. Traveling acts and local bands frequented local clubs, which often also invited guests to gamble. Men from the local Air Force base, Keesler Field, both performed in these clubs and attended the shows. This also resulted in the