The Western Front

The Riverside area of Cambridge at Western Avenue and the River Charles was not always friendly to skinny white boys back in the early ‘70s. Looking back, I think it was more intimidating than scary, but there was an oasis amidst all of the social tension – The Western Front. I remember having just a spoonful of trepidation when I walked in for the first time, but it turned out to be a lovin’ spoonful because I got to know the staff and the venue’s owner, Marvin E. Gilmore Jr. That was over 50 years ago and it’s my honor that I can still call Marvin a friend.

This storied space with the famous dancing figures painted on the exterior walls had been open for only a few years at the time we got the gig. Always an inviting and multi-cultural spot, “the Front,” as it was known, opened in 1967 and presented mostly jazz and reggae acts up to the time Duke & The Drivers came along with our entourage of young rock ‘n’ roll fans.

CAREER LAUNCHING PAD, MULTIGENRED ROSTER, MARVIN GILMORE

Over the years, the Front launched the careers of some very well-known acts like Cassandra Wilson, First Edition, Webster Lewis and The Kelvinators, to name a few. Boston-based acts like James Montgomery and Peter Bell (when he was solo) often played the room. The musical tastes at the Front continued to morph over the years into reggaeton, Latin jazz and gospel and always rock ‘n’ roll.  In its final decade, the venue remained current and featured everything from electronica to deep house and hip-hop on the roster; it became a training ground for Boston emcees including Akrobatik, Mr. Lif and RipShop. Inside, the physical set up was challenging since a stairway went through the center of the club and the stage wasn’t visible its entirety from any point in the room. But there was a bar on each floor and the place was always lively.

More than other Boston clubs, like those owned by Fred Taylor and George Papadopoulos, The Western Front was about its proprietor, Marvin Gilmore. “I always wanted a live-music venue so I opened The Western Front location,” he said in 2017. “Back in the early ‘70s, though, racist profiles made it almost impossible for a Black man to get a commercial loan from the white banks.” He secured a loan by taking matters into his own hands, co-founding the Unity Bank and Trust Company in Roxbury, the first African-American owned and operated commercial bank in Boston. Its existence is yet another testament to Marvin and his amazing civil rights activism and leadership. In later years, he redeveloped much of Boston’s southwest corridor as CEO of the Community Development Corporation, revamping the dilapidated Newmarket Industrial District.

Decades before, Marvin was awarded the prestigious French Legion of Honor for his service during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and served with distinction in the 458th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion, with which he stormed Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day. After returning to the US, he graduated from the New England Conservatory in 1951 with a degree in percussion and performance; he has honorary doctorates from several institutions including Endicott College in Massachusetts and the City of Boston has presented him its Commonwealth Award for leadership. The grandson of slaves, he’s a genuine renaissance man who once owned a happening bar.

All else aside, though, Marvin’s first love was always music and his club and he often joined acts on stage. I remember looking over one red-hot evening with a full house and there he was, grinning from ear to ear next to me on stage with a pair of maracas. And he never missed a beat.

DUKE & THE DRIVERS, CLOSING, LEGACY

For Duke & The Drivers, the Front became like a home. From there, and largely because of the time we had spent on our show under Marvin’s loving gaze, we launched a broad and successful performing and recording career that lasted for 20 years. More importantly, for even longer than that act was around, Marvin has remained a steadfast friend to us and many other musicians in Boston and around the world. Some of the Duke & The Drivers boys have a lunch or a meet-and-greet with him to this day on a semi-regular basis.

Now, as some readers may know already, the “Duke “ in Duke & The Drivers never actually played a single gig with the band in all those 20 years and his identity has been shrouded in mystery over the decades. But now I think it’s time to tell the truth at last: Marvin Gilmore IS the Duke!

In 2013, after 46 years of continuous operation, The Western Front closed its doors. Unlike the club, however, Marvin is still rockin’, living in Cambridge as he has for most of his life. In a February 2024 interview, the 99-year old reflected on his past and his legacy. “In 100 years, you see a lot of changes,” he told The Boston Globe’s Alexa Coultoff. “I hope in what I’ve done and what I’ve achieved, that this legacy will go on. I’ve done something that’s made sense and I hope the younger generation will profit from it.”

(by Tom Swift)

Tom Swift was vocalist/keyboardist in Duke & The Drivers.