What an Electrifying Past: 19­25 St. Marks Place

In 1831, four buildings were built as townhouses for the wealthy at 19­ 25 St. Marks Place. Reflecting the changing demographics of the neighborhood in 1870, the buildings at 19 and 21 St. Marks Place were acquired by the Arion Society. The Arion Society was one of the lead­ ing German singing social organizations in the US from 1854 to 1918 and emerged in the East Village as it developed into Kleindeustch­ land, or Little Germany.

When the Arion Society moved uptown in 1887, all three buildings were purchased by George Erhet and combined into community halls and ballrooms as Arlington Hall. Arlington Hall hosted everyone from Theodore Roosevelt, when he was a NYC Police Commissioner, to William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper publisher who built the nation’s largest newspaper chain.

One of its most infamous incidents, however, occurred on January 6, 1914 when there was a mob shootout between Jewish mobsters led by Benjamin “Dope Benny” Fein and Italian gangster Jack Sirocco’s crew. This event took place in Arlington Hall and marked the beginning of the predom­ inance of the Italian American gangsters over the Jewish American gangsters. In 1920 the buildings were acquired by the Polish National Home a community meeting hall and restaurant.

THE ELECTRIC CIRCUS

By the 1960s, the bohemianism and nightlife previ­ ously associated with New York's Greenwich Village was growing in what would later be called the East Village.

In 1966 artist Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey – who directed many of Warhol's films, and who became a sometime manager of the Velvet Underground – sublet the ballroom and turned it into a nightclub. The Velvet Underground was the house band, and their performances under Andy Warhol's influence were accompanied by many light effects with the added touches of projected movies and projected photographs, all going on at the same time. The experience was called the "Exploding Plastic Inevitable."

Under new management it reopened as the Electric Circus, a chic bohemian nightclub that drew more than 3,000 people to its opening night, according to contemporary coverage in The Village Voice. As evidence of its “boho chicness,” the interior was designed to resemble a 1960s version of a Bedouin tent. Flame throwing jugglers and trapeze artists performed between musical sets, strobe lights flashed over a huge dance floor, and multiple projectors flashed images and footage from home movies. Seating was varied, with sofas provided. The Electric Circus became "New York's ultimate mixed­media pleasure dome, and its hallucinogenic light baths enthralled every sector of New York society." Its hedonistic atmosphere also influenced the later rise of disco culture and discotheques.

Jam bands such as The Grateful Dead and avant­garde composers such as minimalist Terry Riley and elec­ tronic music pioneer Morton Subotnick, played at the club. Other bands played there before they were famous, such as Raven and "Soft White Underbelly" before it became known as Blue Öyster Cult, the All­ man Brothers Band, Sly & the Family Stone and The Chambers Brother.

The Electric Circus fell victim to the increasingly radicalized activity centered in the East Village in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In March 1970, a bomb was set off in the middle of the dance floor, injuring dozens. Though unconfirmed the bombing was attributed to the Black Panther Party. The club never regained its chic reputation and closed in 1971. Upon closing, the building no longer functioned as a club or space for regular public performances, but the building was not significantly physically altered until 2003 when a major renovation eliminated the ballroom and converted the building into upscale apartments and retail space.

TALES FROM THE LOCALS

The Electric Circus was described as the East Village fuse box for Warhol's talents and those of his entourage, in particular the Velvet Un­ derground and Nico. The dazzling synthesis of psychedelica and glam­ our, of the Velvet's strange atmospheric music and Warhol's performance displays of lights and costumes, immediately attracted the scenesters to this odd little street "everyone from hippies to Tom Wolfe and George Plimpton" ­­ way before St. Marks would make its reputa­ tion in the 1970s with the punk scene."

"What memories. I started working at the E.C. as a ticket taker. I say working, but in reality we didn't get paid, we got let in for our work. Like Woodstock, if you remembered much of what happened at the E.C. you weren't really there."

"I'm so excited, after all these decades to hear from people who got to experience the the most amazing Electric Circus, as I did. By far dancing myself into a dazed, psychedelic trance, while absorbing the mag­ ical energy of the Chambers Brothers sing 'Time', was right up there in my top ten of life altering experi­ ences. I was a runaway, living with new friends in the Village.

The big room was completely decorated with fabric amorphously draped on walls and spanning corners and cornices. Projectors behind the fabric ran continuous short loops of films. Of course it was dimly lit so as not to wash out the films. People were everywhere and moved mysteriously in the smoky dim light. I was born in Brooklyn and had already lived a few years in Manhattan, but I never saw anything like this before. The next time I saw EC the decor had changed. I never paid to get in because I was a member of the PABLO Light** show." An original ad from summer of 1967 A 1977 photo of CBGB, which oper- ated on the Bowery from 1973 to 2006

CBGB OMFUG

Richard Hell wrote in the New York Times, CBGB "housed the most influential cluster of bands ever to have grown up ­ or to implicitly reject the concept of growing up ­ under one roof." The CBGB’s golden era began on March 31, 1974 with Television’s first gig. Television would later become CBGB’s Sunday night sta­ ple. The Ramones debuted on August 16 of the same year. Other important firsts during the club’s formative years include Blondie’s debut on January 17, 1975; The Patti Smith Group on February 14, 1975 and the Talking Heads first appearance, opening for The Ramones on June 8, 1975. The Police even made its first American ap­ pearances onstage at CBGB’s on October 20 and 21, 1978. Other regulars included The Dead Boys, The Dictators and The Heartbreakers.

With the exception of the touring Police, these debuting bands became cornerstones of the scene, coming to make multiple appearances and building a rabid NYC, and beyond, following. The Ramones often played a set twice because it was so short, and Blondie was said to have appeared onstage every weekend for about seven months. Those were the halcyon days of CBGB’s, and those were the bands that truly formed the club’s legacy. The only rule was the acts were to play only original music –­ no covers, although The Ramones snuck them in occasionally (as did The Replacements)

As the ’70s wound down, and CBGB’s entered the ’80s, the club shifted focus to hardcore punk. Sunday after­ noons were known as Matinee Day or Thrash Day, and bands such as Agnostic Frost, Cro­Mags and Warzone re­ placed the more classic punk sound of the ’70s counterparts. The hardcore scene tended to get out of control and violent at times, though, and in 1990, Kristal temporarily declined to book hardcore acts. A notable ’80s highlight were the Sonic Youth gigs for Daydream Nation, in 1988.

Big names, such as Pearl Jam, Green Day and The White Stripes made appearances at the club in the last few years of its existence, but the club had lost some of its luster. In 2005, a dispute arose between CBGB’s and the Bowery Residents Committee, which claimed Kristal owed $91,000 in back rent. That was the beginning of the end for the gloriously loud and trashy mecca, which had played host to an estimated 50,000 bands.

Despite several attempts to save the New York landmark, Patti Smith played the final concert ever at CBGB’s on October 15, 2006. Its doors closed forever, and several of its contents, such as a wooden phone booth and the outdoor awning, soon found a home in New York’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex. There was talk of Hilly Kristal salvaging whatever he could from the club and moving it however, after a battle withlung cancer, Kristal passed away less than a year later on August 27, 2007. THE HISTORY OF CBGB BY HILLY KRISTAL

In 1998, Hilly Kristal, founder of CBGB, wrote a brief history of the club. Here it is in its unedited en­ tirety:

Installment Vol. 1 The questions most asked of me is, "What does CBGB stand for?" I reply, "It stands for the kind of music I intended to have, but not the kind of music that we became famous for: COUNTRY BLUEGRASS BLUES." The next question is always, "but what does OMFUG stand for?" and I say, "That's more of what we do, it means OTHER MUSIC FOR UPLIFTING GOURMANDIZERS." And what is a gourmandizer? It's a vora­ cious eater of, in this case, MUSIC.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been asked those questions.

A lot of people believe that OMFUG stands for something dirty, but the truth is, I felt that CBGB sounded so pat that I wanted something to go with it that sounded a little uncouth, or crude.

The obvious follow up question is often, "is this your favorite kind of music?"

No!!! I've always liked all kinds but half the radio stations all over the U.S. were playing country music, cool juke boxes were playing blues and bluegrass as well as folk and country. Also, a lot of my artist/writer friends were always going off to some fiddlers convention (bluegrass concert) or blues and folk festivals. So I thought it would be a whole lot of fun to have my own club with all this kind of music playing there. Unfortunately ­ or perhaps FORTUNATELY ­ things didn't work out quite the way I'd expected.

Installment Vol. 2 That first year was an exercise in persistence and a trial in patience. My determination to book only mu­ sicians who played their own music instead of copying others, was indomitable. ORIGINALITY (to me) WAS PRIME, TECHNIQUE TOOK SECOND PLACE.

The height of the Disco era brought an increasing dissatisfaction among rock musicians and their fans. The formula driven disco music and the long drawn out solos and other complexities in much of the rock of the late sixties and early seventies encouraged a lot of disgruntled rock enthusiasts to seek the refreshing rhythms and sounds of simple (BACK TO BASICS) high energy rock and roll, which seemed to take shape right here at CBGB. We called this music "street rock" and later "PUNK" ­ "come as you are and do your own thing" rock and roll.

Since almost everyone of the bands was relatively unknown, we did not give them a guarantee, but gave the most of the door monies to cover their expenses. CBGB kept the bar. Hopefully they would see the value of building a fan base. The more people came and paid to see them the more they made. It was not until sometime in 1976 that the club started paying for itself.

Installment Vol. 3 Having a rock club on the Bowery, under a flophouse (believe it or not), does have some advantages. (1) the rent is (was) reasonable (2) Most of our neighbors dressed worse than, or more weird than our rock and rollers (3) The surrounding buildings were mostly industrial and the people who did live close by, didn't seem to care about having a little rock and roll sound seeping into their lives. The disadvantages: within a two­block radius there were six flophouses holding about two thousand men, mostly derelicts. I would say most of them were either alcoholics, drug addicts physically impaired or mentally unstable. Some of the men were veterans from the Vietnam war on government disability, and others were just lost in life or down on their luck. The streets were strewn with bodies of alcoholic derelicts sleeping it off after two or three drinks of adulterated wine reinforced with sugar. There were lots of muggers hanging around on the Bowery preying on the old or incapacitated men. When people were let out of jail or institutions they were very often housed in one of these flophouses by the city, so we had to deal with these crazies trying to come into the club.

Mostly, knives were the weapon of choice. By the time things improved around here, I had collected over three dozen knives and other assorted weapons. The muggers ­ or "jack rollers" were not as dangerous to ordinary people as they seemed. They were used to picking on the old men or others who were completely out of it like three sheets to the wind.

The Bowery was, to repeat, a drab ugly and unsavory place. But it was good enough for rock and rollers. The people who frequented CBGB didn't seem to mind staggering drunks and stepping over a few bod­ ies.

Installment Vol. 4 1975 was drawing to a close. It was a remarkable year for CBGB, and for me personally. No one was getting rich, but who cared. We were all having a ball. It was certainly exciting, discovering new artists, finding new bands, spreading the word, trying to get them recording contracts.

After being involved with all kinds of music (in one way or another) for most of my life, I was just begin­ ning to understand to what extent the recordingcompanies were involved with an artist's career and how much they controlled their success. It was the beginning of my love, hate relationship with the record in­ dustry (the powers that be).

I certainly didn't love every band that played CBGB's but I did love to encourage them to do their own thing, to challenge the establishment. I've always felt the stronger you are about yourself and your own ideas, (in this case musical ideals) the more satisfying your success, hopefully, the more rewarding your future.

Installment Vol. 5 The year: 1976. Over 2 years had gone by since I had opened CBGB. 1976 was a year of celebration here in the United States because of the anniversary date of July 4th 1776 ­ two hundred years ago we had our in­ dependence as a nation from the establishment ­ The United Kingdom. Two centuries later young people were still declaring their independence from the establishment, and some of them were having their say through rock music. In the beginning as ­ is most often the case ­ the establishment (the record industry) and millions of rock fans were completely unaware of this new awakening of the 70's which has no uniting symbolism like the 60's. It was simply a need for young people to be heard, a need for young people to be speak, a need for them to be recognized as individuals. Listen to me! Hear me!! This is who I am, This is what "I" have to say!! These were not young people whose ambitions were to be great musicians or to be­ come rock superstars. They were young people who simply wanted a voice. To get this voice, to have your voice heard, you have got to be able someway, some how, be able to communicate with an audience that "might or might not" be receptive to what you have to say. Installment Vol. 6 In the fall of ‘76 rock bands were invading CBGB's from all over the country. Boston was one of the more fertile cities for the developing of new rock bands. For many years Boston has had more college kids than any other city, and they've always had a great rock club scene. The Rathskeller, owned by Jimmy Harold, was one of the premier clubs in Boston that catered to new rock bands. I would book a group of Boston bands into CBGB taht Jimmy recommended, and he would do the same with the "Hot Club" in Philla. Pa. From Boston, one weekend, we had D.M.Z., The Inflic­ tors, Hot Rain , The Yarbles, Mickey Clean and the Mez, Real Kids, The Boiz, Bon Jour Aviator, and a special group from Cleaveland that Joey Ramone told me about. They were called the ‘The Dead Boys'. The Dead Boys, on stage epitomizes what a punk band should be. They were loud, raw, crass, with super high energy. They were outrageous and obscene, with excellent lyrics and music. Somehow they were disciplined musicians. Stiv Bators, Cheetah Chrome, Jimmy Zero and Johnny Blitz were their names. The were without a bass player at that time but it was soon to be Jeff Magnum. The lack or a bass player did not handicap them in the least. They were great!!

TIMELINE

1973: Hilly Kristal opens CBGB COUNTRY BLUE GRASS BLUES in December. Con Fullum, a country from Maine is the first to play.

1974: Terry Ork, Television's manager, asks Hilly to book the band on a Saturday night, since that was CBGB's dead night.

1974: Ramones Play CBGB for the first time August 16.

1975: The Talking Heads play their first show at CBGB, opening for the Ramones.

1975: CBGB hosts the "Unsigned Band Festival." A month long festival featuring the Talking Heads, The Shirts, Television and the Ramones.

1977: The Police make their US debut in November. Attendance was sparse. The trio had flown on low cost tickets with Laker Airtrain from the UK, carrying their instruments as hand lug­ gage.

1984: Spinal Tap ­­ "Smell the Glove" tour.

1987: Guns N' Roses play an acoustic set at the Record Canteen.

1988: Tom Tom Club sets up for a sold out two­week residency, featuring nightly special guests: Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, Dee Dee Ramone, and Jerry Harrison.

1989: Sunday Hardcore matinees are suspended due to violence. 1991: Pearl Jam plays secret show for Fan Club.

1992: Dave Matthews Band gets a record deal from CBGB gig. Hilly Kristal was so impressed at the sound check he calls all major labels. Only RCA showed up.

1992: Nirvana cancels show due to $300 door/security expense.

1992: Tool opens for the Rollins Band.

1993: CBGB celebrates 20 years with a month­long cel­ ebration featuring: The Cramps, Anthrax, The B52's, David Byrne, Joann Jett, Living Colour and Blues Traveller.

1999: Joey Ramone plays CBGB for the last time at the "Cyberpunk Blitz" launch­ ing his official Ramones website.

2002: Alan Jackson brings CBGB back to its roots with a sold­out show.

2006: Patti Smith plays CBGB's last show on October 15.

2012: CBGB Festival ­ New York City ­ July 5­8.

2013: CBGB Festival ­ New York City ­ October 9­13.

THE BATHROOMS

The club's bathrooms, which David Byrne once described as "legendarily nasty” had dungeon­like brick walls covered in graffiti, band stickers and bodily fluids. The stalls had no doors, removing any notion of modesty. Upon seeing the club's bathrooms for the first time, Fred Schneider of the B­52's was in what he described as a state of "shock."

The bathrooms may seem like a minor detail, given all the history that took place on stage at CBGB. But over the years they have served a wide variety of arguably vital roles for regulars, by turns a makeshift bedroom, an advertising billboard, and drug den. They were in the basement, down a steep set of steps. Neither was desig­ nated as male or female, but one room contained three urinals and the toilet was situated by itself on an elevated cement plat­ form. A bare bulb cast a pale yellow glow. Occasionally, you could make out a line or two of the graffiti on the walls, but, in general, there were so many layers of scrawl that the writings bled together to become a kind of punk rock hieroglyphic. THE SIXTH DEADBOY

I (Rudi Protrudi) was fortunate enough to play bass for the Dead Boys for the Punk Magazine Benefit at CBGB 5/4/77. They'd already moved to NYC, but didn't have a bass player yet. I'd seen 'em the week before at CBGB with The Dictators, and thought they were the most exciting band I'd ever seen. Since they didn't have a bassist, I offered my services.

They invited me to audition the next week at CBGB, and I hitch­hiked from my hometown, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to do so. Naively, I just showed up at CBGB and, luckily, they were there. They brought me back­ stage to a filthy little room where they had a small amplifier. Cheetah and I both plugged in and the rest of the band took turns suggesting songs and we would tackle them. After about an hour of playing everything from "Eighteen" to "Jumpin' Jack Flash," they offered me a gig, playing there that night! They taught me 3 of their songs and the plan was to bring me up at the end of their set.

We all went to Joey Ramone's apartment to get ready for the show, and it was there that the band grilled me as to my drug habits (they were all boozers and, with the exception of Cheetah, who they begrudgingly al­ lowed to smoke pot, were adamant that there be no drug use in the band). I was already excited at the prospect of playing with The Dead Boys, and at the legendary CBGB no less, but had no idea just what an historical night it would be! When we got there I was told that it was a benefit for Punk Magazine, and the bill included Patti Smith, Blondie, Richard Hell & The Void Oids, Suicide, the Paley Brothers and David Johansen as MC!!!!

Toward the end of their set, Stiv announced me: "You might've seen him in some movies on 42nd street..." and we ran through "Little Girl," and "Down In Flames." Then they brought up The Dictator's Ross the Boss for our grande finale, "Search & Destroy."

After the show, the band told me that I was officially the new Dead Boy! Debbie Harry made a point of coming over to congratulate me. Obvi­ ously I was thrilled. I went back to my efficiency apartment in Harris­ burg, packed all my shit up and waited for them to contact me. After two long weeks, Jimmy Zero called to tell me they decided to take their old Cleveland pal, Jeff Magnum. Un­ daunted, I formed my own band, Tina Peel, and moved them to NYC a year later. I stayed friends with Cheetah and Stiv,who even brought his parents to see my band, the Fuzztones, when we played the Ritz in the mid­80's.

Stiv was a fan of the band and arranged for us to tour with The Lords of The New Church in 1983. When we opened for The Damned at London's Hammersmith Palais in '85, Stiv brought an array of stars backstage to meet us, including Mike Munroe, Lemmy, and members of Killing Joke and Girlschool. Bill Graham's Fillmore East

In 1967, New York City's WOR­FM was the vanguard of alternative music. Their two most prominent deejays, Rosko (Mercer) and Murray the K (Kaufman) break with all the conventional formats of the time, helping to pioneer the intriguing freeform FM format, playing such heretofore unknown artists as Jimi Hendrix and The Doors.

The station throws a first anniversary bash at The Village Theater. Pop­ ular journalist and deejay Rosko entertains the audience with his humor during set changes. (Two years later, he will be one of the panelists dis­ cussing the Doors' music on the PBS Critique show, hosted by Richard Goldstein of The Village Voice.)

Scheduled between other popular groups of the period, the Doors be­ come the highlight of both shows when they explode into two dynamic and forceful performances which literally shake the theater with their intimidating volume. Particularly captivating is their commanding execution of the Alabama Song, which captures the essence of Brecht & Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.

Also performing at the WOR Anniversary bash were Janis Ian, The Blues Project, The Chambers Brothers, Richie Havens and Jeremy & the Satyrs. Emcees included Rosko, Scott Muni, (formerly of WABC­AM, soon to be premiere deejay at WNEW­FM) Johnny Michaels, Jim Lounsbury and Murray the K.

Not long after the Doors played The Village Theater the sec­ ond time on September 9th, the lower east side venue was closed. Sometime later, it was purchased by Bill Graham Presents, and re­opened as the Fillmore East on March 8, 1968, featuring Big Brother and The Holding Company. The Doors would play the Fillmore East later that month.

The Fillmore East was the premier concert venue on the east coast for sometime afterward, inspiring the creation of other such venues in abandoned palace style theaters, such as Pas­ saic New Jersey’s Capitol Theater, which was still operating a few years ago, and may still be in operation today. The Fillmore East hosted most of the prominent and up­and­coming acts of the time, from the Doors, Jeffer­ son Airplane and Janis Joplin to Blues and avant­garde acts as well.

The in­residence Joshua Light show offered state­of­the­art visual effects to accompany the history­making music which was performed there. A Fillmore experience was unique, and not soon forgotten.

The Closing of the Fillmore

On May 6, 1971, the following letter from Bill Graham appeared on page 45 of the The Village Voice:

Dear Friends:

Ever since the creation of the Fillmores, it was my sole intention to do nothing more, or less, than present the finest contemporary artists in this country, on the best stages and in the most pleasant halls. The scene has changed and, in the long run, we are all to one de­ gree or another at fault. All that I know is that what exists now is not what we started with, and what I see around me now does not seem to be a logical, creative extension of that beginning. There­ fore, I am taking this opportunity to announce the closing of the Fillmores, and my eventual withdrawal from producing concerts.

The process will commence with the formal closing of Fillmore East on Sunday, June 27, 1971.

My reasons are as follows:

1) The unreasonable and totally destructive inflation of the live concert scene. Two years ago I warned that the Woodstock Festival syndrome would be the beginning of the end. I am sorry to say that I was right. In 1965 when we began the original Fillmore Au­ ditorium, I associated with and employed "musicians." Now, more often than not, it's with "officers and stock­ holders" in large corporations ­ only they happen to have long hair and play guitars. I acknowledge their success, but condemn what that success has done to some of them. I continue to deplore the exploitation of the gigantic­ hall concerts, many of them with high­priced tickets. The sole incentive of too many has simply become money. The conditions for such performances, besides lacking intimacy, are professionally impossible according to my standards.

2) I had always hoped to be able to present artists whose musical worth I felt was important: artists whose music was valid, whether commercially popular or not. There are more quality artists today; but many of those that do exist do not appear in public regularly. Therefore, in order to stay in business, I would be forced to present acts whose musicality fell below my personal expectations and demands. I could do this, and in having to book fifty­ two weeks a year it becomes tempting because it is so much easier to do. Thousands might even come to these concerts, but I personally would prefer not to present them. For who would gain?

3) With all due respect for the role they play in securing work for the artists, the agents have created a new rock game called "packaging"; which means simply that if the Fillmore wants a major headliner, then we are often forced to take the second and/or third act that the agent or manager insists upon, whether or not we would take pride in presenting them, and whether or not such an act even belongs on that particular show. To do so would be to relin­ quish the essential responsibility of being a producer, and this I will not do.

4) In the early days of both Fillmore East and West, the level of audience seemed much higher in terms of musical sophistication. Now there are too many screams for "More" with total disregard for whether or not there was any musical quality.

5) The time and energy that is required for me to maintain a level of pro­ ficiency in my own work has grown so great that I have simply deprived myself of a private life. At this point I feel that I can no longer refuse my­ self the time, the leisure, and the privacy to which any man is rightfully entitled.

6) For six years, I have endured the abuse of many members of the public, and press (in most instances people who did not know me personally). The role of "anti­christ of the underground" has obviously never ap­ pealed to me. And when I asked for people to either judge me on some factual personal knowledge, or at least base their opinion on that which I produced and gave to the public, I was rarely answered.

7) Rock has been good to me in many ways, but the final and simple fact is that I am tired. The only reason to keep the Fillmore in operation at this point would be to make money. And though few have ever chosen to believe me on this point, money has never been my prime motivation; and now that it would become the only possible motivation to continue, I pass.

My personal future will begin with a long­needed rest. What will follow, I do not know. The several hundred good people who work at the Fillmore, maniacally dedicated to our standards, will, no doubt, go on to other cre­ ative things on their own. Fillmore West, as you may know, has been allo­ cated for demolition for a long time now. It will neither relocate nor be reopened.

The "Fillmore" will become a thing of the past. I will remember with deep emotion and fondness the great and joyous moments of that past. I sin­ cerely thank the artists and business associates who contributed to our suc­ cess. But, I warn the public to watch carefully for what the future will bring.

The rock scene in this country was created by a need felt by the people, expressed by the musicians, and, I hope, aided to some degree by the efforts of the Fillmores. But whatever has become of that scene, wherever it turned into the music industry of festivals, 20,000­seat halls, miserable production quality, and second­rate promoters ­ however it went wrong ­ please, each of you, stop and think whether or not you allowed it, whether or not you supported it regardless of how little you received in return.

I am not pleased with this "music industry." I am disappointed with many of the musicians working in it, and I am shocked at the nature of the millions of people who support that "industry" without asking why. I am not assured that the situation will improve in the future.

But beyond all these viewpoints, I truly wish to express my overwhelming appreciation to the people, who, over the years, gave their time and devoted energy to working at the Fillmores. To them, and to many, many musicians who grew in stature without ever copping out, and to those admirable patrons who both refused to support marathon rip­offs and who even took the time to helpfully criticize me for the errors I made ­ to all of you, my fondest thanks and farewell.

Sincerely,

Bill Graham

When Bill Graham closed down his small venues in 1971, the building remained vacant for a time and then reopened as the Saint nightclub.

Several years later it was closed again for a number of years, then was gutted and completely remod­ eled to become the lower east side's funky down­ town answer to Studio 54. TALES FROM THE LOCALS

Hanging out in the East Village before I got drafted was worlds apart from the West [Village]. The vibe changed. The scene had become ratty, dark, threatening. After Nam, I ended up in San Francisco for the second time. It was 1969 and I saw B. B. King at the Fillmore West. I felt at home, but it wasn’t New York. For some reason I was reluctant to go back to the Bronx, but The Fillmore East brought me home again. The Doors, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, so many artists, it’s hard to remember all. The streets were alive with love and protests against the war, the air had revolution flowing everywhere. Then things began to change again. The Fillmore no longer offered big arena shows which brought more fans. The neighborhood died hard: drugs, thugs, murders and so did the Fillmore. It will live forever in my mem­ ory.

LIVE ALBUMS

Because of the auditorium's great acoustics, many live albums were recorded at the Fillmore East, in­ cluding:

Duane Allman on the Fillmore East's final weekend The Allman Brothers Band – At Fillmore East (1971) The Allman Brothers Band – Fillmore East, February 1970 (released 1997) on Grateful Dead Records Buffalo Bob Smith – Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore East; creator of Howdy Doody (recorded April 4, 1971) The Chambers Brothers – Love, Peace and Happiness, a double album with one studio disc and one live disc recorded at Bill Graham's Fillmore East Joe Cocker – Mad Dogs and Englishmen – The Complete Fillmore East Concerts – March 27–28, 1970 (released 2006) Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ­ 4 Way Street (1971) Miles Davis – Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time (2001); recorded March 7, 1970, in a rare live recording of Davis's so­called '"lost quintet" Miles Davis – Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East (1970); recorded June 17–20, 1970 Derek and the Dominos – In Concert; recorded October 23–24, 1970 (released 1973) Derek and the Dominos – Live at the Fillmore ; recorded October 23–24, 1970 (released 1994) Flying Burrito Brothers – Authorized Bootleg: Fillmore East, N.Y., N.Y. Late Show, Nov. 7, 1970 (CD, Feb­2011, Hip­O Select) Virgil Fox/Heavy Organ – Bach Live at Fillmore East ; recorded Dec. 1, 1970 (released on LP 1971, on CD 1989) The Fugs – Golden Filth ­ Alive at the Fillmore East ; recorded June 1, 1968 (released on LP 1970, on CD as part of the Rhino Handmade 3­CD set, Electromagnetic Steamboat 2003) Grateful Dead – Ladies and Gentlemen… The Grateful Dead: Fillmore East – April 1971 (2000) ; a four­ disc set taken from their five­night stint at the Fillmore East in April 1971 Grateful Dead – Live at the Fillmore East 2­11­69 (1997) Grateful Dead – History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice) (February 13–14, 1970) (1973) Grateful Dead – Dick's Picks Volume Four – Grateful Dead Fillmore East 2/13–14/70 (1996) ; a three­disc set released on Grateful Dead Records Grateful Dead – Road Trips Volume 3 Number 3 Fillmore East 5­15­70 ; a three­disc set with a bonus fourth disc included with early orders of the set from dead.net; (released 2010) Jimi Hendrix – Band of Gypsys (1970) and Live at the Fillmore East (1999) Lorin Hollander – Lorin Hollander at the Fillmore East ; recorded Feb. 23, 1969 Humble Pie – Performance Rockin' the Fillmore (1971) Iron Butterfly ­ Fillmore East 1968 ; a two disc set recorded on April 26 & 27, 1968; released by Rhino Entertainment 2011. Jefferson Airplane – Bless Its Pointed Little Head (1969) ; this album was split between the Fillmore East and Fillmore West. Jefferson Airplane – Live at the Fillmore East (recorded 1969; released 1998) Jefferson Airplane – Sweeping Up the Spotlight: Jefferson Airplane Live at the Fillmore East 1969 (re­ leased 2007) King Crimson – Epitaph – two­disc set with three tracks recorded at Fillmore East Nov. 21, 1969 King Crimson – Live at Fillmore East – one disc with both Nov. 21 and Nov. 22, 1969 partial sets (re­ leased in 2004 on The King Crimson Club label as Club 25) Al Kooper & Mike Bloomfield – Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes ; recorded Dec. 13–14, 1968 (re­ leased 2003) Love – Studio / Live – live tracks recorded at Fillmore East (released on LP 1982, on CD 1991) John Lennon and Yoko Ono – Live Jam – Side Two of this live album, which was included as a bonus album in Lennon & Ono's Some Time in New York City (released: 1972), was recorded at the Fillmore East on June 6, 1971. Taj Mahal – The Real Thing ; recorded Feb. 13, 1971 (remaster with one more track, released 2000) Mountain – Flowers Of Evil – Side 2 recorded at Fillmore East, December 26, 1970 John Mayall – The Turning Point (1969) (released on CD 1990, remaster with three more tracks released 2001) The Nice – Live at the Fillmore East December 1969 ; recorded December 19–20, 1969 (released 2009) Laura Nyro – Spread Your Wings and Fly: Live at the Fillmore East (released 2004) Quicksilver Messenger Service – Happy Trails; live tracks recorded at both Fillmore East & Fillmore West (CD released 1994) Ten Years After – Live at the Fillmore East 1970 ; recorded February 27–28, 1970 (released 2001) Johnny Winter – Live Johnny Winter And ; recorded at Fillmore East & Pirate's World, Dania,FL Johnny Winter – "Johnny Winter And: Live at the Fillmore East 10/3/70" ; (released 2010) Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Live at the Fillmore East recorded March 6–7, 1970 (released on CD and DVD 2006) Frank Zappa And The Mothers – Freaks And Motherfu*#@%! ; recorded in 1970 (released 1991) Frank Zappa's Mothers – Fillmore East ­ June 1971 (released 1971) Part of the Love it to Death tour, Alice Cooper were billed as Special Guests for the 11th - 12th of June 1971 shows. Also on the bill were Glass Harp. A small program with a one page picture and caption of a quote from Alice Cooper. This was to be the final show to be pre- sented at Bill Graham's Fillmore East The- atre before closing. LED ZEPPELIN and NYC

FILLMORE EAST

Opening on March 8, 1968, the Fillmore East quickly became known as "The Church of Rock and Roll," with two­show concerts several nights a week. Despite the deceptively small marquee and façade, the theater had a capacity of 3,664 seats.

Shows At This Venue: Fillmore East ­ January 31, 1969 Fillmore East ­ February 1, 1969 Fillmore East ­ May 30, 1969 Fillmore East ­ May 31, 1969

CENTRAL PARK (Wollman Rink Theater) / Schaefer Music Festival

July 21, 1969 Setlist: Train Kept a Rollin', I Can't Quit You Baby, Dazed and Confused, You Shook Me, White Summer / Black Mountainside, How Many More Times (medley incl. For What It's Worth (lyrics), "Lemon Song"), Communication Break­ down. Notes: Zep performs two shows this night, which include B.B. King as support act. Press Review: WOLLMAN RINK, N.Y. ­ The New York pop scene became a roman candle Monday night, July 21 , when The Schaefer Music Festival highlighted its season with an outstanding double­bill featuring Led Zeppelin and B. B. King. King, a veteran bluesman only recently coming into his own, demonstrated the earthy and powerful sensitivity that invariably makes one bow in ac­ knowledgement of a master's touch. His husky, expressive voice and sweet, sweet guitar were the perfect vehicles for the rich, human understanding that the blues is really all about ­ something that B. B. King knows all about; he is a truly great man in a great tradition. Led Zeppelin practically brought the house down; no kidding. By the end of a four­encore musical colossus the beam and erector­set framework of the temporary stage (and adjoining walls) were creaking under the strain as performers and audience alike were swept into a rock 'n' roll bacchanalia that would have made the most cynical critic wilt. The accomplishment and spontaneity of John Paul Jones on bass and John Bonham on drums could have only been enhanced by a phenomenon like Jimmy Page. The apparently unimprovable gifts of the youthful virtuoso have, if possible, expanded since , we saw him last. The subtlety and lyrical inventiveness for which Page has always been recognized seem to have gained a hitherto dormant passion equal to that of any flamenco gypsy, as he whipped through "I Can't Quit You Babe," "Dazed and Confused," and the incredible "White Summer". Outstanding candidate for superstardom is the group's luminary vocalist, Robert Plant. His soaring, spellbinding voice revealed an extraordinary physical and emotional range as he wove Zeppelin's demanding musical atmos­ phere with apparent ease, This , combined with his wantonly awesome stage presence, drama of movement, and searing improvisation all testify that Robert Plant may very well be the artist who can embody all nine muses at once. CARNEGIE HALL

October 17, 1969 Setlist: includes: Good Times Bad Times (intro) ~ Communication Breakdown, I Can't Quit You Baby, Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, You Shook Me, White Summer / Black Moun­ tainside, Moby Dick, How Many More Times. Notes: 2 Shows: 8:30pm and 12:00 midnight

Review: Led Zeppelin became the first hard rock act to play Carnegie Hall since the Rolling Stones tore the place up some five years ago. Even up against Donovan at Madison Square Garden (a complete sellout), both of Zepp­ pelin's shows went clean, with tickets being scalped as much as twice their original price! Though the management was uptight at half the audience dancing on top of their seats, and tried desparately to control the encores, the group managed to pull off one of the most exciting performances ever. They featured a selection of material from their new album, in addition to Jimmy Page's haunting "White Summer" solo and Bonzo's 25 minute attack on the skins. (J. Harris, Oct '69) ______Les Girls Flock About, As Jimmy Tunes Guitar (R. Yorke / Oct. '69) Getting to see Jimmy Page, the quiet guitarist with Led Zeppelin during one of the group's concerts is about as difficult as persuading John Wayne that some­ thing is wrong with U.S. policy in Vietnam. I had to batter my way backstage through a swarm of both male and female ad­ mirers strung around the stage door and the stairs leading to the dressing room at Carnegie Hall. When I finally reached the door marked "Led Zeppelin", I found that the dressing room was almost as crowded as the concert hall itself, tickets for which had been sold out weeks before. Page was sitting in a corner, trying to tune his guitar while a group of young women looked on adoringly. It was the start of Led Zeppelin’s fourth American tour in a year and it was fairly obvious that the group had become the most popular English band working these parts, outside of the Stones. ______CARNEGIE HALL, NEW YORK — In conjunction with the release of their second Atlantic album, "Led Zeppelin II," guitarist Jimmy Page, vocalist Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones are currently making their U.S. tour in one year. At this moment, they are the hottest act to come from England in some time. Friday night (17), it was easy to see why. Robert Plant has become one of the sex deities of rock. His lion's mane of thick, curly, blond hair, his powerful throaty singing form an image that reaches the audience. There were actually some screams from the girls as he stalked his way around the stage, swiveling his hips, writhing his body in time to the music. Jimmy Page is one of the great guitarists in modern music. Not only is he a master of rock blues, but in his brilliant performance of the instrumental "White Sum­ mer" (an old track from the Yardbirds), Page proved himself able to do anything on the guitar. Many rock guitarists play fast, but Page, while playing super fast, actually manages to hit the right notes. At the same time, he is a demon on stage, running about with his head down, playing his leads off of Plant's vocals, or work­ ing his guitar strings with a violin bow that he keeps with him at all times. Drummer Bonham and bassist Jones are also masters of their instruments and stunned the audience with the driving sound that they create together as a backup for Page and Plant. Led Zeppelin has landed! [Cashbox, 1969] Though the management was uptight at half the audience dancing on top of their seats, and tried desparately to control the encores, the group managed to pull off one of the most exciting per­ formances ever. They featured a selection of material from their new album, in addition to Jimmy Page's haunting "White Summer" solo and Bonzo's 25 minute attack on the skins. (J. Harris, Oct '69)

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Madison Square Garden ­ September 19, 1970 Madison Square Garden ­ September 3, 1971 Madison Square Garden ­ July 27, 1973 Madison Square Garden ­ July 28, 1973 Madison Square Garden ­ July 29, 1973 Madison Square Garden ­ February 3, 1975 Madison Square Garden ­ February 7, 1975 Madison Square Garden ­ February 12, 1975 Madison Square Garden ­ June 7, 1977 Madison Square Garden ­ June 8, 1977 Madison Square Garden ­ June 10, 1977 Madison Square Garden ­ June 11, 1977 Madison Square Garden ­ June 13, 1977 Madison Square Garden ­ June 14, 1977

September 19, 1970

Setlist: Afternoon show: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, Bring It On Home, That's Way, Bron­Yr­ Aur, Since I've Been Loving You, Organ solo / Thank You, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, For What It's Worth, Honey Bee), Communication Breakdown. Evening Show: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Dazed and Confused, Bring It On Home, That's Way, Bron­Yr­Aur, Since I've Been Loving You, Organ solo / Thank You, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, Dust My Broom, Bottle Up and Go, Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Some Other Guy, Train Kept a Rollin', I'm a King Bee, Baby Don't You Want To Go, C.C. Rider), Out On The Tiles, Communication Breakdown (incl. Gallows Pole), The Girl Can't help It (medley: incl. Talking About You, Twenty Flight Rock), How Many More Times (medley incl. Cadillac, Blueberry Hill). Notes: The band return from England where they top the Melody Maker Poll Awards, de­ throning the Beatles after eight years. A press conference is held the day before the show, with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. Originally slated for June 27th, the band turn down an offer of $200,000 and re­ schedule the summer American tour, to appear at the Bath Festival. Two shows are scheduled: 2pm & 8pm, where Robert Plant also pays tribute to Jimi Hendrix who had just died. The evening's performance is widely considered one of their best ever.

PRESS REVIEW: LED ZEP $200,000 U.S. SELLOUT GIG Led Zeppelin finished their American tour with around 200,000 dollars worth of business at the big Madison Square Garden where they nearly filled the first concert and completely packed the second. They were the only act on the bill and so each member earned himself around 30,000 dollars (after deductions) for just under six hours work. But work it was ­ second show received such audience reaction, comparable with the Stones at their Madison date, that several long encores were done by the group. They introduced several things from die new Led Zeppelin Three album in­ cluding one number with Jimmy Page on acoustic guitar and John Paul Jones on electric mandolin. Backstage it was quiet, everybody looking forward to departing to England the following day. Paul Jones, ex­Manfred Mann, chatted to John Paul Jones. Paul Jones is in New York for the opening of his British hit play, 'Conduct Unbecoming'. Robert Plant was talking about buying a horse for his wife he has one him­ self! — Noel Redding was a backstage visitor. Lord Sutch was around, at­ tended the con cert, but apparently couldn't make it backstage. It isn't too matey right now between the Zep and his Lordship over the Sutch album. Apparently there was a misunderstanding, with the Zep thinking they were doing rock oldies with Sutch as a favour, but with Sutch adding new lyrics and different titles. [R.M., Oct. 1970 / Ian Dove] ______

PRESS REVIEW: With no fatigue showing following a gruelling six­week U.S. tour, Led Zeppelin filled the Garden for their second show. Saturday (19). With a good crowd for the first show, the group grossed over $200,000 and were the only act on the bill, unless you count disk jockey Scott Muni's minimal duties in introducing the group. The second concert finished in just under three hours, with no sign of lagging enthusiasm from either audience or group. Drummer John Bonham walked off with the top ovation with his long feature, "Out on the Tiles" but the difference in the reaction to other members of the group was marginal. The group flies off in several directions, covering the progressive and the rock world ­ "Blueberry Hill" yet, by Robert Plant. An undoubted assist is Plant's visual appeal which works on the assumption that a moving target is harder to hit. This time round, the quartet featured a quiet time with Page doing an acoustic bit and a set with just Plant and John Paul Jones on electric mandolin. (J. RADCILIFFE, SEPT. 1970)

August 19, 1971 ­ North America ­ Summer 1971 Tour Led Zeppelin embarked on their seventh North American tour, beginning in Vancouver. Record Mirror magazine ran a feature story, including a list of the group's equipment: Jimmy Page: ­ 4 4x12 Marshall Cabinets ­ 2 Hiwatt (100 watt) Cabinets w/treble boosters ­ 2 Vox echo chambers ­ 1 Echoplex ­ Sonic Wave (Theremin) ­ 2 Gibson Les Paul Guitars ­ 1 Richenbacker 12­string electric guitar ­ Ernie Ball Super Slinky Strings ­ Vox Wah Wah pedal John Paul Jones: ­ Fender Jazz Bass ­ Fender Telecaster Bass ­ 3 Acoustic cabinets ­ 2 Acoustic Amps ­ 2 Marshall (4x12) Cabinets ­ 3 SW speakers ­ 2 Marshall (100 watt) amps ­ 1 Farfisa Duo Pro organ ­ 1 Farfisa single manual organ ­ 1 145 Leslie speaker cabinet John Bonham: ­ Ludwig drums (1 14" x 10" side Tom Tom, 1 18" x 16" side Tom Tom, 2 26" x 15" bass drums, 2 14" x 6 1/" snare drums, 1 24" ride cymbal, 2 20" crash cymbal, 2 20" crash cymbals, 2 14" hi­hat cymbals Robert Plant: ­ 3000 watt JBL PA system, 8 6" x 4" cabinets, 4 long range horns, 1 Binson echo chamber, Shure Unidyne microphones. September 3, 1971 New York, NY US Madison Square Garden Setlist: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Since I've Been Loving You, Black Dog, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Celebration Day, That's the Way, Going to Califor­ nia, What Is and What Should Never Be, Moby Dick, Whole Lotta Love (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, My Baby Left Me, Mess of Blues, You Shook Me), Com­ munication Breakdown, Organ solo / Thank You, Rock and Roll.

July 28, 1973 New York, NY US Madison Square Garden Setlist: Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, (Bring It On Home intro) Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love (incl. Let That Boy Boogie), The Ocean. Notes: The gigs at MSG are filmed and recorded for the group's feature movie, The Song Remains the Same, and accompanying soundtrack album, as well as the 2003 dvd. A remastered edition of the film & soundtrack are released in November 2007. 1973 US Tour Sold Out

DRAKE HOTEL ROBBERY

July 29, 1973

At 7:30pm, road manager Richard Cole discovers their hotel safe deposit box had been robbed ­ approximately $200,000 in cash ­ as the band were just about to perform their last of three nights at Madison Square Garden. Peter Grant holds a press conference the following day, while the band re­ mained in seclusion in their 17th floor suites. Despite a thorough police inves­ tigation, the crime remains unsolved. ­­ News Report: Thieves roll rock band for $200,000 in cash NEW YORK (UPI) ­ More than $200,000 in cash was stolen from the hotel safety deposit box of the Led Zeppelin, a British rock and roll group, police said Sunday. Officers said Richard Cole, the group's tour rnanager, told them the money was in the box when he opened it about 1:20 a.m. Sunday morning, but when he checked it at 7:30 p.m., it contained only five passports. Between $203,800 and $220,000 was missing, he said. Detectives who went to the Drake Hotel on Park Avenue said there was no indi­ cation the box had been forced open, they said one key, kept by the desk clerk, was needed to remove the box from the safe and another, which Cole had, was needed to open it. The locks were removed for analysis by police technicians. The group's managers told detectives they kept the cash on hand because they have "a lot of expenses to pay." Hotel detectives declined to comment on the theft, but Michael Stiller, the assis­ tant manager, said the hotel does not keep records of the contents of its safety deposit boxes. When he was asked if the Drake knew how much money had been deposited, Stiller said, "No, we do not." Police said Cole told them the money came from the group's concerts in its cur­ rent tour of the United States. Guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones, drummer John Bonham and singer Robert Plant gave the last performance in their three­day engagement Sunday night after learning of the theft. About 85 young fans, eager to catch a glimpse of the group when they returned to the hotel, were gathered in the lobby after the concert. One of the group's managers struck a photographer and knocked a camera out of his hand.

February 7, 1975 Setlist: Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, Rain Song, Kashmir, No Quarter, Trampled Un­ derfoot, Moby Dick, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, Heartbreaker.

June 7, 1977 New York, NY US Madison Square Garden Setlist: The Song Remains The Same, (The Rover intro) Sick Again, Nobody's Fault But Mine, In My Time of Dying, Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, Ten Years Gone, Battle of Evermore, Going to California, Black Country Woman, Bron­ Y­Aur Stomp, White Summer ~ Black Mountainside, Kashmir, (Out On the Tiles intro) Moby Dick, Jimmy Page solo, Achilles Last Stand, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love ~ Rock and Roll. Notes:

Review: Some rock bands have fans, others have admirers and still others have followers. But Led Zeppelin is the last great rock band who’s minions can be considered true believers. Believing in Led Zeppelin makes its audience a unified com­ munity, which is rare in rock these days. The decline of rock as a social phenomenon and its development as big business has made the likelihood of such sentiment obsolete. Led Zeppelin is the only exception. The nearly 20,000 believers who filled Madison Square Garden light night (June 7th) for the first of six sold­out shows were part of rock’s largest fra­ ternity. A passion for Led Zeppelin is enough to establish communications, if not necessarily friendship, among a large segment of today’s teenagers. The audience displayed restraint that bordered on saintli­ ness during the one­hour delay before the concert started. No announcement or explanation was offered. But a sub­ stantial number of people did show stupidity bordering on sadism in greeting the band with an assault of fireworks that made the Garden seem like Da Nang, The explosions faded after a few songs when singer Robert Plant exerted his moral authority by requesting that those offenders “cool the firecrackers – no more of those exploding things.” After that, most of the explosions were from the stage, where Led Zeppelin proved that it was worthy of the ado­ ration bestowed upon it. The 8­year old band virtually in­ vented what has become known as heavy­metal rock, an English combination of blues structures and ear­splitting volume. But the band has grown with the times. Rather than relying on its earlier style of rock­to­break­your­ kneecaps­with once represented by songs like Whole Lotta Love, Led Zeppelin performed a nearly three­hour set notable for its variety, sophistication and depth. Each member of this quartet added something special to the band’s sound. Singer Robert Plant, a tall, muscular, golden­haired man whose unbutton shirt proudly revealed the best developed pectoral muscles in rock, sand with his usually effective rasp. He maintained pitch and melody well and exuded by a gregariousness and intensity. Lead guitarist Jimmy Page is one of rock’s legends. His play­ ing was busy, wiry, sometimes scattershot. On In My Time of Dying, he continually shifted the emphasis of the dynam­ ics until he built to an attention­riveting, machine gun­like finish. No Quarter was the vehicle for versatile John Paul Jones. On that tune, he performed on keyboards, alternating between spacey abstraction and kinetic surges of energy. His per­ formance blended the styles of Keith Jarrett, Huey Smith, Beethoven, and B. Bumble and the Stingers. Drummer John Bonham, meanwhile, played with deceptive subtlety. His cannonball approach made use of empty space on In My Time of Dying, that propelled the other musicians without overpowering them. So while many in the audience enjoyed the show simply because being there conferred status on the high school ladder, Zeppelin pleased its older fans by playing with both complexity and poignance. (D. Marsh, Newsday­ June 1977) On their 1977 tour they played six sold­out dates in June at MSG, it was meant to be only four nights, but the demand was so great that they had to add other two nights.

1976, Led Zeppelin's film 'The Song Re­ mains The Same', premiered in New York City. The charity night raised $25,000 for the save the children fund. 98 St. Marks Place the cover of Led Zeppelin’s 1975 album “Physical Graffiti.”

The buildings’ stony expressions look out over this last leg of St. Marks Place going east, between First Avenue and Avenue A. At first glance these two buildings look like standard East Village stock, but, eyes wide­open, the facades of 96 and 98 St. Marks Place have witnessed musical history taking place on their very stoops.

They are the iconic buildings featured on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s 1975 album Physical Graffiti, and also in the 1981 Rolling Stones music video, “Waiting on a Friend.”

Bobby Pinn, the creator and host of Rock Junket walking tours, “In the 70’s, Led Zeppelin were big fans of New York City. They partied here a lot and they played the Garden quite a bit, so they really had a close tie to New York. The cover was designed by Peter Corriston, a graphic design artist from New York. Peter said that he was looking for a building with a lot of character, which this building has with all the kings’ faces and it has that tenement­ style feel with the fire escapes. He wanted a building that had symmetry and a lot of windows.”

Mr. Pinn went on to talk about the set of choice for the Rolling Stones. “Peter Corriston also did the design for ‘Tattoo You’ and ‘Some Girls’ so he’s tied in with the artwork for all these covers, but I think it’s unusual and re­ markable at the same time that two of England’s biggest bands would both be associated with one building on St. Marks Place.”

Details of the buildings. One now houses a store called Physical Graffiti.Emile Bellucci, superintendent of 114 St. Marks Place, remembers seeing Mick Jagger the day “Waiting on a Friend” was shot. “Me and my friend, we were going somewhere and we just happened to wonder what they were doing and found out they were shooting a video. I looked and there he was sitting on that stoop. I could’ve gotten his autograph but didn’t think about that. I was a Beatles fan at the time.”

Most of the buildings on the block with the exception of 96 and 98 have received face lifts. There are now two businesses on the basement level of 96, one of which is a vintage clothing shop called Physical Graffiti, but besides some new paint and gates, Mr. Pinn said the structures have stayed the same.

However, James Bedford, superintendent of 110 St. Marks Place, has noticed other changes. “You got a lot of young people staying in the building now. Not a lot of old people.” And naturally, both Mr. Bedford and Mr. Bellucci note the differences in rent.

The buildings at 96 and 98 St. Marks Place are neighborhood icons and represent one of the most important aspects of the East Village – its musical history. Jimmy Webb, the buyer for vin­ tage clothes stores Trash and Vaudeville, and himself an East Village rock ‘n’ roll icon, said he gets asked all the time about the location of the “Physical Graffiti” buildings. Strolling down memory lane and referring to the Rolling Stones music video, he said, “What an appropriate place for whatever that song is about. That was the perfect corner to be waiting for a friend.” MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

The first Madison Square Garden was located in Manhattan at 26th street and Madison Avenue. This building was previously a passen­ ger depot for the New York and Boston Rail Road until the year 1871. It was then sold to the notorious American showman Phineas Taylor Barnum, who converted it into the Hippodrome for various circuses. In 1876, the Hippodrome became Gilmore’s Garden, which was named for Irish composer Patrick Gilmore. This name change led to a new wave of featured entertainment at The Garden, which included various sporting events such as marathon races, and boxing exhibitions (because competitive matches were illegal at this time), as well as the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which is still presented on an annual basis at the current Madison Square Garden. In the year 1879, William Kissam Vanderbilt, a member of the famous American Vanderbilt family, renamed this building to Madison Square Garden. The name has stuck ever since.

The current Madison Square Garden, or The New Garden, is located be­ tween 31st and 33rd Streets and 8th Avenue directly above Pennsylvania Sta­ tion. It opened on February 11th, 1968, after the ground level railway portions of Pennsylvania Station were torn down. Ironically, both the old and new Madison Square Gardens were built on previous railroad related complexes. The new Garden was one of the first entertainment complexes to be built above a fully functioning railroad station. The new Garden has hosted, and continues to host some of the world’s greatest entertainment events and per­ formers such as Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, Elton John, and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The Garden is also the home arena for the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers, and the National Basketball Association’s New York Knicks.

At a total construction cost of approximately $1.1 billion, Madison Square Garden has been ranked as one of the ten most expensive stadium venues ever built. MSG is also known for its place in the history of boxing. Many of boxing's biggest fights were held at Madison Square Garden, including the Roberto Durán­Ken Buchanan affair, and the first Joe Frazier – Muhammad Ali bout. Before promoters such as Don King and Bob Arum moved boxing to Las Vegas, Nevada Madison Square Garden was considered the mecca of boxing.

Many large music concerts in New York City take place in Madison Square Garden. Particularly famous ones include George Harrison's The Concert for Bangladesh, The Con­ cert for New York City following the September 11 attacks, John Lennon's final concert appearance (during an Elton John concert on Thanksgiving Night, 1974) before his mur­ der in 1980, and Elvis Presley who gave four sold out per­ formances in 1972. Presley's first ever concerts in New York City. A 1971 rock­and­roll revival concert at the Garden, featuring Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Ricky Nelson, dur­ ing which Nelson was reportedly booed when he played newer material, is thought to have been the inspiration for his 1972 hit single "Garden Party". The Garden usually hosts a concert each New Year's Eve, while the Knicks and Rangers play on the road. The Police played their final show of their reunion tour at the Garden in 2008. Elton John holds the all­ time record for greatest number of appearances at the Garden with 62 shows (the 60th occurring on his 60th birthday, March 25, 2007), and Billy Joel set a record in 2006 during his 12 performance run, the longest run of a single artist at the venue. In a 2009 interview, the two piano men spoke about their affinity for playing concerts at the Garden. "Madison Square Garden is my favorite venue in the whole world," said Elton John. "I chose to have my 60th birthday concert there, because of all the incredible memories I've had play­ ing the venue." "Madison Square Garden is the center of the universe as far as I'm concerned. It has the best acoustics, the best audiences, the best rep­ utation, and the best history of great artists who have played there", said Billy Joel. "It is the iconic, holy temple of Rock and Roll for most touring acts and, being a New Yorker, it holds a special significance to me. I'm hon­ ored to hold the record for Most Consecutive Nights Ever Sold at this world famous venue."

Madison Square Garden in January 2009, as the New York Knicks play an NBA season game against the Houston Rockets.Rain became the first Ko­ rean and Asian ever on February 4, 2006 to perform at the Madison Square Garden. The tickets were sold out within a matter of days. He held his sold­out concert, Rainy Day New York from February 4­5. Rainy Day New York was marketed and promoted by the Asian concert production company Rain­ stone Live. Celebrities such as P­Diddy and JoJo also attend his concert.

The Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special was a 2001 New York City revue show by the American superstar. It took place on September 7 and 10, 2001. CBS television network later aired excerpts from the concerts as a two­ hour special in honor of Michael Jackson's thirtieth year as a solo entertainer. The shows sold out in five hours. Ticket prices were pop's most expensive ever; the best seats cost $5,000 and included a dinner with Michael Jackson and a signed poster. Jackson reportedly earned $7.5 million for each of the two concerts, which is over $150,000 per minute.

1974: John Lennon's Last Concert Performance at Madison Square Garden with Elton John. His first in years.

They performed 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,' 'I saw Her Standing There,' and 'Whatever Gets You Through the Night.'

The first song was a hit for John and the Beatles and then for Elton John as a cover. The second was a Beatles' "Paul song," and it was John making peace with his friend, rival, and frenemy. The third: It was to settle a bet.

John Lennon experienced self­doubt and watched the pop charts with dread and jealousy. It had been a few years since he had a #1.

In addition, he had spent a few years apart from Yoko, and he was pretty much spinning out of control. Whatever you say about her bad impact on her performing with him and other musicians performing with John, she was his guardrail for sobriety.

Elton John and John Lennon collaborated on Elton's cover of John's 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.' Elton returned the favor by singing the high notes on Whatever Gets You Through the Night's chorus.

Lennon worried that this, too, was not going to hit #1. Elton bet him it would hit #1. If the song went to #1, then Lennon would have to perform with Elton. Lennon hadn't performed in years. The song went to #1 and the rest is history. EAST VILLAGE

The East Village was once generally considered to be part of the Lower East Side, but began to develop its own identity and culture in the late 1960s, when many artists, musicians, students and hippies began to move into the area, attracted by cheap rents and the base of Beatniks who had lived there since the 1950s. The neighborhood has become a center of the counterculture in New York, and is known as the birthplace and historical home of many artistic movements, including punk rock.

The area was dubbed the "East Village", to dissociate it from the image of slums evoked by the Lower East Side. According to The New York Times, a 1964 guide called Earl Wilson's New York wrote that "artists, poets and pro­ moters of coffeehouses from Greenwich Village are trying to remelt the neighborhood under the high­sounding name of 'East Village.”

Newcomers and real estate brokers popularized the new name, and the term was adopted by the popular media by the mid­1960s. In 1966 a weekly newspaper, The East Village Other, appeared and The New York Times declared that the neighborhood "had come to be known" as the East Village in the June 5, 1967 edition.

In 1966 Andy Warhol promoted a series of multimedia shows, entitled "The Exploding Plastic Inevitable", and featuring the music of the Velvet Underground, in a Polish ballroom on St. Marks Place. On June 27, 1967, the Electric Circus opened in the same space with a benefit for the Children's Recreation Foundation whose chairman was Bobby Kennedy. The Grateful Dead, The Chambers Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone and the Allman Brothers were among the many rock bands that performed there before it closed in 1971.

On March 8, 1968 Bill Graham opened the Fillmore East in what had been a Yiddish Theatre on Second Avenue at East 6th Street in the Yiddish Theater District. The venue quickly became known as "The Church of Rock and Roll", with two­show concerts several nights a week. While booking many of the same bands that had played the Electric Circus, Graham particularly used the venue—and its West Coast counterpart—to establish in the US British bands such as The Who, Pink Floyd, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream and Led Zeppelin. The Fillmore East also closed in 1971.

CBGB, the nightclub considered by some to be the birthplace of punk music, was located in the neighborhood, as was the early punk standby A7. No Wave and New York hardcore also emerged in the area's clubs. Among the many important bands and singers who got their start at these clubs and other venues in downtown Man­ hattan were Patti Smith, Arto Lindsay, the Ramones, Blondie, Madonna, Talking Heads, Television, the Plasmatics, Glenn Danzig, Sonic Youth, the Beastie Boys, Anthrax, and The Strokes.

Some icons of the punk scene remained in the neighborhood as it changed. Richard Hell lives in the same apartment he has lived in since the 1970s, and Handsome Dick Manitoba of The Dictators owns Manitoba's bar on Avenue B.

Decline

The East Village's performance and art scene has declined since its height in the 1970s and 1980s. One club that tried to resurrect the neighborhood's past artistic prominence was Mo Pitkins' House of Satisfaction, part­owned by Jimmy Fallon of Saturday Night Live. The venue's past performers include figures such as Murray Hill, Rob Corddry, Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Moby, and Debbie Harry. It closed its doors in 2007. A study done by Ford­ ham University notes the decline of the East Village performance and art scene, and how "the young, liberal culture that once found its place on the Manhattan side of the East River" has shifted in part to new neighborhoods like Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Rapture Cafe also shut down in April 2008, and the neighborhood lost an important performance space and gathering ground for the gay community. There are still some performance spaces, such as Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A, where downtown acts find space to exhibit their talent, and the poetry clubs Bowery Poetry Club and Nuyorican Poets Café.

NEIGHBORHOODS

Alphabet City Alphabet City comprises nearly two­thirds of the East Village, and was once the archetype of a dangerous New York City neighborhood. Its turn­around was cause for The New York Times to observe in 2005 that Alphabet City went "from a drug­infested no man's land to the epicenter of downtown cool." Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single­letter names. It is bordered by Houston Street to the south and 14th Street to the north. Some landmarks with Alphabet City include Tompkins Square Park and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

Loisaida Loisaida is a term derived from the Latino, and especially Nuyorican, pronunciation of "Lower East Side". The term was originally coined by poet/activist, Bittman "Bimbo" Rivas in his 1974 poem "Loisaida". Loisaida Avenue is now an alternative name for Avenue C in the Alphabet City neighborhood of New York City, whose population has largely been Hispanic (mainly Nuyorican) since the late 1960s. During the 1980s many of the old, vacant, ten­ ement buildings in this area became inhabited by squatters.

St. Marks Place Eighth Street becomes St. Marks Place east of Third Avenue. It once had the cachet of Sut­ ton Place, and was known as a secluded rich enclave in Manhattan, but by the 1850s had become a place for boarding houses and a German immigrant community.[41] It is named after St. Mark's Church in­the­Bowery, which was built on Stuyvesant Street but is now on 10th Street. St. Marks Place once began at the intersection of the Bowery and Stuyvesant Street, but today the street runs from Third Avenue to Avenue A. Japanese street culture and a Japanese expatriate scene forms in the noodle shops and bars that line the street, also home to an aged punk culture and CBGB's new store. It is home to one of the only Automats in New York City (it has since closed). St. Marks Place is along the "Mosaic Trail", a trail of 80 mosaic­encrusted lampposts that runs from Broadway down Eighth Street to Avenue A, to Fourth Street and then back to Eighth Street. The project was undertaken by East Village public artist Jim Power, known New York Dolls pose for the as the "Mosaic Man". back of their 1973 first LP.

The Bowery The Bowery – former home to the punk­rock nightclub CBGB, which closed in 2006 – was once known for its many homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation centers and bars. The phrase "On The Bowery", which has since fallen into disuse, was a generic way to say one was down­and­out. The Bow’ry, The Bow’ry! They say such things, and they do strange things on the Bow’ry —From the musical A Trip to Chinatown, 1891

Today, the Bowery has become a boulevard of new luxury condominiums, and is the location of the Bowery Poetry Club, contributing to the neighborhood's reputation as a place for artistic pursuit. Artists Amiri Baraka and Taylor Mead hold regular readings and performances in the space. The redevelopment of the avenue from flophouses to luxury condominiums has met with resistance from long­ term residents, who agree the neighborhood has improved, but that its unique, gritty character is also disappear­ ing. RAMONES

The Ramones are the first punk rock band. Other bands, such as the Stooges and the New York Dolls, came before them and set the stage and aesthetic for punk, and bands that immediately followed, such as the Sex Pistols, made the latent violence of the music more explicit, but The Ramones crystallized the musical ideals of the genre. By cutting rock & roll down to its bare essentials ­­ four chords; a simple, catchy melody; and irresistibly inane lyrics ­­ and speed­ ing up the tempo considerably, The Ramones created something that was rooted in early '60s, pre­Beatles rock & roll and pop but sounded revolutionary. Since their breakthrough was theoretical as well as musical, they comfortably became the leaders of the emerging New York punk rock scene. While their peers such as Patti Smith, Television, Talking Heads, and Richard Hell all were more intellectual and self­consciously artistic than The Ramones, they nevertheless appealed to the same mentality because of the way they turned rock conventions inside out and celebrated kitschy pop culture with stylized stupidity. The band's first four albums set the blueprint for punk, especially American punk and hardcore, for the next two decades. And The Ramones themselves were major figures for the next two decades, playing essentially the same music without changing their style much at all. Although some punk diehards ­­ including several of their peers ­­ would have claimed the band's long career wound up undercutting the ideals the band originally stood for, The Ramones al­ ways celebrated not just the punk aesthetic, but the music itself.

Based in the Forest Hills section of Queens, NY, The Ramones formed in 1974. Originally, the band was a trio consisting of Joey Ramone (vocals, drums; born Jeffrey Hyman, May 19, 1951), Johnny Ramone (guitar; born John Cummings, Oct. 8, 1951), and Dee Dee Ramone (bass; born Douglas Colvin, Sept. 18, 1951), with Tommy Ramone (born Tom Erdelyi, Jan. 29, 1952) acting as the group's manager. All of the group's members adopted the last name "Ramone" and dressed in torn blue jeans and leather jackets, in homage to '50s greaser rockers. The group played their first concert on March 30, 1974, at New York's Perform­ ance Studio. Two months after the show, Joey switched to vocals and Tommy became the band's drummer. By the end of the summer, The Ramones earned a residency at CBGB's. For the next year, they played regularly at the nightclub, earning a dedicated cult following and inspiring several other artists to form bands with similar ideals. All of The Ramones sets clocked in at about 20 min­ utes, featuring an unrelenting barrage of short, barely two­minute songs. By the end of 1975, The Ramones secured a recording contract with Sire; discount­ ing Patti Smith, they were the first New York punk band to sign a contract.

Early in 1976, The Ramones recorded their debut album for just over 6,000 dollars. The resulting album, Ramones, was released in the spring, gained some critical attention, and managed to climb to 111 on the U.S. album charts. On July 4, the band made their debut appearance in Britain, where their records were becoming a big influence on a new generation of bands. Throughout 1976, The Ramones toured constantly, inaugurating nearly 20 years of relentless touring. By the end of the year, the group released their second album, Ramones Leave Home. While the album just scraped the U.S. charts, Leave Home became a genuine hit in England in the spring of 1977, peaking at number 48. By the summer of 1977, the Sex Pistols and The Ramones were seen as the two key bands in the punk rock revolution, but where the Pistols imploded, The Ramones kept on rolling. Following the U.K. Top 40 hit "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," The Ramones released their third album, Rocket to Russia, in the fall of 1977.

Tommy Ramone left the band in the spring of 1977, although he produced the group's subsequent album. He was replaced by former Voidoid Marc Bee, who immediately changed his name to Marky Ramone. With their new drummer in place, The Ramones recorded their fourth album, Road to Ruin, which was released in the fall. Road to Ruin marked the band's first significant attempt to change their sound; not only were there stronger bubblegum, girl group, surf, and '60s pop influences on the music, it was the first of their albums to run over a half hour. Al­ though their sound was more accessible, it didn't gain the band a noticeably larger following. Neither did Rock N' Roll High School, the 1979 Roger Corman film in which The Ramones had a pivotal part. The soundtrack to Rock N' Roll High School and the U.K.­only live album It's Alive were the band's only releases of 1979. For most of the year, they were in the studio recording their fifth album with legendary '60s pop producer Phil Spector. The title song to the Corman movie was the first track released from the sessions, although the soundtrack album did feature a number of older Ramones songs remixed by Spector. End of the Century, the Spector­produced Ramones album, finally appeared in January of 1980 to mixed reviews. Despite the lukewarm reception to the album, the record's cover of the Ronettes' "Baby I Love You" became their only Top Ten British hit; in America, none of the singles made an impact, although the record became their biggest hit, peaking at number 44.

The Ramones continued their attempts at crossover success with their sixth album, Pleasant Dreams, which was released in 1981. Featuring a production by former Hollies and 10cc member Graham Gouldman, the record was a commercial disappointment in both America and England. The band was relatively quiet during 1982, spending most of their time touring. In the spring of 1983, the band returned with Subterranean Jungle, which was produced by Ritchie Cordell and Glen Koltkin, the heads of the American indie label Beserkley Records. Not only did Sub­ terranean Jungle fail to gain the band the larger audience they desired, it continued the erosion of the band's diehard fan base, as well as their decline in the eyes of many rock critics. Following the album's release, Marky Ra­ mone left the band; he was replaced by Richard Beau, a former member of the Velveteens, who changed his name to Richie Ramone.

With 1984's Too Tough to Die, The Ramones delivered a be­ lated response to America's burgeoning hardcore punk scene that was largely produced by Tommy Erdelyi. The album helped restore their artistic reputation, as did the 1985 single, "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg," an attack on President Ronald Reagan's 1985 visit to Germany. Instead of continu­ ing with the sound of Too Tough to Die, The Ramones began pursuing a more streamlined, stylized, and conven­ tional take on their songwriting formula with 1986's Animal Boy. This was a direction the group followed for the remain­ ing ten years of their career. Following the release of 1987's Halfway to Sanity, Richie Ramone left the band and Marky Ramone re­joined the group. In 1988, the career retrospec­ tive Ramones Mania appeared. In 1989, The Ramones contributed the theme song to the Stephen King movie Pet Semetary, and the track was included on Brain Drain, which was released in the summer of that year. After its re­ lease, the group's bassist, Dee Dee Ramone, left the band to pursue a career as a rapper called Dee Dee King; after his debut rap recording failed miserably, he formed the band Chinese Dragons. Dee Dee was replaced by C.J. Ra­ mone (born Christopher John Ward).

In the early '90s, The Ramones sobered up, with both Joey and Marky undergoing treatment for alcoholism. The band returned to recording in 1992, first releasing the live Loco Live and then Mondo Bizarro, their first studio album in three years. Mondo Bizarro turned out to be a commercial failure, as did their 1994 covers album, Acid Eaters.

Following the release of Acid Eaters, the mainstream guitar rock audience in America finally embraced punk rock, in the form of young bands like Green Day and the Offspring. Sensing that the climate may have been right for the crossover success they had desired for so many years, The Ramones immediately followed Acid Eaters with Adios Amigos, claiming that unless the new album sold in substantial numbers, the band would call it quits after a final farewell tour. Adios Amigos only spent two weeks in the charts. Nevertheless, The Ramones embarked on a long farewell tour that ran throughout the rest of 1995. The band was set to split in the beginning of 1996 when they were offered a slot on the sixth Lollapalooza, and they toured with the festival that summer. Following the com­ pletion of the tour, The Ramones parted ways, 20 years after the release of their first album. Just a few years later, Joey Ramone passed away on April 15, 2001, at age 49, the victim of lymphoma. Little more than a year after Joey's death, Dee Dee Ramone was found dead in his home in Los Angeles on June 5, 2002. Johnny Ramone passed away two years later on September 15, 2004 after a long battle with cancer.

Becoming Johnny Ramone: Sobriety, glitter, and hard­core Republicanism—the life of the unlikeliest punk (1948–2004) By Johnny Ramone

For all my success with the Ramones, I carried around fury and intensity during my career. I had an image, and that image was anger. I was the one who was always scowling, downcast. I tried to make sure I looked like that when I was getting my picture taken.

When I was younger, I was ready to go off at any time. My wife, Linda, and I would go out to the Limelight in New York, and I would see people and be able to freeze them with a look. People were even too scared of me to tell me that people were scared of me.

I never felt out of control. It was just the way I lived my life. I was the neighborhood bully. I even beat up Joey, our singer, one time, before we were in the band. He was late to meet me—so I punched him. I was 21; he was 19. We were meeting up to go to a movie. There was no excuse for being late.

Tommy, Dee Dee, and I would go out to the clubs, which is really how the band got started. We were all friends. We had the same musical tastes, and we liked to get dressed up. Those were in the glitter days.

We lived in Forest Hills, and my parents were working class all the way. My father was from Brooklyn, he had three brothers, and they were all tough guys. They’d sit around our kitchen table and drink and talk about things like construction work and baseball. So, with all that macho stuff, they weren’t all that happy when I started to get really into music.

Tommy, Dee Dee, and I would go hang out at this place on Bleecker Street called Nobody’s. One night, the New York Dolls were hanging out there. They were already a band, but I hadn’t seen them yet. I pointed to Johnny Thunders and told Tommy that he looked cool. Tommy said that the band was terrible. But I knew, looking at him, that there was something there. To me, it’s always been about the look.

Tommy really wanted us to form a band, and he would be manager, and it would be this primitive thing. I’d say, “Oh that’s ridiculous, I want to be normal.” But he kept bugging me, and finally it turned into “Oh, now I have to actually do it?”

I wasn’t a rock star, but I liked to dress well. I was six feet tall and weighed about 150 pounds, so I could wear a lot of things. I didn’t spend a lot of money on clothes, but would always find stuff I thought was cool. I would get my clothes made at Granny Takes a Trip. I would have them make me velvet suits; I wore snakeskin shoes, chiffon shirts. I was working a construction job, and my life was putting on my jean jacket and going to work with all these union tough guys, then going home, changing into whatever clothes I was into at the time and driving into the city to see a show. I went through phases. In high school, I always looked toward Brian Jones to see what he was wearing and then tried to find the closest thing. I thought he was one of the best dressers in rock and roll. Cor­ duroy pants and corduroy shoes and striped shirts and striped T­ shirts. There was a two­year period where I would wear jean jackets with no shirt, jeans, a tie­dyed headband, and a tie­dyed scarf around my waist. I always wanted to be the best­dressed person anywhere I went. We were a three­piece, and it was bad. Dee Dee still couldn’t sing and play at the same time. As Dee Dee and I were getting better on our instruments, Joey kept getting worse. Tommy said we needed more rehearsing, but I realized that Joey just wasn’t right. I said, “Tommy, we need to get rid of Joey. He can’t play drums.” But Tommy said, “No, he can be the singer.” I wanted a good­looking guy to be the singer. But Tommy said, “No, it will be like Alice Cooper. It’ll be good.”

At that point, we were still dressed in partial glitter. I had these silver­lamé pants made of Mylar, and these black spandex pants I’d wear, too. I was the only one with a real Perfecto leather jacket—what the Ramones would later be identified with—which I had been wearing for seven years already. I also had this vest with leopard trim that I had custom made We were still evolving into the image we became known for, but it was trial and error at first. I’d give Tommy a lot of the credit for our look. He explained to me that Middle America wasn’t going to look good in glitter. Glitter is fine if you’re the perfect size for clothes like that. But if you’re even five pounds overweight, it looks ridiculous, so it wouldn’t be something everyone could relate to.

It was a slow process, over a period of six months or so, but we got the uniform defined. We figured out that it would be jeans, T­shirts, leather jackets, and the tennis shoes, Keds. We wanted every kid to be able to identify with our image.

Some bands blow it before they even play. The most important moment of any show is when a band walks out with the red amp lights glowing, the flashlight that shows each performer the way to his spot on the stage. It’s cru­ cial not to blow it. It sets the tempo of the show; it affects everyone’s perception of the band.

Now all the mental notes I had been taking over the years came into play. No tuning up onstage. Synchronized walk to the front of the stage and back again. Joey standing up straight, glued to the mike stand—for the whole set. Keeping it really symmetrical. It was a requirement we adopted, a regimen that started immediately when we’d hit the stage, to make sure you immediately go into the song and not lose that excitement before you even start.

I’ve always thought you’re better off playing shorter. Ramones songs were basically structured the same as regular songs, but played fast, so they became short. When I saw the Beatles at Shea Stadium, they played a half­hour show. I figured that if the Beatles played a half­hour at Shea Stadium, the Ramones should only do about fifteen minutes. You get in your best material, and leave them wanting more. I don’t think anyone should play for more than an hour.

I mostly went to our shows alone. I’d go out to CBGB and I’d think, “I’m surrounded by a bunch of assholes.” People thought I was unfriendly, but I wasn’t. I just didn’t like the people I was around. I didn’t have anything in common with them. We were working; CBGB was where I worked. When I was a construction worker, I didn’t hang out with those guys after work either.

Rock and roll is an unhealthy lifestyle. You have too much freedom, and there is a lot of pressure to produce. People who don’t know how to handle the situation take drugs. I didn’t. I went back to my room with milk and cookies. The fans lined up outside the nearest 7­11 in any city we played, knowing that the Ramones van was going to head over there right after the show. I wanted to get back to my room and watch SportsCenter on ESPN. When we started, I believed that if you were good in this business, you would suc­ ceed. But it doesn’t work that way. We wanted to save rock and roll. I thought we were going to become the biggest band in the world. I thought the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash were all going to become the major groups, like the Bea­ tles and the Rolling Stones, and it would be a better world. It would be all punk rock, and it would be great. There was a big hype about punk rock taking off, but it didn’t happen. In England, they promoted punk rock, and everybody had some hits. Promotion was what it took, and that never happened in the United States. We turned to Phil Spector as a last resort to get played on the radio. Spector had been after us for a while: “Hey, you want to make a great album?” Right from the start, he was abusive to every body around him except us. He was also painfully slow. This was not how I was used to working. I didn’t want to be living in a hotel for two months doing a record.

Spector would make us think we were going to change studios every day, so we never knew where we were going in advance. At the end of each session he’d say, “I’m not sure what studio I want to use, so call me tomorrow and I’ll let you know.” But we never moved. We’d be at the same place every day, Gold Star Studios. We’d call and he’d say, “Okay, we’ll be at Gold Star.” Yeah, that’s what we thought, since that’s where our equipment was set up, but for some reason he always wanted us to think we might move. He was crazy. He’d scream at the engineer. He never ate and never slept. We suspected he was doing cocaine. One day, our soundman came by, and Phil started in, “Who the fuck are you? Why are you here?”; the same thing over and over, for half an hour. We said, “Phil, this is our soundman.” But he wouldn’t stop. “Who do you think you are anyway? You’re nobody.” It was awful how badly he could treat people.

After a couple of days, I reached the breaking point. He had me play the opening chord to “Rock ’n’ Roll High School” over and over. This went on for three or four hours. He’d listen back to it, then ask me to play the same chord again. Stomping his feet and screaming, “Shit, piss, fuck! Shit, piss, fuck!” I couldn’t take it anymore. So I just said, “I’m leaving,” and Phil said, “You’re not going anywhere.” I said, “What are you gonna do, Phil, shoot me?” Here’s this little guy with lifts in his shoes, a wig on his head, two bodyguards, and four guns—two in his boots and one on each side of his chest. After he shot that girl, I thought, “I’m surprised that he didn’t shoot some­ one every year.”

The album End of the Century turned out to be good, but we didn’t have a hit. It charted in England, No. 8 or something, but who cares about England? We were American.

I've always been a Republican, since the 1960 election with Nixon against Kennedy. At that point, I was basically just sick of people sitting there going, “Oh, I like this guy. He’s so good­looking.” I’m thinking, “This is sick. They all like Kennedy because he’s good­looking?” And I started rooting for Nixon just because people thought he wasn’t good­looking. And then by the time Goldwater ran and he starts talking about bombing Vietnam, I said, “This sounds right to me.” I was in favor of bombing the enemy into oblivion. Same as any war: If you want to be in it, win it. I didn’t understand why we didn’t just bomb the place out of existence.

At the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, when I made my acceptance speech I said: “God bless President Bush, and God bless America.” That sure set them off. This wasn’t long after September 11—I was always so gung ho American, I felt that was a real attack on me.

One of the things I am most proud of that we did was a benefit at CBGB for the New York Police Department so they could get bulletproof vests. This was when New York wasn’t safe at all, before Giuliani fixed it up. We even had protesters outside the club, those commies.

The most unlikely place I was ever recognized was on the trading floor of the Stock Exchange. I walked down there and everybody knew who I was. They were handing me phones and asking me to say hello to their friends. I talked to everybody. That was in the nineties. I thought, “All these Ramones fans work on Wall Street?” The band trusted me to get them as much money as I could, and we did fine. They never said a word to me about it or questioned me. I would say, “Money is our friend. It doesn’t do anything to you. It is good.” I used to say that all the time.

We made money over the long run while we were still together. I think that when we really got going, we paid ourselves a $150­a­week salary. When we came back from a tour, we each would get another $1,000. And then we started getting merchandise money, which was more than our regular salary. I was trying to watch the money. I figured if I could save a million dollars, I could retire. We weren’t getting rich, any of us.

Anheuser­Busch approached us in 1994 and bought a song for a commercial. I thought it was terrific. I liked seeing the commercial, and people would ask me how I felt about it, and I would tell them it was the easiest money I ever made. I never looked at it as anything bad. Sometimes something like that can be lame, but for beer, which is very American, it’s good.

I made more money after we stopped than I ever did while the Ramones were active. We made a lot of money from merchandising, and the records sold better than ever. Maybe everyone really does love you when you’re dead.

JOEY RAMONE

Jeff Hyman was born in 1951, which would make him about 23 when he changed his name to Joey Ramone. They all transformed their names, Douglas to Dee Dee, John to Johnny, Tommy to Tommy. They became a cartoon family, piling 18 songs into the half­hour sitcom that was their early set. Only they had the last laugh. Every Ra­ mones show kept you wanting more, which is the great drug of rock and roll. The sets stayed short even as their set lists grew lengthier. They just played faster. Louder. Like everyone else who followed them.

The Ramones were the great port of entry into the punk­rock kingdom. But unlike their brethren (and sistren; Joey, especially, had a feminine lilt to his voice), they were not merely about endurance and speed. Joey loved the romantic sing­alongs of the Brill Building; in another decade, he might have been Paul Simon, or even Shadow Morton. But he'd also heard the surfer birdsongs of the Beach Boys, the top­of­the­mops English Invasion, the trailer­park nihilism of the Stooges, the teen drive of the Bay City Rollers, the English glam of Gary Glitter and the Sweet. He styled his hair into the pageboy of the Hullabaloos' crowning glory. The Ramones wanted to write hit singles, and they did.

Oh, you couldn't hear them on Top 40, but that was their alternative cross to bear. Instead, the Ramones imagined their own stations of the cross, invoking a golden age of "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio" ("Let's go!"), sit­ uated in a "Rock 'n' Roll High School" with the Phil Spector production to prove it. The topics might have been a little bizarro, but gabba hey, truth is truth: "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" and "Carbona Not Glue." That's all you need to know.

Listen to any of their songs three times and it would own you. Last December at the Continental, in what proved Joey's final appearance (though you wouldn't have guessed it at the time, so strong and confident did he seem), hosting one of his annual Christmas extravaganzas with the local bands he championed—the Independents, the Misfits, his sibling Mickey Leigh of the Rattlers—he poured forth Ra­ mones tune after Ramones tune. To hear how immediate they were, how much a part of cultural occurrency they'd become—"I Wanna Be Sedated" in a Tokyo clothing store, "I Wanna Be Sedated" spit out by a band in Barcelona, "I Wanna Be Sedated" at three ayem in Anydisco, Anywhere, "I Wanna Be Sedated" in some random jam and having five musicians play along whether they know the song or not—had me doing the Blitzkrieg Bop, as I've been doing for lo these many years, punching my fist in the air at each O­word and singing along, because the words have the memorizing mesmerize of universal rhyme, and it's great to feel the wind from the amplifiers. The Ramones kept their song on the road for more than 20 years, a remarkable achievement for any dysfunctional family, surviving world tours, new members—Joey was the last of the original Ramones, though each raw­boned recruit seemed cut in the image of the Ramonic ideal, blunt force wearing a sleeved heart—countless imitators and clichés. The Ramones stuck doggedly to their formula one, watching it become prototype. Joey was the front­ man, and, ultimately, the band's biggest fan.

And a forever fan of New York rock and roll. One of the most supportive members of the local musicians' commu­ nity, he loved to visit the nightclubs of his home turf, his lanky head bobbing over the crowd, out on the town with his friends. He would cheer the band on. Get up and do a tune. "Beat on the Brat"? One­too­t'ree­faw!

Everyone loved Joey. Especially Ronnie Spector. At a Christmas show at Life in 1999, she and Joey hosted a revue that included cretin­hopper Keith Richards. Joining in on "Bye Bye Baby," she became Cher to Joey's Sonny. He coproduced an EP for her, and for one who grew up in the echo chamber of the Brill Building, it must have been as fulfilling a circle as a spinning 45. He had also completed a solo album, working with producers Daniel Rey and Andy Shernoff, and though he had his "good days and his bad days," was an inspirational fount of future plans.

Yeah baby! We're watching ? and the Mysterians at Coney Island High that same year, another sun­glassed spectre with a gift for the simplistic epigram. Joey's birthday party had just been held there, a peer grouping that brought together several generations of New York scenesters. At Coney Island's "class reunion" last Friday night at Don Hill's, Joey's name hung in the Good Friday air. By Sunday the rock had rolled away.

I take a walk into Joey's Lower East Side on Sunday night, after the rain. Downstairs in a basement club on Avenue A, we put Ramones songs on the jukebox. We dance into the dawn, the end of the century now.

Danny Fields: I was the manager of the Ramones from 1975­1980, and I've gotta tell all of you that this guy was as great as you all are saying, and greater in ways that you cannot know unless you knew him. He was the sweetest, most agreeable, smartest and funniest performer I was ever close to, and whatever you hear about "friction" within the band, it was never about Joey. With those very tough guys, Joey was the savior and the virgin, all in one; they beat each other up all the time, but no one would ever touch Joey, because he was loved so much, and they had known him so long. He was the neighborhood "geek," you know, and didn't sit at the best tables in Junior High and HS, not even the better ones; he was isolated because he was so tall and so "weird." Well, kids, we've never heard of all the people who didn't want him at their tables, but we're crying for Joey. That's what his life was about, beyond the great songs and the great band and the great singing, it was about becoming a star for the right reasons, when you have been excluded for the wrong ones, and that could have done you in right then and there...but it didn't. Rest in peace, beautiful Joey.

Captain Sensible: "The loss of Joey Ramone truly proves that God doesn't exist. Who would take Joey in­ stead of Phil Collins ..." "If anyone is looking for some­ one to 'blame' for punk music his would have been the first door to knock on."

Joe Strummer, The Clash: "His death made the primetime 6 o'­ clock newscast in Britain, triggering a strange sense of pride in all the rock 'n' rollers watching, as if the above ground world was finally going to accord Joey the status he always deserved. Offstage, just hanging out, he was the funniest kind of wise­ cracking guy. Very sharp, with a strictly dry sense of humor, it was all kind of hidden behind his shyness, but then it would suddenly pop out."

Joan Jett, The Runaways: "He was the best person, a terrific artist, a wonderful friend, and a huge influence on my music and ca­ reer."

Adam Horovitz, Beastie Boys: "They were my first real influence, a bunch of local kids from Queens that made me realize that I could actually start a band myself."

Bret Gurewitz, Bad Religion: "Joey Ramone is the most influential person ever in rock 'n roll. He was a beautiful, loving, funny, in­ telligent man, and he will be missed. It was hearing the Ramones Deborah Harry, Joan Jett, that made me want to be in a band," Joey Ramone & David Johansen Exene Cervenka, X: "He was the most important person of the punk scene, he was the symbol, he was definitely the symbol of the punk thing."

Bono, U2: "In Dublin in 1977 when I saw Joey singing I knew nothing else mattered to him. Pretty soon nothing else mattered to me."

Lemmy: "He was one of the most underrated artists ever. He understood rock and roll."

Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day: "The one thing no one will ever be able to [capture] was how cool he was. He was rock 'n' roll coolness. The glasses. The leather jacket. And he barely moved a finger. If you think about every person who has been inspired by the Ramones, directly and indirectly, you're talking about half of what you hear on the radio today. A lot of that has to do with the spirit and passion Joey Ramone always, always had. He never was jaded. He was never one of those guys who would go around and say, 'More should have happened to me." Years later, Armstrong named his first son, now 6, Joey.

Mark Hoppus, Blink­182: "I wish I could have met him and told him what a huge influence he had on my life, and what an inspiration his music was, and what a ge­ nius he really was." THE BOWERY

Bowery, commonly called "the Bowery" and, less commonly, "Bowery Street", is a street/neighborhood in the south­ ern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood's boundaries are East 4th Street and the East Village to the north, Canal Street and Chinatown to the South, Allen Street and the Lower East Side to the east and Little Italy to the west.

The Bowery has figured heavily in Forgotten New York posts over the years ­­ along with Brooklyn's Williamsburg and Times Square, no other New York City neighborhood or street has been home to more rapid change over the last decade than has the old road to Peter Stuyvesant's farm, or bouwerij. It was extant in pre­colonial times as a Native American trail and once was a part of the post road to Boston (it remains, along with Broadway itself, one of the few roads left over from before the Commissioner's Plan of 1811 gridironed Manhattan Island). In the days immediately following Pegleg Pete's era, it was lined with stately mansions and fashionable shops; gave way to cheap entertainments, raree shows and hot corn girls; after they were shrouded by an El, the entertainments moved uptown, and the destitute, the desperate and the down­and­out moved in. "Bowery bums" remained even after the Third Avenue El was razed in 1955, and remnants of this past remain even during the Bowery's newest incar­ nation as Luxury Row, along with Bowery's sub­genre as the home of wholesale kitchen equipment, lighting, and cash registers.

I could not help but feel a tinge of melancholy when, after an afternoon of flâneuring down Bleecker Street, gath­ ering pictures for a future Forgotten NY page, I ended up at the Bowery, facing the spot where CBGB used to be. That very week I viewed a clip of Television performing "Little Johnny Jewel" in Central Park a few years ago. When Vin Scelsa first played it on WNEW­FM in 1975 I recognized it as a game­changer; this was an era when "Love Will Keep Us Together" and "Kashmir" ruled pop and rock radio, respectively. Forest Hills' Ramones quickly followed Television into Hilly Kristal's Country, Blue Grass and Blues club, and thousands of bands after them. I was a little sad to see, as I moved through this new Bowery, that the world inhabited by these bands of yore is utterly gone.

In one photo from that era Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy and Joey Ramone are standing alongside a wrecked car in a garbage­strewn alley; a truck emblazoned with the CBGB logo can be seen in the rear. This is Extra Place, a dead­ end on East 1st Street a little east of the Bowery. CBGB's back door opened onto the alley.

The story of Extra Place begins around 1800, when landowner Philip Minthorne divided his 110­acre farm among his four sons and five daughters. A tiny parcel was left over, which became "Extra" Street when the grid pattern was cut through. It remained a Street (as the 1891 map here shows) until around the turn of the 20th Century, when it became a Place. It led a sleepy existence for decades as a front for metalworking shops, garages, and in Prohibition days, speakeasies.

By the late 1970s NYC had been in recession for years, many neighborhoods were in ruin, and large swaths in Brooklyn, the Bronx and the East Village were in desperate condition. My friend Bob Mulero's 1978 photo of Extra Place shows our alley in total disarray. Yet even here there are vital signs. The hand­lettered sign once marked a bust parking garage, and the alley shows through to a three­story freestanding house on East 2nd Street. CBGB was in full swing in 1978 and one of the doors on the left was it back door.

In 2006, the buildings to the right of Extra Place have been torn down, and cranes are in position laying the foun­ dation for luxury residences. Avalon Bay Communities purchased properties along the Bowery from East Houston Street to East 2nd, and commenced to knock down longstanding properties along each of the streets, including the notorious McGurk's Suicide Hall; run by saloonkeeper John McGurk, it attained its moniker from the prosti­ tutes that ended it all by gulping carbolic acid on the premises. In 2007, Avalon set about building gleaming towers and ridding all trace of whatever color was still echoing through the decades. In 2006, Extra Place was still a dirt road, but the old garage was being spiffed and buffed for its new job of providing housing. The freestanding house on East 1st has given way to a residential tower. In 2009, the transformation is complete. Extra Place has been paved and the Department of Transportation has installed street and dead end signs; previously, Extra Place was identified by word of mouth. Avalon has acquired the dead end and plans to bring in retail establishments; two of them, Bespoke Chocolates and Montana Knox Apparel, have in fact already moved in.

You cannot, with a clear head, say the new Extra Place is not vastly improved over the 1978 model, strewn with garbage, detritus and vomit. If the new Extra Place, lined with boutiques and boites, is a big success, the East Village will be better for it. But in the back of my head, I wonder what Sid Vicious would think.

FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER: Gerde's Folk City

ABOVE: Gerde's in its original location, circa 1960

To get you in the mood for the weekend, every Friday we'll be celebrating 'FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER', featuring an old New York nightlife haunt, from the dance halls of 19th Century Bowery, to the massive warehouse spaces of the mid­90s. Past entries can be found HERE.

Few streets in Greenwich Village have more history than West 4th Street, which runs along the south side of Washington Square and became a lifeline to New York's art and bohemian culture. The teahouse Mad Hatter at 150 W. 4th was an influential artist destina­ tion, later becoming the lesbian bar Pony Stable Inn, where Allan Ginsberg first met close friend and fellow beat poet Gregory Corso. (It's now the ever reliable Washington Square Diner. I heartily endorse their grilled cheese.)

The Whitney Studio Club sprang up at 147 W. 4th in 1910, presenting Edward Hopper's first exhibit of his works, and later became the bohemian hangout Ristorante Volare. The Washington Square Methodist Church, a lovely Romanesque church built in 1860, on 135 W. 4th gave refuge to draft dodgers in the 60s and was appropriately called 'Peace Church'.

And we can't forget the notorious Golden Swan Café, a 19th century saloon formerly on the corner of W. 4th and Sixth Avenue, which Eugene O'Neil immortalized in 'The Iceman Cometh'.

But for music lovers, no place on this tiny street is more revered than the former location (now gone) of Gerde's Folk City.

You won't find the strange but fabulous Todd Haynes film 'I'm Not There' any­ where near West Fourth Street ­­ it was filmed in Canada! ­­ but this is the street where Bob Dylan, the artist, was born. The mousey Minnesota born musician arrived in 1961 and quickly caught the attentions of Village habitues. Although he performed in various places up and down the street ­­ including the NYU Loeb Student Center (once at 61 W. 4th) ­­ Gerde's was his best known haunt.

Owner Mike Porco took over Gerde's restaurant in 1952 and refashioned it as a coffeehouse with Monday night 'hootenannys', amateur nights for local musi­ cians. However, when you're in Greenwich Village, the talent pool at Gerde's would be filled with future stars ­­ Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton. And of course, Dylan, who approached Porco and began performing in April of 1961, on a ticket that night with John Lee Hooker.

He threw the clientele for a loop. Dylan Roots quotes Happy Traum as saying, "I remember watching him, thinking 'This boy's unbelievable, he's going to become another Woody Guthrie.' I also thought that he would not become known outside of Greenwich Village."

He would become quite known, however, thanks to a performance at Gerde's in September that was reviewed by the New York Times critic Robert Sheldon. Dylan wasn't even headlining that night; he opened that night for a bluegrass outfit the Greenbriar Boys. By October, Dylan had a record deal with Columbia Records. Sheldon, by the way, would go on to write 'No Direction Home', a biography on Dylan that would be made into Martin Scorcese film.

Gerde's would move in 1970 to 130 West 3rd Street. Its now the home of the Village Underground, another great Village music venue.

I would suggest going on an ultimate Dylan excursion through the Village, even if you're not really into Dylan. Go check out 'I'm Not There' at the Film Forum, then walk up to Fourth Street to the other addresses associated with Dylan. On top of the previously mentioned Gerde's and Loeb Student Center, his former apartment is in 161 W. 4th and he snarfed down bagels at 168 w. 4th. New Pony has an entire map of Dylan­themed locations in downtown Manhattan!

I think we can conclude what Bob's 'Positively Fourth Street' was about.

MADONNA

Madonna Louise Ciccone was just 19 years old when she moved to New York City from her native Michigan in 1977. "It was the first time I'd ever taken a plane, the first time I'd ever gotten a taxicab," she says. "I came here with $35 in my pocket. It was the bravest thing I'd ever done." She moved into a spare bedroom in apart­ ment 3­B at 270 Riverside Dr.—the home of Saul Braun, whose musician son, Josh Braun, co­wrote with Madonna a few of her early songs, and another 3­B ten­ ant, Janice Galloway. About a year later, Madonna moved into a fifth­floor walk­up at 232 E. 4th St. in the East Village.

Her brother, Christopher Ciccone, describes the apart­ ment as "two small rooms, no furniture except a big white futon, and a perpetually hissing radiator." Madonna lived here while she rehearsed and gigged with bands like the Breakfast Club. By the time she signed with Sire/Warner Bros. Records and released her debut single, "Everybody," Madonna had moved to a loft on Broome Street. She turned over the East 4th street apartment to Christopher, who struggled to af­ ford the rent and soon gave it up. Richard Corman took photos of Madonna in the sum­ mer of 1982 in the streets and rooftops around her apartment at 234 E. Fourth St. between Avenue A and Avenue B... like this one..

She had little money and worked at Dunkin' Donuts and with modern dance troupes. She started to work as a backup dancer for other established artists. While performing as a dancer for the French disco artist Patrick Hernandez on his 1979 world tour, Madonna became romantically involved with musi­ cian Dan Gilroy. Together, they formed her first rock band, the Breakfast Club, for which Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. In 1980 she left Break­ fast Club and, with her former boyfriend Stephen Bray as drummer, formed the band Emmy. Their music impressed DJ and record producer Mark Kamins who arranged a meeting between Madonna and Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.

After Madonna signed a singles deal with Sire, her debut single, "Everybody", was released on April 24, 1982, and became a dance hit. In February 1984, ac­ cording to the film director Sir Richard Attenbor­ ough, she auditioned at the Royale Theatre on Broadway for a dance role in his movie version of A Chorus Line using her birth­name of Ciccone. He rejected her. At about the same time, she started developing her debut album, Madonna, which was primarily produced by Reg­ gie Lucas, a Warner Bros. producer. However, she was not happy with the completed tracks and disagreed with Lucas' production techniques, so decided to seek addi­ tional help. Madonna moved in with boyfriend John "Jellybean" Benitez, asking his help for finishing the album's production. Benitez remixed most of the tracks and produced "Holiday", which was her third single. The overall sound of Madonna is dissonant, and is in the form of upbeat synthetic disco, utilizing some of the new technol­ ogy of the time, like the Linn drum machine, Moog bass and the OB­X synthesizer.[25][26] The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200, and yielded the hit singles "Holiday", "Borderline" and "Lucky Star.” And the rest is history.

The Breakfast Club : Angie Schmit, Ed Gilroy, Madonna and Dan Gilroy. SID VISCIOUS and NANCY SPUNGEN

On the morning of 12 October 1978, Vicious claimed to have awoken from a drugged stupor to find Nancy Spungen dead on the bathroom floor of their room in the Hotel Chelsea in Man­ hattan, New York. She had suffered a single stab wound to her abdomen and appeared to have bled to death. The knife used had been bought by Vicious on 42nd Street and was identical to a collector's knife given to punk rock vocalist Stiv Bators of the Dead Boys by Dee Dee Ramone. According to Dee Dee's wife at the time, Vera King Ramone, Vicious had bought the knife after seeing Stiv's. Vicious was arrested and charged with her murder. He said they had fought that night but gave con­ flicting versions of what happened next, saying, "I never stabbed her. I loved her, but she treated me like shit", then saying that he did not remember and at one point during the argument Spungen had fallen onto the knife.

On 22 October, ten days after Spungen's death, Vicious at­ tempted suicide by slitting his wrist with a smashed light bulb and was subsequently hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital. He was charged with assault after an altercation with Todd Smith (singer Patti Smith's brother) at a Skafish concert. Vicious was arrested 9 December 1978 and sent to Rikers Island metro jail for 55 days. He was released on bail on 1 February 1979. Bail was originally set at $50,000. However, after court hearings and work from his lawyer, it was lowered. Malcolm McLaren, the Sex Pistols' man­ ager, worked to raise money, and the bond was eventually cov­ ered by Virgin Records.

Death Vicious' death certificate.On the evening of 2 February 1979, a small gathering to celebrate Vicious having made bail was held at the 63 Bank Street, New York apartment of his new girlfriend, Michele Robinson, whom he had started dating the day he got out of Bellevue Hospital the previous October. Vicious was clean, having been on a detoxification methadone program during his time at Rikers Island. However, at the dinner gathering, his mother (who was once a registered addict herself) had some heroin delivered by her boyfriend Peter Kodick, against the wishes of Sid's girlfriend. Vicious overdosed at midnight but everyone who was there that night worked together to get him up and walking around in order to revive him. At 3:00 am, Vicious and Michele Robinson went to bed together.

In the pilot episode of documentary series Final 24, NYPD police sergeant Richard Houseman revealed (supposedly for the first time) that shortly thereafter, Sid wanted another dose of heroin, but Michele refused to be a part of it and left the room. When she told his mother Anne (who was also at the party) what happened, Anne went into the bedroom. Before her death in 1996, his mother Anne confessed to journalist Alan Parker that she then purposely administered a fatal dose of heroin to Sid. Anne did not provide a motive to Mr. Parker, but he believes it was to save him from the horrors of returning to jail.

He was discovered dead late the next morning. A few days after Vicious's cremation, his mother allegedly found a suicide note in the pocket of his jacket: "We had a death pact, and I have to keep my half of the bargain. Please bury me next to my baby. Bury me in my leather jacket, jeans and motorcycle boots Goodbye".

Since Spungen was Jewish, she was buried in a Jewish cemetery. However, Vicious was not Jewish so he could not be buried with her. According to the book Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, Vicious's mother and Jerry Only of Misfits scattered his ashes over Spungen's grave. SEX PISTOLS

Lineup:

Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) – vocals Steve Jones – guitar Glen Matlock – bass (1975­1977, 1996­) Sid Vicious (John Simon Ritchie) – bass (1977­1978) Paul Cook – drums

The Early Days: Although the foundations of the Sex Pistols began in 1972, when Steve Jones and Paul Cook started playing to­ gether, and later with Glen Matlock, it was a fateful day in 1975 when Johnny Rotten walked into Malcolm McLaren's clothing boutique, SEX. Rotten was wearing a homemade "I Hate Pink Floyd" t­shirt. He was asked to audition by singing along to "Eighteen" by Alice Cooper. He passed the audition, and the band was formed.

Hello EMI: After just a handful of live performances, the band was signed to the major label EMI for a very large advance. The Sex Pistols released their first single, Anarchy in the UK, and began to command the attention of England. The attention was rarely positive. It was during this time that the band caused a massive public uproar after uttering obscenities on a live television talk show, which lead to the show's eventual cancellation.

Good­Bye EMI: The Pistols then embarked on the Anarchy Tour. Due to the controversy they'd generated, most of their concerts were cancelled by local authorities; the ones that were not cancelled often erupted into violence. The tour was followed by a few shows in Amsterdam, after which EMI, fed up with the negative publicity, dumped the band. Matlock then left the band; legend prevails that he was kicked out of the band for the offense of "liking the Beatles", although Matlock claimed he quit.

Sid Vicious: Rotten's friend Sid Vicious (real name John Simon Ritchie) was recruited to replace Matlock. Vicious was recruited because he had the look and attitude to be a Sex Pistol, but he couldn't play at all. When the band would return to recording, Matlock would be brought in to play bass for the album. Still, Vicious did look the part, and like Rot­ ten he would come to be synonymous with the band's name.

Two More Labels: In March of 1977, the Sex Pistols signed with A&M Records. A large press conference and ceremony was held in front of Buckingham Palace. Following the signing, the band went back to the A&M offices to celebrate. The Sex Pistols reportedly wrecked the offices, and Sid Vicious vomited on the desk of one of the executives. As a result, A&M dumped the band six days later. By May of the same year, the Sex Pistols signed yet another record deal with Virgin Records.

Finally, An Album: With Virgin, the Sex Pistols released the single "God Save the Queen." It was banned by the BBC and nearly every­ where else, yet still shot up the charts. The band then headed to the U.S. for a tour which only lasted 14 days and was made up almost entirely of dates in the deep south. Their final show was at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, where Rotten uttered the famous phrase, "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?", before storming offstage and breaking up the band. Aftermath: Following the band's breakup, Rotten went on to form Public Image Limited. The group would go on to produce several records. Vicious went to New York to pursue a solo career. He made one album, but was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen. He never made it to trial; Vicious died of a heroin overdose on February 2, 1979. Cook and Jones went on to take part in multiple music ventures with moderate success.

TISH & SNOOKY’S MANIC PANIC

In the beginning, there was the Stillettos: Debbie Harry, Elda Stilletto and Roseanne Ross. As flashy and trashy as glam bands got, they played CBGBs so early in the game that the Ramones opened for them. By 1975, Debbie Harry had gone on to form Blondie. Elda transformed the Stillettos into the Stilletto Fads, with Tish and Snooky Bellomo as back up singers.

The Bellomos were no strangers to the CBGB scene. “We used to come down to the city from Riverdale,” said Tish. “We would hide our ‘subway’ shoes in some hedges outside of Max’s and CBGB and change into our cool stilettos and rock­and­roll wear before we went in, then change back on the train on our way back to the Bronx so we wouldn’t scare the neighbors.” Their fashion sense paid off: realizing how hard it was for New Yorkers to get the cool tight black pants that English kids wore, they used $500 to open Manic Panic on St. Marks Place in 1977. “Sometimes, we only made a $2.50 sale all day,” recalled Snooky, “but everyone would drop by, so you almost didn’t care. It was a while before we started making any money.” Tish & Snooky’s® MANIC PANIC® NYC was born on 7/7/77. Few of the people, including Tish & Snooky who ignited the late 70’s PUNK scene, would have ever dreamt of it's acceptance by the mainstream and MANIC PANIC’s® evolution as the internationally renowned hair color and cosmetics company it is today. We have come a long way baby, indeed!

It all began in 1977 when two N.Y.C. born sisters Tish and Snooky, at the time singers in the original Blondie lineup, added some extra ambition to their rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.

Meanwhile, they sang with the Sic F*cks – at CBGBs, Max’s, Mudd Club theme nights, and wherever fun was to be had – and with the Stilletto Fads. Emerson of Andy Warhol Factory fame, was a fixture on the downtown scene. And she never had trouble putting a band together. Everyone from Lenny Kaye of Patti Smith Group to Cheetah Chrome of the Dead Boys played with her at one time or another. This line­up included her boyfriend, Scheebo Pampillonia, on drums, and the Wynbradt brothers from the Miamis and Mugzy O’Harlot on guitar. It was a fad and it didn’t last, but it was fun for awhile, the way CBGBs often was.

Manic Panic, which celebrates its 35 anniversary this year, is now an empire with a retail store in Los Angeles and international distribution of its signature hair color products. And Tish and Snooky still play out, most recently at the Max’s Kansas City reunion at Bowery Electric. It was fun to be a girl at CBGBs. They showed us how. “Jerkoff Blues” is the first song we’re posting today. Elda recalled its origins: “We were opening for The Battered Wives, a group from Canada who had women furious about what they stood for and what they sang about. So we decided to put together a set that would humiliate the bums… and this song suggested by Tish was certainly one that had The Battered Wives shaking in their boots.” The inspiration for the second song is explained on the Stillettos website: “In 1978, New York City was amuck with discotheques that were competitive with the punk­rock scene. Some however were melting pots of styles such as Studio 54, Hurrah’s and The Ritz. Having more venues to perform in was a plus, but these environments had disco balls and too many colored lights. These joints didn’t have the comfort zone of CBGBs.” Hence, “Anti­Disco.” Sic F*cks – at CBGBs ST. MARKS

St. Marks Hotel was formerly called "The Valencia" and was noted for its' clientele... it used to rent by the hour. Trash and Vaudeville is actually two stores, one on top of the other, located at 4 St. Mark's Place in Manhattan, New York. It is associated with the clothing styles of punk rock and various other counter culture movements. The store has occupied the same location in St. Mark's Place, a punk rock mecca, since the early 1970s. They are famous for supplying stars like The Ramones and Debbie Harry of Blondie with clothing during the golden age of punk rock in the 1970s and 80s, as they still do today. They also dress wrestlers and movie stars. In 2005 Trash and Vaudeville supplied alternative rock band My Chemical Romance with the jackets they wore on the Warped Tour that summer. It's an iconic store that can not be missed for tourists and natives.

The downstairs section of Trash and Vaudeville sells brightly colored and kitschy shoes, accessories and high­end clothing lines like L.A.M.B. and Miss­Sixty. Vaudeville, the upstairs section of the store, sells punk, rock, goth, and glam­styled clothes for men and women and is the main location for the Tripp NYC label.

BLONDIE (DEBBIE HARRY)

Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry (born July 1, 1945) is an American singer­songwriter and actress best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and New Wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid­1990s, recorded and performed with The Jazz Passengers. Her acting career spans over 30 film roles and numerous television appearances.

In the late 1960s, Deborah Harry began her musical career as a background vocalist for the folk rock group, The Wind in the Willows, releasing one self­titled album in 1968 on Capitol Records. The group also recorded a second album which was never released and whose studio tapes remain lost to this day.

In 1974, Harry then joined The Stilettos with Elda Gentile and Amanda Jones. The Stilettos included her eventual boyfriend and Blondie guitarist, Chris Stein. After leaving The Stilettos, Harry and Stein formed Angel and the Snake with Tish and Snooky Bellomo. Shortly thereafter, Harry and Stein formed Blondie, naming it after the term of address men often called her when she bleached her hair blonde. Blondie quickly became regulars at Max's Kansas City and CBGB in New York City.

After a debut album in 1976, commercial success followed in the late 1970s to the early 1980s, first in Australia and Europe, then in the United States. With her two­tone bleached­blonde hair, Harry quickly became a punk icon.Her look was further popularized by the band's early presence in the music video revolution of the era. She was a regular at Studio 54. In June 1979, Blondie was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. Harry's persona, combining cool sexuality with streetwise style, became so closely associ­ ated with the group's name that many came to believe

"Blondie" was the singer's name. The difference between the individual Harry and the band Blondie was famously highlighted with a "Blondie is a Group" button campaign by the band in 1979. In 1981, Harry issued a press release to clarify that her name was not "Debbie Blondie" or "Debbie Harry", but Deborah Harry, though Harry later described her character in the band as being named "Blondie", as in this quote from the No Exit tour book: Hi, it's Deb. You know, when I woke up this morning I had a realization about myself. I was always Blondie. Peo­ ple always called me Blondie, ever since I was a little kid. What I realized is that at some point I became Dirty Harry. I couldn't be Blondie anymore, so I became Dirty Harry. During 1976 and 1977, Blondie released their first two albums. The second experienced some marginal success outside the United States. However, 1978's Parallel Lines (US No. 6, UK No. 1) shot the group to international suc­ cess and included the global smash hit single "Heart of Glass." Riding the crest of Disco's domination, the infectious track hit No. 1 in the US and sold nearly two million copies. The follow­up single "One Way Or Another" reached No. 24 on Billboard's Hot 100. The album was the band's biggest success. Although it has sold over 4 million copies in the United States alone, it has never been certified above the Plat­ inum level. It was also the biggest selling album of 1979 in the United Kingdom.

The release of the platinum­selling Eat to the Beat album (US No. 17, UK No. 1) in 1979 and Autoamerican (US No. 7, UK No. 3) in 1980 continued the band's run of hits, including "Dreaming", "Atomic" and three more US No. 1 singles: "The Tide Is High", "Rapture" and "Call Me" from the soundtrack to the film American Gigolo, which became Billboard's No. 1 song of 1980.

After a year­long hiatus in 1981, during which Harry released her first solo album (see below), Blondie regrouped and released their sixth studio album The Hunter (US No. 33, UK No. 9). The album met with a disastrous recep­ tion, peaking at No. 33 in the US and falling rapidly off the charts. The single "Island of Lost Souls" briefly cracked the US Top 40 though narrowly missed the top ten in the UK, where the album had been a top ten entry but sold far less than their previous albums. Blondie launched a worldwide tour to support the release, but it was cut short due to slow ticket sales. Stein also fell seriously ill with the rare autoimmune disease, pemphigus. Coupled with declining record sales and internal struggles, the band split up.

Later in the 1980s, the remix album Once More Into The Bleach was released, featuring remixes of tracks by Blondie and from Harry's solo career. The mid­ 1990s saw the release of further Blondie remix albums Beautiful in Europe and Remixed Remade Remodeled in the US. New mixes of "Heart of Glass", "Atomic" and "Union City Blue" were released as singles and all made the UK Top 40, while remixes of "Atomic", "Rapture" and "Heart of Glass" had major success on the US dance charts. JOHN LENNON and NYC

“New York became a part of who John and I were,” said Ms. Ono. “We couldn’t have existed the same way anywhere else. We had a very special relation­ ship with the city, which is why I continue to make this my home, and I think this film captures what that time was like for us very movingly.”

“The period that Lennon lived with his family in New York is perhaps the most tender and affecting phase of his life as a public figure,” said Susan Lacy, series creator and executive producer of American Masters as well as a producer of the Lennon film. “Just as the generation that had grown up with the Beatles was getting a little older and approaching a transitional time in their lives as they started fami­ lies, they saw this reflected in Lennon as he grew from being a rock star icon into a real flesh and blood person.”

“I have long been moved by the honesty and directness of John’s music,” said Michael Epstein, LENNONYC direc­ tor, producer and writer. “And, by using never­before heard studio talkback of John from this period, I think I was able to give the viewer a window into John Lennon that had not been put to film before.”

Following the breakup of the Beatles, Lennon and Ono moved to New York City in 1971, where Lennon sought to escape the mayhem of the Beatles era and focus on his family and private life. At the same time, he created some of the most acclaimed songs and al­ bums of his career, most of them written at his apartment at The Dakota on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, including Mind Games, Whatever Gets You Thru the Night, I’m Losing You, and Woman. He also remained highly active in the anti­war movement as well as nu­ merous other progres­ sive political causes.

As much as New York made an impact on Lennon and Ono by offering them an oasis of personal and creative freedom, so too did they shape the city. At a time when New York faced record high crime, economic fallout and seemed to be on the verge of collapse, Lennon and Ono be­ came a beloved fixture in neighborhood restaurants, at Central Park, at sports events and at political demonstrations.

Lennon and Ono also bonded with millions of their fellow New Yorkers in their experience as immigrants. The film traces their struggle to re­ main in the U.S. when the Nixon administration sought to deport them, supposedly based on a narcotics violation, but which Lennon insisted was in response to his anti­war activities.

"If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Where else? Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself." IGGY POP

James Newell Osterberg, Jr. better known by his stage name Iggy Pop. Although he has had only limited commercial success, Iggy Pop is considered one of the most important innovators of punk and related styles. Some people refer him as 'The Godfather of Punk' or 'The Rock Iguana'.

Iggy was born on April 21, 1947 in Muskegon, Michigan. his music career began during his high school years when he joined various bands. One of these bands was the Iguanas. That is when he started to call himself 'Iggy'. After dropping out of the University of Michigan, he moved to Chicago to learn more about blues. Inspired by Chicago blues bands MC5 and The Sonics, Iggy formed the Psychedelic Stooges ­ soon to be shorted to The Stooges. Shortly after The Stooges' first two albums The Stooges and Fun House sold poorly, and the group disbanded because of Iggy Pop's growing heroin addiction.

With the help of David Bowie, Pop's career rejuvenated when they recorded an album together in England. James Williamson signed on as guitarist, the search began for a rhythm section. Neither Pop nor Bowie were like any players in Eng­ land, so they decided to reunite The Stooges. However, it would not be a true reunion, in that Dave Alexander would not play on the album. He had become a full­on alcoholic, unable to play on the record; he died in 1975. The recording sessions produced the punk rock landmark Raw Power, in 1973. Bowie continued his support, but Iggy's drug problem persisted. The Stooges' last show ended in a fight between the band and a group of bikers. Drug abuse put his career on hold for a couple of years. in 1977, after checking himself into a mental institution because he couldn't get ahold of his drug problem and eventually coming out, David Bowie took him along on the Station to Station tour. This was Iggy Pop's first exposure to large­scale professional touring and he was impressed. In 1982, Iggy Pop released what would be his final album for some time, Zombie Birdhouse. Commercially, the album was no improvement on his Arista works. However, the next year Iggy's fortunes changed. Bowie recorded a cover of the song China Girl. Bowie's version was a world­ wide hit single and as co­writer of the song, Pop received substantial royalties. For the first time in his music career, Iggy Pop was financially secure for three years. In those years off from working, he overcame his heroin addiction, took acting classes and got married.

In 1985, Pop recorded some demos with Steve Jones (previously guitarist of the Sex Pistols). He played these demos to David Bowie, who was impressed and offered to produce an album for Pop ­ 1986's Blah Blah Blah. It featured the single Real Wild Child ­ a cover of Wild One (Real Wild Child), originally made popular by Australian rock'n'roll pioneer Johnny O'Keefe in 1959. The single was a Top 10 hit in the UK and was also successful around the world, especially in Australia, where for the last twenty years it has been used as the theme music for the ABC's late­night music video show Rage. It remains Pop's solitary brush with major commercial suc­ cess. Blah Blah Blah was Pop's highest­charting album in the U.S., peaking at #75 on the Bill­ board Top 200 albums chart. VELVET UNDERGROUND

Few rock groups can claim to have broken so much new territory, and maintain such consistent brilliance on record, as the Velvet Underground during their brief lifespan. It was the group's lot to be ahead of, or at least out of step with, their time. The mid­ to late '60s was an era of explosive growth and experimentation in rock, but the Velvets' innovations ­­ which blended the energy of rock with the sonic adventurism of the avant­garde, and in­ troduced a new degree of social realism and sexual kinkiness into rock lyrics ­­ were too abrasive for the mainstream to handle. During their time, the group experienced little commercial success; though they were hugely appreciated by a cult audience and some critics, the larger public treated them with indifference or, occasionally, scorn. the Velvets' music was too important to languish in obscurity, though; their cult only grew larger and larger in the years following their demise, and continued to mushroom through the years. By the 1980s, they were acknowledged not just as one of the most important rock bands of the '60s, but one of the best of all time, and one whose immense significance cannot be measured by their relatively modest sales.

Historians often hail the group for their incal­ culable influence upon the punk and new wave of subsequent years, and while the Vel­ vets were undoubtedly a key touchstone of the movements, to focus upon these elements of their vision is to only get part of the story. The group was uncompromising in their music and lyrics, to be sure, sometimes espousing a bleakness and primitivism that would inspire alienated singers and songwriters of future generations. But their colorful and oft­grim soundscapes were firmly grounded in strong, well­constructed songs that could be as hu­ manistic and compassionate as they were out­ rageous and confrontational. The member most responsible for these qualities was gui­ tarist, singer, and songwriter Lou Reed, whose sing­speak vocals and gripping narratives have come to define street­savvy rock & roll.

Reed loved rock & roll from an early age, and even recorded a doo­wop type single as a Long Island teenager in the late '50s (as a member of the Shades). By the early '60s, he was also getting into avant­garde jazz and serious poetry, coming under the influence of author Delmore Schwartz while studying at Syracuse University. After graduation, he set his sights considerably lower, churning out tunes for exploitation rock albums as a staff songwriter for Pick­ wick Records in New York City. Reed did learn some useful things about production at Pickwick, and it was while working there that he met John Cale, a classically­trained Welshman who had moved to America to study and perform "serious" music. Cale, who had performed with John Cage and LaMonte Young, found himself increasingly attracted to rock & roll; Reed, for his part, was interested in the avant­garde as well as pop. Reed and Cale were both interested in fusing the avant­garde with rock & roll, and had found the ideal partners for making the vision (a very radical one for the mid­'60s) work; their synergy would be the crucial axis of the Velvet Underground's early work.

Reed and Cale (who would play bass, viola, and organ) would need to assemble a full band, making tentative steps along this direction by performing together in the Primitives (which also included experimental filmmaker Tony Conrad and avant­garde sculptor Walter DeMaria) to promote a bizarre Reed­penned Pickwick single ("The Os­ trich"). By 1965, the group was a quartet called the Velvet Underground, including Reed, Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison (an old friend of Reed's), and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise quit before the band's first paying gig, claiming that accepting money for art was a sellout; the Velvets quickly recruited drummer Maureen Tucker, a sister of one of Morrison's friends.

Even at this point, the Velvets were well on their way to developing something quite different. Their original ma­ terial, principally penned and sung by Reed, dealt with the hard urban realities of Manhattan, describing drug use, sadomasochism, and decadence in cool, unapologetic detail in "Heroin," "I'm Waiting for the Man," "Venus in Furs," and "All Tomorrow's Parties." These were wedded to basic, hard­nosed rock riffs, toughened by Tucker's metronome beats; the oddly tuned, rumbling guitars; and Cale's occasional viola scrapes. It was an uncommercial blend to say the least, but the Velvets got an unexpected benefactor when artist and all­around pop­art icon Andy Warhol caught the band at a club around the end of 1965. Warhol quickly assumed management of the group, in­ corporating them into his mixed­media/performance art ensemble, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable. By spring 1966, Warhol was producing their debut album. Warhol was also responsible for embellishing the quartet with Nico, a mysterious European model/chanteuse with a deep voice whom the band accepted rather reluctantly, viewing her spectral presence as rather ornamental. Reed remained the principal lead vocalist, but Nico did sing three of the best songs on the group's debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico, often known as "the banana album" because of its distinctive Warhol­designed cover. Rec­ ognized today as one of the core classic albums of rock, it featured an extraordinarily strong set of songs, high­ lighted by "Heroin," "All Tomorrow's Parties," "Venus in Furs," "I'll Be Your Mirror," "Femme Fatale," "Black Angel's Death Song," and "Sunday Morning." The sensational drug­and­sex items (especially "Heroin") got most of the ink, but the more conventional numbers showed Reed to be a songwriter capable of considerable melodicism, sensitivity, and almost naked introspection.

The album's release was not without complications, though. First, it wasn't issued until nearly a year after it was finished, due to record­company politics and other factors. The group's association with Warhol and the Exploding Plastic Inevitable had already assured them of a high (if notorious media) profile, but the music was simply too daring to fit onto commercial radio; "underground" rock radio was barely getting started at this point, and in any case may well have overlooked the record at a time when psychedelic music was approaching its peak. The album only reached number 171 in the charts, and that's as high as any of their LPs would get upon original release. Those who heard it, however, were often mightily impressed; Brian Eno once said that even though hardly anyone bought the Velvets records at the time they appeared, almost everyone who did formed their own bands. A cult reputation wasn't enough to guarantee a stable livelihood for a band in the '60s, and by 1967 the Velvets were fighting problems within their own ranks. Nico, never considered an essential member by the rest of the band, left or was fired sometime during the year, going on to a fascinating career of her own. The association with Warhol weakened, as the artist was unable to devote as much attention to the band as he had the previous year. Embittered by the lukewarm reception of their album in their native New York, the Velvets concentrated on touring cities throughout the rest of the country. Amidst this tense atmosphere, the second album, White Light/White Heat, was recorded in late 1967.

Each of the albums the group released while Reed led the band was an unexpected departure from all of their other LPs. White Light/White Heat was probably the most radical, focusing almost exclusively on their noisiest arrangements, over­amped guitars, and most willfully abrasive songs. The 17­minute "Sister Ray" was their most extreme (and success­ ful) effort in this vein. Unsurprisingly, the album failed to catch on commercially, topping out at number 199.

By the summer of 1968, the band had a much graver problem on its hands than commercial success (or the lack of it). A rift developed between Reed and Cale, the most creative forces in the band and, as one could expect, two tempera­ mental egos. Reed presented the rest of the band with an ul­ timatum, declaring that he would leave the group unless Cale was sacked. Morrison and Tucker reluctantly sided with Lou, and Doug Yule was recruited to take Cale's place.

The group's third album, 1969's The Velvet Underground, was an even more radical left turn than White Light/White Heat. The volume and violence had nearly vanished; the record featured far more conventional rock arrangements that were sometimes so restrained it seems as though they were making an almost deliberate attempt to avoid waking the neighbors. Yet the sound was nonetheless effective for that; the record contains some of Reed's most personal and striking compositions, numbers like "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Candy Says" ranking among his most romantic, although cuts like "What Goes On" proved they could still rock out convincingly (though in a less ex­ perimental fashion than they had with Cale). The approach may have confused listeners and critics, but by this time their label (MGM/Verve) was putting little promotional resources behind the band anyway. Even in the absence of Cale, the Velvets were still capable of generating compelling heat on­stage, as 1969: Velvet Underground Live (not released until the mid­'70s) confirms. MGM was by now in the midst of an infamous "purge" of its supposedly drug­related rock acts, and the Velvets were setting their sights elsewhere. Nevertheless, they recorded about an album's worth of additional material for the label after the third LP, although it remains unclear whether this was intended for a fourth album or not. Many of the songs, though, were excellent, serving as a bridge between The Velvet Underground and 1970's Loaded; a lot of it was officially released in the 1980s and 1990s.

The beginning of the 1970s seemed to herald considerable promise for the group, as they signed to Atlantic, but at this point the personnel problems that had always dogged them finally became overwhelming. Tucker had to sit out Loaded due to pregnancy, replaced by Yule's brother Billy. Doug Yule, according to some accounts, began angling for more power in the band. Unexpectedly, after a lengthy residency at New York's famous Max's Kansas City club, Reed quit the band near the end of the summer of 1970, moving back to his parents' Long Island home for several months before beginning his solo career, just before the release of Loaded, his final studio album with the Velvets.

Loaded was by far the group's most conventional rock album, and the most accessible one for mainstream listeners. "Rock and Roll" and "Sweet Jane" in particular were two of Reed's most anthemic, jubilant tunes, and ones that became rock standards in the '70s. But the group's power was somewhat diluted by the absence of Tucker, and by the decision to have Doug Yule handle some of the lead vocals. Due to Reed's departure, though, the group couldn't capitalize on any momentum it might have generated. Unwisely, the band decided to continue, though Morrison and Tucker left shortly afterward. That left Doug Yule at the helm of an act that was the Velvet Underground in name only, and the 1973 album that was billed to the group (Squeeze) is best forgotten, and not considered as a true Velvets release.

With Reed, Cale, and Nico establishing important solo careers of their own, and such important figures as David Bowie, Brian Eno, and Patti Smith mak­ ing no bones about their debts to the band, the Velvet Underground simply became more and more popular as the years passed. In the 1980s, the orig­ inal albums were reissued, along with a couple of important collections of outtakes. Hoping to rewrite the rules one last time, Reed, Cale, Morrison, and Tucker attempted to defy the odds against successful rock reunions by re­forming in the early '90s (Nico had died in 1988). A European tour, and a live album, was completed in 1993 to mixed reviews; before a planned Amer­ ican jaunt could start, Reed and Cale (who have feuded constantly over the past few decades) fell out yet again, bringing the reunion to a sad close. Ster­ ling Morrison's death from illness in 1995 seems to have permanently iced any prospect of more projects under the Velvet Underground name, al­ though a few of the surviving members played together when they were in­ ducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. By that time, an impressive five­CD box set (containing all four of the studio albums issued when Reed was in the band, as well as a lot of other material) was available to enshrine the group's legacy for the ages. CHELSEA HOTEL

The Hotel Chelsea, also known as the Chelsea Hotel, or simply the Chelsea, is a historic New York City hotel and landmark, known primarily for its history of notable residents. Located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea, the 250­unit hotel has been the home of numerous writers, musicians, artists, and actors, including Bob Dylan, Virgil Thomson, Charles Bukowski, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Viva, Gaby Hoffmann, Jobriath, and Larry Rivers. Though the Hotel Chelsea no longer accepts new long­term residencies, the building is still home to many residents who lived there before the change of policy. As of August 1, 2011, the hotel has closed for renovations.

Much of Hotel Chelsea's history has been colored by the musicians who have resided or visited there. Some of the most prominent names include Grateful Dead, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Bobby "Werner" Strete, Mod Fun, Vir­ gil Thomson, Chick Corea, Alexander Frey, Jeff Beck, Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Thunders, Phil Lynott, Henri Chopin, John Cale, Édith Piaf, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Alice Cooper, Alejandro Escovedo, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Peter Walker, Canned Heat, Sid Vicious, Vivian Stanshall, Richard Hell, Jobriath Boone, Little Annie, Rufus Wainwright, Lance Loud, Abdullah Ibrahim/Sathima Bea Benjamin/Jean Grae, Vasant Rai, Jacques Labouchere, and Leonard Cohen. Madonna lived at the Chelsea in the early eighties, returning in 1992 to shoot photographs for her book, Sex, in room 822. Falco, Ryan Adams, The Libertines, The Fuse (UK), Michael McDermott, Melissa Auf der Maur, Tim Freedman, and Anthony Kiedis have spent time at The Chelsea[ci­ tation needed]. Taylor Momsen's band, the Pretty Reckless, did a photo shoot in room 822 of the Chelsea. British pop band La Roux shot the second version of the music video for their song "In for the Kill" at the Chelsea.

TRASH AND VAUDEVILLE

Trash and Vaudeville opened in 1975, and has been providing Rock n' Roll to wear ever since. Born out of the 1970's rock and punk scene on St. Marks Place in New York City, Trash and Vaudeville has always provided a wide variety of alternative fashion for Rockers, Mods, Punks, Goths, Rockabillies, and everyday working class heroes who just wanted to walk and dress on the wild side. Trash and Vaudeville was founded by Ray Goodman in June of 1975. Ray discovered St. Marks Place at the age of 13, and never left. He was immediately attracted to the incredible energy that surged throughout the block. Whatever the scene was ­ Beatniks ­ Hippies ­ Glam ­ Punk ­ it was all going down on St. Marks Place.

Ray spent most of his free time on St. Marks Place. There was the Electric Circus, the Fillmore East, and CBGBs, all within a few blocks of the area. Some of the greatest Rock n' Roll Meccas all right there. Ray's love for Rock music inspired him to open a clothing store that would be entirely influenced by Rock n' Roll.

Right away Trash and Vaudeville attracted musicians and bands looking to dress in a style that embraced their individuality and creativity. St. Marks Place has al­ ways been a gathering place for the 'cool', with an energy that still flows today. The store has been in its original location since opening. The list of artists, mu­ sicians, actors, street dwellers, teenage rebels, and people from all over who have shopped at the store goes on and on. Whoever it is, when they leave, they look and feel great! We hope everybody can get a piece of that dream, that feeling, that spirit, that youth which is both classic and new, but always Rock n' Roll. THE CORNER BISTRO

The Corner Bistro opened in 1961, after being purchased by a business woman named Tania de Gomez who tried to make a French bistro. Unfor­ tunately, it did not work and she sold the restaurant, once bar tended by Yoko Ono, within a year. It ended up in the hands of Bill O'Donnell in 1967. Since then, The Corner Bistro has been serving burgers to locals, artists, ac­ tors, writers...and it became a burger institution. CORNER BISTRO, the last of the bohemian bars in West Greenwich Village, has been serving cus­ tomers since the earlier part of this century. The original ambience is pretty much unchanged, and we like to keep it that way.

ELECTRIC LADY STUDIOS

Patti Smith, Horses After recording her first single “Hey Joe/ Piss Factory” at Electric Lady Studios in 1974, Patti returned to our Studio “A” to record her debut full­length Horses, with John Cale at the producer's helm. Released in November 1975, it contained Patti's incantatory reworkings of rock classics like "Gloria" and "Land (Of A Thousand Dances)". Horses cracked the American Top 50 and paved the way for a new generation of art­rat­punk.

Jimi Hendrix, Electric Lady Studios In 1968, Jimi Hendrix and his manager Michael Jeffery had invested jointly in the purchase of the Generation Club in Greenwich Village, but ­ their initial plans to re­open the club were abandoned when the local mafia added pressure for fees to compete in the neighborhood. It was an unwelcome as­ sociation, and since commercial studio fees for Electric Ladyland sessions were so lofty, the pair instead decided to convert the space to a highly spe­ cialized and custom­built recording facility.

Designed specifically for Hendrix, the studio had round windows and a ma­ chine capable of generating ambient lighting in colors to fit any mood. It was a relaxing atmosphere, and the studio provided a creative space for Jimi to draft and perfect his songs ­ while engineer Eddie Kramer upheld the studio’s unparalleled professionalism in the background. The opening party was held on August 26, 1970.

Before boarding a flight for London to perform at the Isle of Wight, Hendrix created his last ever studio recording at his Electric Lady ­ a cool and tranquil instrumental known only as "Slow Blues".

AC/DC, Back in Black Ranked as the sixth best­selling album of all time, Back In Black might be the purest distillation of hard rock ever. The title track, "Back In Black" ­ along with "Hells Bells" and "You Shook Me All Night Long" have become enduring anthems of strutting blues­based guitar ­ all employing the relentless logic of a sledgeham­ mer.

Guitar & vocal overdubs were recorded at Electric Lady Studios during June, 1980 with producer Mutt Lang and engineer Tony Platt ­ who upon completion mixed the album in our Studio A. The Rolling Stones, Some Girls Recorded and mixed in­part at Electric Lady Studios in late 1977 and early 1978, Some Girls marks the group’s 16th American studio release. Carrying such heavy hitters as “Shattered,” “Miss You,” and “Beast of Burden,” Some Girls is The Rolling Stones best selling studio album to date ­ with RIAA certification of 6x Multi­Plat­ inum.

Other album productions by the Stones at Electric Lady Studios include portions of Black and Blue, and Emotional Rescue ­ listen as Mick shouts the studio address to open Emotional Rescue on "Dance (Part 1).

David Bowie, Young Americans With the Young Americans sessions mostly concluded in late 1974. During that time he was staying in New York and met John Lennon. The pair socialized frequently, and in January of 1975 would collaborate to finish the album inside Electric Lady’s Studio “A.”

The former Beatle contributed backing vocals to ‘Across the Universe’ and spoke with Bowie about the pressures of celebrity later that evening. Guitarist Carlos Alomar of­ fered up a riff they’d been using for a cover of “Footstompin” by The Flares, and from there they quickly penned and recorded “Fame” – released July 25, 1975.

Cross Section of Clients Tells Classic Recording Tale Chuck Berry Erykah Badu Elvis Presley Billy Cobham D'Angelo Bob Dylan Curtis Mayfield Steve Earle Beyonce Carly Simon Alice In Chains Bebel Gilberto Peter Frampton The Mars Volta James Taylor David Bowie Common Mary J. Blige Stevie Wonder Regina Spektor Maroon 5 AC/DC Muse N.E.R.D. Led Zeppelin Goldfrapp Lily Allen John Lennon Metric Hole The Clash Mew Albert Hammond Jr. The Rolling Stones Glasvegas Ronnie Spector Guns N’Roses The White Stripes Gwen Stefani Patti Smith Manchester Orchestra Wolfmother Lou Reed Bjork Jay Z Van Halen Interpol Mark Ronson Kiss Arctic Monkeys Talib Kweli T.Rex The Big Pink Beastie Boys The Talking Heads Alberta Cross Lena Horne Violent Femmes Foo Fighters Traffic The Cars Ryan Adams Whitney Houston Foreigner Radiohead. Madonna Hall & Oates The Pretenders Stevie Ray Vaughn Weezer Rufus Wainwright The Roots Prince The Black Crows Aretha Franklin Al Green The Rumble Strips Frank Zappa Dave Matthews Band Travis Eric Clapton Led Zeppelin at Electric Lady Studios: 1970­1976 In 1970, Zeppelin began a lasting partnership with master audio engineer Eddie Kramer, who opened them to Electric Lady Studios and accompanied them on each session. During the next decade Zeppelin would work on several albums at the studio.

First sessions saw work on III's "Gallows Pole" ­ a five minute acoustically driven reworking of a traditional European folk song.

Two years later, the group would return ­ working on their fifth studio album ­ the now 11 times Platinum, Houses of the Holy. Such massive tracks as "Dancing Days," and "Over the Hills and Far Away" were mixed in Studio A – as was "D'yer Mak’er," which blended reggae with hard rock, and both foreshadowed the growing popularity of reggae as its own movement, and hints towards the new explorative writing styles the group would integrate in their later albums.

In early 1975 ­ after tracking sessions for the monumental double LP Physical Graffiti had finished in England ­ the band decided to include the already com­ pleted track "Houses of the Holy,” – mixed at Electric Lady in 1972 during ses­ sions for the aforementioned album of the same name.

Finally, Zeppelin compiled the audio and video from their 1973 Madison Square Garden shows into, The Song Remains the Same – mixed entirely at New York’s, Electric Lady Studios ­ and Lon­ don’s, Trident Studios over three years.

The Clash The Clash spent much of the early 1980s at Electric Lady Studios recording some of their most popular work ­ including 1984’s Combat Rock. Recording for the album took place November 1981 to January 1982 with legendary producer, engineer and mixer Glyn Johns, and ELS engineer Joe Blaney in Studio C – to include such Clash classics as, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” and “Rock the Casbah.”

This wasn’t the band’s first exposure to Electric Lady Studios. In 1980 The Clash recorded Combat Rock’s predecessor, Sandanista! – also in Studio C. Their fourth album, Sandanista! Is a sprawling, genre exploring, triple­LP recorded with ELS engineer J.P. Nicholson during March and April of 1980. True to Clash style the album roots itself in punk, reggae and roots rock, but also includes dub, rap, and gospel influences.

The Cars

MTV had become a major marketing tool by 1984, and the Cars were one of the first bands to use the new video medium to their advantage. The band's fifth album, Heartbeat City (Elektra), spawned several imaginative and mem­ orable videos, which translated into massive chart and commercial success, making it one of the biggest releases of the year.

Heartbeat City contains a total of five American Top 40 singles, two of which ("Drive" and "You Might Think") made the Top 10, reaching No. 3 and No. 7. Other hits include “Magic,” “Hello Again,” & “Why Can't I Have You." Stevie Wonder, 1971­1974 Recordings During the early 1970’s, Stevie Wonder recorded three consecutive albums inside Electric Lady’s, Studio A.

In 1971, Stevie recorded Music of My Mind, which some say marked the beginning of his “classic period,” and show­ cased his growth as an artist ­ displaying more artistic control and musical ambition than that of his earlier works. Unlike most Motown recordings at the time, Music of my Mind was a full­length artistic statement with songs flowing together thematically.

The album marked the beginning of a long collaboration with producers Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil, known as "TONTO's Expanding Head Band" – and recognized for their unique combination of synthesiz­ ers. By helping Wonder develop new textures and sounds never heard be­ fore, Margouleff and Cecil played a major role in bringing synthesizers to the forefront of popular music.

Stevie would return to record his most critically acclaimed albums to date in 1972 entitled Talking Book ­ well known for songs such as "Superstition" and "You are the Sunshine of my Life” – and again in 1973 for his landmark LP, Fulfillingness’ First Finale.

David Bowie, David Live Recorded at the Tower Theater just outside Philadelphia during a six night run for Di­ amond Dogs in 1974, David Live catches Bowie in transition from the glam­rock era of his career to the "plastic soul" of Young Americans. This was Bowie’s biggest live show to date with a stage set designed to suggest the post­apocalyptic setting of the album.

Tensions were reportedly high during these shows because of a dispute between the band and management regarding fair compensation. Eventually the situation was re­ solved and the shows went on as planned.

The original release of David Live was mixed at Electric Lady Studios, and is notable for containing no studio over­ dubs or rerecording “with the exception of several backing vocals due to loss of theatre mic contact.”

Cactus Cactus, the ‘70s rock supergroup featuring Vanilla Fudge rhythm section Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, Jim McCarty from Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels, and Rusty Day from Amboy Dukes, recorded their 1971 record One Way... Or Another at a recently completed Electric Lady Studios in 1970 ­ 1971. Recorded shortly after the facility’s owner, Jimi Hendrix, passed away, the record was helmed by legendary engineer Eddie Kramer, assisted by Dave Palmer and John Jansen, and featured covers of the Little Richard hit “Long Tall Sally” and Chuck Willis’ “I Feel So Bad.” Released on February 24th, 1971, the inside cover of the original retail packaging features a photo of the group in the womens’ restroom of Electric Lady.

Humble Pie, Rockin' the Fillmore

Recorded in May 1971 at Fillmore East, and was released November 1971. The live double­album reached #21 on the Billboard 200. The hour­long set consisted of only one original song, the other 6 were cover tunes, with a Hum­ ble Pie twist to them. The album was the first to become the band's first RIAA gold record, and its popularity helped the band's previous album, Rock On, to reach gold album status as well. There is a story that, during the mixing of the album, the band presented what they thought to be the finished product to their manager, Dee Anthony. Upon listening to it, he made one comment: "Great, but where's the audience?" It turned out that Marriott and drummer Jerry Shirley were stoned and had forgotten to include the sound of the audience in the mix ­ so it was back to the mixing desk.

Carly Simon Recorded early in the studio’s history, and released in February 1971 ­ Carly Simon’s first record, the self titled Carly Simon, was recorded at Electric Lady Studios and produced by founding Electric Lady engineer Eddie Kramer. The album included her first hit, "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" ­ a sombre ballad centered on a woman pondering marriage with a sense of both inevitability and entrapment. Simon herself married singer­songwriter James Taylor in November 1972, but this is one song that we can be sure was not written about him — Simon wrote the music but her friend and frequent collaborator Jacob Brackman wrote the lyrics. Later in her career, after leaving Warner Brother for the Epic label, Carly Simon would return to Electric Lady Studios to work on her 12th studio album ­ 1985’s Spoiled Girl. The album featured production from industry heavyweights like Don Was and Phil Ramone.

CHELSEA HOTEL PART 2

Mark Rothko lived there. Sid Vicious killed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen there, Arthur C Clarke wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey there. Dylan Thomas drank himself to death there, and Leonard Cohen famously pleasured Janis Joplin there, giving rise to one of his most famous songs – and the most famous celebration in song of a hotel ever – “I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel, you were talking so brave and so sweet…”

For more than 70 years the Chelsea was the epicentre of louche, bohemian New York life.

When it was built in 1883, the Chelsea was New York’s tallest building, a 12­storey landmark so notable it gave the surrounding area its name. The Chelsea was originally conceived as the city’s first major co­operative apartment house, owned by a consortium of 10 wealthy families. After falling into bankruptcy in 1903, the building was con­ verted into a mixed­use residence, which it has remained until the present day, with about 40 per cent of its 250 rooms reserved for hotel guests and the remainder occupied by long­stayers. Its geography was always odd, with accommodation ranging in size and quality from the palatial to the near­squalid – a hierarchy reflected in its clien­ tele, which has traditionally ranged from wealthy bohemians and artists such as Larry Rivers and the composer Virgil Thompson, to impecunious punks and drug­dealers.

Entering the Chelsea could be an intimidating experience. Its interior was gothic and gloomy, as if the ghosts of former residents were defying you to live up – or should that be down – to its notorious history. Most of the rooms were far from luxurious; water­pipes banged, and electric wires dangled precariously. The corridors were once de­ scribed as having “the charm of a Soviet­era mental ward”. But the Chelsea had something that no amount of money or interior­decoration could buy: a singular style and a unique legend.

Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith (born December 30, 1946)[1] is an American singer­songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses.[2] PATTI SMITH

Called the "Godmother of Punk",her work was a fusion of rock and poetry. Smith's most widely known song is "Because the Night", which was co­written with Bruce Springsteen and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1978. In 2005, Patti Smith was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On November 17, 2010, she won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids. She is also a recipient of the 2011 Polar Music Prize.

In 1967, she left Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) and moved to New York City. She met photographer Robert Mapplethorpe there while work­ ing at a book store with a friend, poet Janet Hamill. She and Mapplethorpe had an intense romantic relationship, which was tumultuous as the pair struggled with times of poverty, and Mapplethorpe with his own sexuality. Smith consid­ ers Mapplethorpe to be one of the most important people in her life, and in her book Just Kids refers to him as "the artist of my life". Mapplethorpe's photo­ graphs of her became the covers for the Patti Smith Group LPs, and they re­ mained friends until Mapplethorpe's death in 1989.[13] In 1969 she went to Paris with her sister and started busking and doing performance art. When Smith returned to New York City, she lived in the Hotel Chelsea with Mapplethorpe; they frequented Max's Kansas City and CBGB. Smith provided the spoken word soundtrack for Sandy Daley's art film Robert Having His Nipple Pierced, starring Mapplethorpe. The same year Smith appeared with Wayne County in Jackie Curtis's play Femme Fatale. As a member of the St. Mark's Poetry Project, she spent the early 1970s painting, writing, and performing. In 1971 she performed – for one night only – in Cowboy Mouth,[14] a play that she co­wrote with Sam Shepard. (The published play's notes call for "a man who looks like a coyote and a woman who looks like a crow".) She wrote several poems, "for sam shepard"and "Sam Shepard: 9 Random Years (7 + 2)" about her relationship with Shepard.

Smith was briefly considered for the lead singer position in Blue Öyster Cult. She contributed lyrics to several of the band's songs, including "Debbie Denise" (inspired by her poem "In Remembrance of Debbie Denise"), "Baby Ice Dog", "Career of Evil", "Fire of Unknown Origin", "The Revenge of Vera Gemini" (on which she performs duet vocals), and "Shooting Shark". She was romantically involved at the time with the band's keyboardist Allen Lanier. During these years, Smith also wrote rock journalism, some of which was published in Rolling Stone and Creem.[17]

1974–1979: Patti Smith Group By 1974, Patti Smith was performing rock music herself, initially with guitarist, bassist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye, and later with a full band comprising Kaye, Ivan Kral on guitar and bass, Jay Dee Daugherty on drums and Richard Sohl on piano. Ivan Kral was a refugee from Czechoslovakia, fleeing in 1968 after the fall of Alexander Dubček. Financed by Sam Wagstaff, the band recorded a first single, "Hey Joe / Piss Factory", in 1974. The A­side was a version of the rock standard with the addition of a spoken word piece about fugitive heiress Patty Hearst ("Patty Hearst, you're standing there in front of the Symbionese Libera­ tion Army flag with your legs spread, I was wondering were you gettin' it every night from a black revolutionary man and his women...").The B­side describes the helpless anger Smith had felt while working on a factory assembly line and the salvation she discovered in the form of a shoplifted book, the 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud's Illuminations. In a 1996 interview which dis­ cusses artistic influences during her young years, Smith said, "I had devoted so much of my girlish daydreams to Rimbaud. Rimbaud was like my boyfriend."

The Patti Smith Group was signed by Clive Davis of Arista Records, and in 1975 recorded their first album, Horses, produced by John Cale amid some tension. The album fused punk rock and spoken poetry and begins with a cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria", and Smith's opening words: "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine" (an excerpt from "Oath," one of her early poems). The austere cover photograph by Map­ plethorpe has become one of rock's classic images. As the popularity of punk rock grew, Patti Smith Group toured the United States and Europe. The rawer sound of the group's second album, Radio Ethiopia, reflected this. Considerably less accessible than Horses, Radio Ethiopia initially received poor reviews. How­ ever, several of its songs have stood the test of time, and Smith still performs them regularly in concert. She has said that Radio Ethiopia was influenced by the band MC5.

On January 23, 1977, while touring in support of Radio Ethiopia, Smith acciden­ tally danced off a high stage in Tampa, Florida, and fell 15 feet into a concrete orchestra pit, breaking several neck vertebrae. The injury required a period of rest and an intensive round of physical therapy, during which time she was able to reassess, re­energize and reorganize her life. Patti Smith Group produced two further albums before the end of the 1970s. Easter (1978) was her most com­ mercially successful record, containing the single "Because the Night" co­written with Bruce Springsteen. Wave (1979) was less successful, although the songs "Frederick" and "Dancing Barefoot" both received commercial airplay.

Café Wha?

Since the 1950s the Café Wha? has been a favorite hot spot cornered in the heart of Greenwich Village. The 60s was an impressionable and revolutionary era. Artists of the time frequented the Café Wha? as it was known to be a sanctuary for talent; Allen Ginsberg regularly sipped his cocktails here. The Café Wha? was the original stomping ground for prodigies Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix. Bruce Springsteen, Peter, Paul & Mary, Kool and the Gang, as well as comedians, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby also began their road to stardom on this historic stage. The Café Wha? encompassed the Beat Generation and continues to hold tight to its spirit, entertaining all walks of life.

Today, the Café Wha? showcases amazing talent with the three greatest house bands in New York City. Monday nights feature Brazooka, a completely authentic Brazilian dance band sprinkled with Jazz and Samba. Disfunktion takes on Tues­ days with soul music, radiating the roots of R&B and Funk. What about the Café Wha? House Band? Wednesday thru Sunday they will satisfy your every need for sound, hitting on all styles of music; Motown, Reggae, R&B, and Classic/ Alterna­ tive/ Modern rock.

Every night at the Café Wha? is a party. You never know which famous musician will show up and sit in with one of these incredible bands. The New York Times raves, “Power house talent ­ you'd be hard­pressed to find a more exhilarating evening out." The Café Wha? is a stop you have to make whether you are living or just visiting New York City.

In January of 2012, Van Halen performed a special show at Cafe Wha? Lead singer David Lee Roth recently released a video discussing the Cafe Wha?'s history ­ check it out below!

THE CASTILES at the CAFÉ WHA? – AN OVERVIEW

Café Wha?, located at 115 MacDougal Street in the west village of New York City, opened in the 1950s. Under the guidance of owner/manager Manny Roth, it became a prominent, cutting edge musical venue during the 1960s. A plethora of famous musicians played there (many of them unknowns who were just getting started). The now leg­ endary club still operates to this day in the same location as it did all those years ago. Bob Dylan’s first ever stage performance (a walk­on) in New York took place at the Café Wha in January 1961.

Although known more as a folk/blues club in the early 60s, the Café Wha? began hiring rock bands in the wake of the1964 Beatles / ‘British Invasion onslaught. So by 1965­66 the Café Wha? was catering for all types of music. A then unknown Jimi Hendrix performed at the Café Wha? with his short­lived band Jimmy James & The Blue Flames during May­July 1966. One of these shows (July 5th) was attended by Chas Chandler (then bass player for The An­ imals). Chandler promptly signed Hendrix and whisked him off to England in September 1966 to record a debut album and form a new band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

The Castiles (and Springsteen) legacy at the Café Wha? begins several months after the then unknown Jimi Hendrix had departed the Café Wha?/Village scene.

Members of The Castiles had been asking (pestering) their manager, Gordon “Tex” Vinyard, to try and get them booked at the club, a daunting task, as not only were the band unknown outside of a small area of suburban New Jersey but there were hundreds of bands in the wider region in the same boat, all wanting to land gigs at a trendy NYC village club. Yet somehow the crafty Tex Vinyard managed to get them a tryout, and lo and behold they passed the audition. The Castiles had their foot in the door.

The precise timeframe of The Castiles appearances at Café Wha? has been the subject of much speculation over the years, made more confusing by the fact that no ‘exact date’ memorabilia has emerged from the band’s per­ formances there. The Café Wha? only advertised generically in newspapers, it didn’t promote non­famous artists by name. However after evaluating scattered interview comments by Springsteen through the years, interview comments by band member Bobby Alfano, comments by artists who performed with The Castiles at the venue and, lastly, after extensive Brucebase communications with band leader George Theiss, a far more accurate picture has finally emerged.

The Castiles performances at the Café Wha? appear to have spanned a period of about 15 months from around late November 1966 to about February 1968. The band performed about 30 times at the club (manager Tex Vinyard recalled '29 shows' in an interview and The Castiles founder, George Theiss, has recalled to Brucebase that 30 shows is indeed about the right total). Contrary to myth, the band were never contracted by the club for a large block of advanced bookings ,The Castiles, like all the other 'no record deal' bands, essentially worked from month to month at the venue, performing when and if slots became available.

George Theiss has noted to Brucebase that when The Castiles first began performing at Café Wha? there just so happened to be filming taking place at the club for the major Hollywood spy­spoof movie ‘In Like Flint’ (starring James Coburn). However, research has shown that the James Coburn movie was actually The President's Analyst, which opened in New York on December 21, 1967. It seems possible that the Cafe Wha? scenes were shot in late 1966, matching the time that The Castiles are believed to have began performing at the club.

Songwriter/singer Alan Merrill (lead singer of British band Arrows and co­writer of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which Joan Jett and the Blackhearts later covered in 1981, see note below) has commented that his 1966­67 group, 'Wa­ tertower West', often shared the bill at the Café Wha? with The Castiles. Merrill’s recollection is that these gigs were primarily during early­mid 1967. Springsteen recalled in a 1978 magazine interview in The Aquarian that Frank Zappa’s band The Mothers of Invention were performing regularly at other clubs in the New York City village during the same period that The Castiles were performing gigs at Café Wha?. Springsteen’s comment here is further supporting evidence that The Castiles performed at Café Wha? during the late 1966 and early 1967 timeframe. Zappa’s group arrived in New York City (from its California home base) in mid Nov 1966. The extensive Zappa club performances with ‘The Mothers” (at ‘The Ballon Farm’, 'Garrick Theater’, ‘Village Gate’ and ‘Café Au Go Go’) first began in late Nov 1966 and continued only until late June 1967. Zappa and The Mothers were not involved in the village club scene after June 1967, they were touring nationally in concert hall venues.

The previously mentioned club ‘The Ballon Farm” (its building also housed another famous club, ‘The Dom’, where The Velvet Underground played) changed ownership and was renamed ‘The Electric Circus’ in mid 1967. Spring­ steen also recalled in The Aquarian interview that “Mr Bojangles” songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker’s 1967­68 rock band Circus Maximus was also performing in the village during the period he was there with The Castiles. Springsteen’s comment allows the tail end of The Castiles Café Wha? timeline to be confirmed, as Circus Maximus did not even form as a band until Aug 1967 and they played an extensive residency at ‘The Electric Circus’ in the East Village from September to Dec 1967. This indicates The Castiles were still playing at Café Wha? in late 1967. In addition John Hall, bassist in the 1967­68 band Kangaroo (Hall is more famously known as leader of the 1970s hit group ‘Orleans’), has commented in interview that Kangaroo shared the stage several times with The Castiles at the Café Wha?. Kangaroo did not form as a band until the autumn of 1967 and Hall’s band only played the Café Wha? from about Nov 1967 to about March 1968.

The vast majority of the 30 or so performances by The Castiles at Café Wha? were daytime shows held over the weekend. The group sometimes played on one day, sometimes on both weekend days. These shows catered for the teen crowd (no alcohol served). Some of these daytime shows were sponsored by New York radio station WMCA­ AM as part of its ‘Gary Stevens­Good Guy DJ’ shows. A typical daytime gig would find The Castiles performing al­ ternate sets, from 1pm to 6pm with one or two other bands. Consequently over the course of this 15­month period they shared the bill with a plethora of unknown bands. Springsteen has mentioned two (The Raves and Robbin & The Hoods) in interview. However there were many others, including The Peepl, The Turnkeys, The Doughboys, The Roman Numerals, The Things, The Cherry People, Bo Grumpus and The Hello People.

Daytime shows were one thing. On the other hand the evening “adult” shows at the club (where alcohol was served) usually featured established artists with record contracts. The evening shows with 'name' artists the Café Wha? would advertise in the newspaper The Village Voice. It was George Theiss’ recollection to Brucebase that The Castiles never opened for, or performed with, any major group or artist at the Café Wha?. However during the last few months they performed at the club they were given an opportunity to headline a couple of early mid­week evening slots at the club.

The Castiles never performed in New York City at any other venue except Café Wha?. Intriguingly George Theiss has also mentioned to Brucebase that sometime in 1967, during one of the Café Wha? gigs, The Castiles were pro­ fessionally recorded and filmed performing a set by a South African film crew who were in New York producing a documentary on the Café Wha?/Village music scene. This was the only professional film footage of The Castiles ever shot (no amateur footage is known). The name of the South African film company and/or its documentary and what, if any, footage of the band may have been in the documentary, or may survive elsewhere is un­ fortunately not known.

Note: Merrill's performance of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" on British television in 1975 earned his band Arrows a weekly TV series in 1976, which is where Joan Jett heard the song while on tour with the Runaways.

The Castiles infront of the Cafe Wah, NYC in 1967. From left to right: Bruce Springsteen, Paul Popkin, Curt Fluhr, George Theiss, Vinnie Maniello. Photo courtesy of Billy Smith. JOE STRUMMER MURAL

November 2003 saw the release of a video for "Redemption Song", di­ rected by Josh Cheuse. The video features the painting of a memorial mural, by graffiti artist REVOLT, on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village of New York City.

John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), best remem­ bered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was a British musician who was the co­founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash, from London, a band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, and rockabilly. The Clash achieved commercial success in the United Kingdom with the release of their debut album, The Clash, in 1977. The Clash's politicised lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude had a far­reaching influence on rock, alternative rock in particular.

His musical experience included his membership of The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in addition to his own solo music career. Strummer's work as a musician allowed him to explore other in­ terests, which included acting, creating film scores for television and movies, songwriting, radio broadcasting, and a position as a radio host. Strummer is one of the iconic figures of the British punk movement.

Strummer and The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 2003. In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family have established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new music, and each year there are many festivals and both organised and spontaneous ceremonies worldwide to celebrate his memory.

The Clash On 3 April 1976, a then­unknown Sex Pistols opened for The 101'ers at a venue called The Nashville Rooms in Lon­ don, and Strummer was impressed by them.[1] Sometime after the show, Strummer was approached by Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones. Jones was from the band London SS and wanted Strummer to join as lead singer. Strummer agreed to leave the 101'ers and join Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, drummer Terry Chimes and guitarist Keith Lev­ ene.[8] The band was named The Clash by Simonon and made their debut on 4 July 1976, opening for the Sex Pis­ tols at The Black Swan (a.k.a. The Mucky Duck, now known as the Boardwalk Sheffield, England). On 25 January 1977, the band signed with CBS Records and was now a three­piece after Levene was fired from the band and Chimes quit. Drummer Topper Headon later became the band's full­time drummer.

At the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Clash was said to be "considered one of the most overtly political, explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history". Their songs tackled social decay, unemploy­ ment, racism, police brutality, po­ litical and social repression, and militarism in detail. Strummer was involved with the Anti­Nazi League and Rock Against Racism campaigns. He later also gave his support to the Rock Against the Rich series of concerts organised by the anarchist organisation Class War. The Clash's London Calling album was voted best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine (although it was released in late 1979 in the UK; it was released in 1980 in the USA).

During his time with The Clash, Strummer, along with his bandmates, became notorious for getting in trouble with the law. On 10 June 1977, he and Headon were arrested for spray­painting "The Clash" on a wall in a hotel. On 20 May 1980, he was arrested for hitting a violent member of the audience with his guitar during a performance in Hamburg, Germany. This incident shocked Strummer, and had a lasting personal impact on him.

“ I nearly murdered somebody, and it made me realise that you can't face violence with violence. It doesn't work. ” —Joe Strummer

Yonah Shimmel's Knish Bakery Established 1890

Yonah Shimmel's Knish Bakery is a bakery, located at 137 East Houston Street (between First Avenue and Second Avenue), in the Lower East Side, Manhattan, that has been selling knishes on the Lower East Side since 1890 from its original location on Houston Street.

As the Lower East Side has changed over the decades and many of its Jewish residents have departed, Yonah Schim­ mel's is one of the few distinctly Jewish businesses and restaurants that remain as a fixture of this largely departed culture and cuisine.

As cited in The Underground Gourmet, a review of Yonah Schimmel's in a collection of restaurant reviews by Milton Glaser and Jerome Snyder, "No New York politician in the last 50 years has been elected to office without having at least one photograph showing him on the Lower East Side with a knish in his face.”

About 1890, Yonah Schimmel, a Romanian immigrant, used a pushcart to start his knish bakery. As business grew, a small store on Houston Street was rented by Yonah and his cousin Joseph Berger. When Yonah left the business a few years later, Berger took over the business, retaining the original name. In 1910, the Bergers moved the business to the south side of Houston Street, at its current location. Yonah Schimmel's has been family owned since its in­ ception and is currently operated by Yonah's great nephew, Alex Wolfman.

It is as much a landmark as an eatery and has frequently been an artist's sub­ ject. A portrait of the Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery by Hedy Pagremanski (b. 1929) is in the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York. More recently it features in the 2009 Woody Allen film Whatever Works.

The restaurant offers a number of varieties of knishes, including the traditional potato and kasha (buckwheat groats) knishes, known for using the same recipe since the bakery's opening, in addition to other kinds of Eastern European food such as borscht, and runs a brisk takeout business. The knishes can also be purchased through their website and shipped overnight to anywhere in the United States. BOWERY BALLROOM Built 1929, Opened 1997

The stage of the Bowery Ballroom.The Bowery Ballroom is a music venue in the Bowery section of New York City. The structure, at 6 Delancey Street, was built just before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It stood vacant until the end of WWII, when it became a high­end retail store. The neigh­ borhood subsequently went into decline again, and so did the caliber of businesses occupying the space. In 1997 it was converted into a music venue. It has a capacity of 550 people.

Directly in front of the venue's entrance is the Bowery Station on the BMT Nassau Street Line (J Z trains) of the New York City Subway.

The club serves as the namesake of Joan Baez's Bowery Songs album, recorded live at a concert at the Bowery Ball­ room on November 6, 2004. It is also appears in the 2000 film Coyote Ugly as well as the 2008 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

WEBSTER HALL

Built in 1886, designed by renowned architect Charles Rentz, Webster Hall was described as the "Jewel of the Vil­ lage" by Eugene O'Neil. It was where the original bohemians, like Emma Goldman, Marcel DuChamp and Margaret Sangor, created unique costume balls to benefit nascent social and political causes.

It was not unknown to witness Emma Goldman, the outspoken exponent of Anarchist philosophy on one night herald the cause of free love and birth control, and on the next, see the refined atmosphere and grace of a society function celebrating the nuptials of two of its elite.

Based upon the bacchanals in Paris and called such names as the "Blind Man's Ball," "The Pagan Rout", and "The Futurist Ball" they created the reputation of Greenwich Village which exists today. As Floyd Dell re­ called,"they were spontaneously joyous and deliberately beautiful, focus­ ing in a mood of playfulness the passion for loveliness which was one of the things that brought us to the village." It was the birth of the modern nightclub. During prohibition, the balls moved from the social and po­ litical trends of the past to the hedonistic attitude of the "speak." Protec­ tion largess was lavished upon local politicians and the police who could turn a blind eye to the merrymakers who attended despite, or perhaps be­ cause of, whispers that the venue was owned by the infamous mobster Al Capone. Appropriately enough, prohi­ bition's repeal was the cause for one of Webster Hall's most legendary celebrations "The Return of John Barleycorn." But the depression and new political orthodoxy ended nightlife's first golden age.

In the 50's, R.C.A. Records recognized the extraordinary acoustical integrity of the building and converted it into their East Coast recording venue, Webster Hall studios. Carol Channing recorded "Hello Dolly," Harold Prince recorded "Fiddler on the Roof" and luminaries such as Julie Andrews, Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra added their presence to the panoply of stars that the venue had witnessed. On May 1st, 1980 The Ritz opened as the famous showcase venue for emerging rock acts. Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Prince, Sting, Kiss, B.B. King, and Guns n' Roses all performed on what was routinely called,"the best stage in New York City." The Ritz was the first nightclub to feature a video component, which soon set the trend across America. The Ritz relocated in 1986 giving the opportunity for Webster Hall to be born.

In 1990, the Ballinger Family from Toronto, Canada, rewrote the rulebook on New York nightlife. To become pur­ veyors of "the ultimate party," the restored the luster of Webster Hall, fusing state of the art audio, video, and lighting technology with the spirit of the past. The original color scheme was painstakingly recreated and once again Webster Hall is the shining jewel of New York City. A facility capable of catering to an intimate gathering of 100 or hosting a cocktail party for 2,000 the Ballinger brothers proudly present Webster Hall.

KATZ’S DELI

In 1888 what is now known as Katz’s Delicatessen was established on Ludlow Street in New York’s Lower East Side by the Iceland brothers. Upon the arrival of Willy Katz in 1903, the name of the store was changed from Iceland Brothers to Iceland & Katz. Willy’s cousin Benny joined him in 1910, buying out the Iceland brothers to officially form Katz’s delicatessen. Their landsman Harry Tarowsky bought into the partnership in April 1917. A move to the present side of the street was neces­ sitated during this time by the construction of the subway system, although the entry remained on Ludlow street. The vacant lot on Houston (named after a Dutch emigrant of the same name) Street was home to barrels of meat and pickles until the present storefront facade was added in the period 1946­ 49.

In the early part of the twentieth century, the Lower East Side was home to millions of newly immigrated families. This, along with the lack of public and private transportation, forged a solid community such that Katz’s became a focal point for congregating. On Fridays the neighborhood turned out for franks and beans, a long time Katz tradition. During World War II, the three sons of the owners were all serving their country in the armed forces, and the family tradition of sending food to their sons became sealed as the company slogan “Send A Salami To Your Boy In The Army” Tm.

During the peak of the Yiddish theater, the restaurant was forever filled with actors, singers and comedians from the many theaters on Second Avenue as well as the National Theater on Houston Street. Although the Yiddish theater has passed, Katz's is still witness to newer generations of successes and scoundrels as the pictures of current and past celebrities line the walls.

The next change in ownership took place with the death of Willy Katz as his son Lenny took over. In the late 70’s, both Benny Katz and Harry Tarowsky passed away, leaving the store to their offspring, son­in­law Artie Maxstein and son Izzy Tarowsky, respectively. However by the mid­1980’s, the new generation of owners realized that they had no immediate offspring of their own to which they could leave the store. Long­time friend and restaurateur Martin Dell, along with son Alan (who was a chef and a manager at a neighboring deli) and son­in­law Fred Austin, officially bought into the partnership in 1988 on the 100th anniversary of the store. Alan’s son Jake officially joined the store in late 2009 and is currently in charge of all major operations.

THE MERCURY LOUNGE

The Mercury Lounge is a club/music venue, in the Lower East Side section, of New York City. The structure, at 217 East Houston Street, housed the servants to the Astor Mansion, connected to it by an underground labyrinth of tunnels. Garfein's Restaurant occupied the space in the early part of the twentieth century and from 1933 to 1993 the storefront housed a seller of tombstones.

In 1993, it was converted into a music venue. It has a capacity of 250 people.

In 2000 New York City band The Strokes got their start after playing the Mercury Lounge. Ryan Gentles, the Mer­ cury Lounge's booker, quit his job to become the band's manager. . ARLENE’S GROCERY

Arlene's Grocery is located in NYC's trendy Lower East Side in what was once a Puerto Rican bodega. Arlene's Grocery (yes, it was a grocery) opened its doors in 1995 ­ breaking ground in the then treacherous Lower East Side. Upcoming bands flocked to the seedy neighborhood to experience the sonic beauty of the smaller 150­capacity room which played host to garage rock, punk, and bohemian newcomers, such as Jeff Buckley.

In the late 1990's the club branched into the butcher shop next door and became two rooms under one roof. As the neighborhood gentrified around them, the Lower East Side became the hub of NYC rock. The club hired a Live Rock N Roll Karaoke band who became an instant hit in the city, attracting New Yorkers and tourists from all over the globe to catch a glimpse of celebrities, such as Moby, belting out AC/DC. Shortly after, Arlene's garnered more attention ­ becoming home to The Strokes, and then booking a residency by The Bravery, which would land the band a deal, and propel them to fame.

As a handful of live music clubs pop up (and down) around the area, Arlene's holds fast to its intention of nurturing unsigned bands; its attention to the highest quality sound; and remaining an institution in the NYC rock scene.

CAKE SHOP

Cake Shop is a New York City bar, venue, and cafe in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It is located at 152 Ludlow Street between Stanton Street & Rivington Street. Cake Shop offers a variety of baked goods, coffee, and tea, and hosts live musical, theatrical, and literary events in their venue that is situated below the cafe. The business also houses an ex­ tensive record collection of various genres, including new wave, indie, and soul, which are for sale. Additionally, the venue runs a record label, Cape Shok Records.

A­1 RECORDS

In 1996, New York City's East Village (which was then simply called the Lower East Side) was a much different place than it is today. What's now one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the Big Apple, an area stuffed with high­rise condos, exorbitantly priced cocktail lounges, and an inordinate number of sports bars, was then a neighborhood on the edge. Marijuana was being sold out of bodegas, heroin addicts occu­ pied the benches and bathrooms of Tompkins Square Park, and cab drivers would sometimes refuse to even take people there. This was the East Village where bookstore owner and flea­market vendor Isaac Kos­ man opened a new kind of record store, which he named A­1.