James Brown is of the many musicians who have rocked the Apollo Theater.

This cultural landmark is now celebrating its 85th anniversary and the history is being told in a new way in a graphic format called, “Showtime at the Apollo: The Epic Tale of Harlem’s Legendary Theater."

“The Apollo is extremely important to Harlem and America as the leading black theater of all time. The place that has lead in everything from swing music to bee bop to jazz,” said Author Ted Fox.

Author Ted Fox first wrote a history of the Apollo in 1983 and updated it over the years, for example, adding appearances by Jay-Z and the time President Obama sang Al Green.

Now his work is being transformed into cartoon form with the help of James Otis Smith.

He hopes this new edition of the book will reach out and educate a new generation about the Apollo Theater.

“There weren’t cell phone cameras, there certainly wasn’t any video cameras, there was very little shot in the Apollo and this was a fantastical opportunity to bring these stories to life,” Fox said.

Legendary performers, like Dionne Warwick and Sammy Davis Jr. spoke with Fox about their time at the Apollo.

And those are illustrated in the new novel. As well as, how he was able to get them to talk.

“Dionne at the time had an apartment at the Waldorf. She picked up the phone herself, and I said doing a book about the Apollo Theater and she screamed so loud that I had to hold the receiver away from me she said I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone to tell this story,” Fox said.

He says Warwick then introduced him to Sammy Davis Jr, who in turn introduced him to other performers.

“It’s the story of the people that made the Apollo happen in their own words,” Fox said.

Fox has been learning about the theater for more than 35 years and he says he isn't going to stop.

He plans to continue to hold lectures and discussions to keep the history of the Apollo alive.