Don Everly, the remaining half of the iconic Everly Brothers, has passed away at the age of 84. Together with his brother Phil, The Everly Brothers helped revolutionize and form the early sounds of the rock and roll movement that would engulf America. Their distinguished harmonies accompanied with elements of country music would go on to influence an entire generation of fellow musicians, enabling them to be one of the first artists to be inaugurated in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, alongside Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis in 1986. Phil Everly later passed on in 2014 at the age of 74.
Issac Donald “Don” Everly was born on February 1, 1937, about two years before his brother Phillip. They spent most of their childhood in Shenandoah, Iowa, raised by musically-inclined parents who performed country music throughout the South and Midwest before moving to Iowa. Their father Ike hosted a show on local Iowa radio, first singing with with his wife Margaret, and later “Little Donnie” and “Baby Boy Phil” joined them as the Everly Family. The family would later relocate to Knoxville, Tennessee. Here, the brothers would find work on Cas Walker’s Farm and Home Hour, a regional radio and TV variety program. They managed to catch the eye of Chet Atkins, who managed RCA Victor Studios in Nashville and was also a family friend. Atkins was somehow able to get the brothers a recording deal with Columbia Records in 1956. However, the lone single “Keep a-Lovin Me,” which Don wrote and composed ,flopped and the Everlys were quickly dropped by the label.
Again with the help of Atkins, they were later hired by Acuff-Rose music publishers in Nashville, but strictly as songwriters. However, this connection helped finally launch their career as they were soon introduced to a Cadence Records label that was looking for recording artists. At Cadence, they were presented with a song that had been rejected by dozens of other artists previously. But the Everly Brothers would record it in February of 1957, and their lives would never be the same again. “Bye, Bye Love” reached No. 2 on the pop charts, fighting with Elvis for radio airplay, and also reached No. 1 on the country and No. 5 on the R&B charts.
Their follow up to “Love” was somehow even more successful, with “Wake Up Little Susie” topping both the pop and country charts just a few months later. Both songs, and many of their other hits like “All I Have To Do Is Dream” and “Bird Dog,” were all written by the husband-and-wife Nashville writing team of Boudeleaux and Felice Bryant that Cadence Records employed. Their early hits helped them land an opening spot for Buddy Holly and the Crickets for tours in the late ’50s. Their innovative “countrified” rock style and distinct harmonies would begin to plant the seeds of influence for some of the greatest bands of the latter half of the 20th century. The Beatles once referred to themselves as the “British Everly Brothers” in their nascent days and Simon and Garfunkel have readily admitted to them being the driving influence behind their collaboration.
Phil and Don were the most beautiful sounding duo I ever heard. Both voices pristine and soulful. The Everlys were there at the crossroads of country and R&B. They witnessed and were part of the birth of rock and roll.
Paul Simon
After three years at Cadence, the Brothers would sign with Warner Bros. Records in 1960. It was here that they recorded their first successful hit that they wrote and composed themselves, “Cathy’s Clown.” It would go on to sell eight million copies and become the duo’s biggest-selling record. It’s also the first song ever that Warner Bros. released in the UK. If there’s any doubt as to the popularity of this song, it somehow even made its way into a Phish show as the opener for their show at SPAC on 7/2/19.
The Everly Brothers would continue to churn out Top 10 hits in both the US and UK throughout the early ’60s like “Walk Right Back,” “Crying In The Rain” and “The Price Of Love.” In fact, they would average one Top 10 hit on the pop charts every four months from 1957 to 1961. However, royalty disputes would later emerge with Acuff-Rose, to the point where The Everly Brothers would only record songs from other composers/publishers so as not to pay them anything. This also meant they were cut off from working with the Bryants who had written so many of their hits.
Both brothers enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1961. They did resume their career after being discharged from active duty, but their success in the US would begin to dwindle. The Everly Brothers’ last US top 10 hit was 1962’s “That’s Old Fashioned (That’s The Way Love Should Be)”, a song recorded but unreleased by The Chordettes. Album sales began to dwindle as well. The Everlys’ first two albums for Warner Bros. peaked at No. 9 US, but after that, of a dozen more LPs, only one made the top 200: 1965’s Beat & Soul. By the end of the 1960s, the Everly Brothers still maintained some success in Canada, the UK and Australia, but returned to their country rock roots with 1968’s Roots which was critically acclaimed. But this wasn’t enough to keep their contract with Warner Bros. from lapsing after ten years. In 1970, Don Everly released his first unsuccessful solo album. The following year, the brothers would resume touring once more, with Lindsey Buckingham joining them in 1972. But sadly, the brother’s relationship also frayed over the years. Their last performance together took place on July 14, 1973 at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA with Phil smashing his guitar and walking off stage leaving Don to finish the show by himself while famously remarking, “The Everly Brothers died ten years ago.”
Both brothers would then go on to pursue solo careers, with Don Everly finding some minimal success on the US country charts in the mid- to late-1970s with his band Dead Cowboys, and playing with Albert Lee. He also recorded with Emmylou Harris on her 1979 album Blue Kentucky Girl. But nothing approached the commercial success he had experienced with his brother.
The brothers would later reunite in 1983, with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London which was recorded for a live LP and video broadcast on cable television. This helped put them back on the map and included a new album EB ’84, produced by Dave Edmunds with its single “On The Wings Of A Nightingale” written by none other than Paul McCartney. It returned The Everly Brothers to both the US and UK pop charts for the first time in more than a decade.
Their last charting hit would be in 1986 with the title track to Born Yesterday. Afterwards, their career consisted of mainly collaborations with other artists. They would go on to provide backing vocal’s on Paul Simon’s signature solo effort, Graceland. And later, in 2003 and 2004 on Simon and Garfunkel’s “Old Friends” reunion tour, they would share the stage again. As a tribute to the Everly Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel opened their own show and had the Everlys come out in the middle of it. At almost all shows, Simon made a point to express how much of an influence the brothers had on his career.
This is the third article in the series “Made in New York,” a historical examination of the music history of each of New York’s 62 counties, this time looking at Queens County.
New York City has a fascinating history and an immense amount of diversity within its borders, but there’s a reason why Queens is called “The World’s Borough.” That’s because its residents hail from over 120 countries and speak more than 135 different languages. As impressive as that is, the borough is also the largest of the five by area and also has the second-largest population of any county within New York State.
One of the most-asked questions about this county is: “Which particular Queen is this area named after?” While the specific member of royalty that the area was named after has been disputed for generations as no official declaration was ever made, most assume the “Queen” in question was Catherine of Braganza, who was Queen of England in 1683 when Queens County was first established.
Queens County has had the eyes of the world on it many times, especially since it had the honor of hosting not one, but two World’s Fairs in the last century. The 1939 and 1964 World’s Fair were each held at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens and over 95 million people visited the two fairs. The first of these two events focused on “The World of Tomorrow” while the second’s theme was “Peace Through Understanding.” One of the most recognizable pieces from these Fairs is the Unisphere that was constructed for the second of these events. At 120 feet in diameter, it is the largest globe in the world. The other remaining recognizable structure from these Fairs is the New York State Pavilion, which many will remember from the movie Men in Black.
Next to the site of the Unisphere sits the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Since 1978, it’s been the home of the US Open Grand Slam tennis tournament and boasts one of the largest tennis stadiums in the world. With a capacity of 23,771, Arthur Ashe Stadium opened in 1997 and is the main stadium for the US Open tournament.
Across the street from the tennis complex is Citi Field and the former site of the famous Shea Stadium, which opened in 1964. While most notably the home of the New York Mets and the former home of the New York Jets, it was also the site of one of the most famous concerts ever performed. When the Beatles performed at Shea Stadium on August 15, 1965, it was the largest crowd the band had played to at that time. Over 55,000 fans packed themselves into the stadium and the ensuing crowd noise famously resulted in the band not being able to hear much of anything they were playing.
Four years later, Shea Stadium would have the world’s eyes on it once again as the New York Mets would defeat the Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series. The team would win one more World Series in 1986 when they defeated the Boston Red Sox in seven games. Shea was demolished in 2009 and is now the site of additional parking for the Mets current home, Citi Field. You can still find the locations of the former plates and pitchers mound memorialized in Parking Lot D of Citi Field.
Another world-famous music venue in Queens is the Forest Hills Stadium, which is located inside the West Side Tennis Club. The stadium started hosting concerts in the 1960s and boasts a capacity of over 13,000. Over the years, the venue has hosted bands such as The Beatles, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Frank Sinatra. A decade ago, the venue had fallen into disrepair and thankfully avoided being razed to build housing. Since it re-opened in 2013, it has hosted annual concerts each summer from bands such as Mumford and Sons, My Morning Jacket, Jamiroquai and Dolly Parton.
Queens is also the home to New York City’s two main airports, LaGuardia and JFK International. LGA opened in 1939 and is the twentieth busiest airport in the US. JFK opened in 1948 and was originally named New York International Airport. Renamed in 1963 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, it is now the sixth busiest airport in the US.
This county has a tremendous amount of history over its 338 years of growth and expansion, but more impressive is the sheer number of musicians and musical genres that have been born within its borders. Likewise, tons of small businesses have started throughout the borough, one of them being SingleCut Beersmiths in Astoria.
SingleCut Beersmiths was founded by Queens-born, music-obsessed, brewer Rich Buceta, whose life-long passions led to a place where hops and vinyl could shine side by side. After years of homebrewing and professional stints around NYC, Rich was true to his dream, diving headfirst into the brewing world. “My obsession is creating original hop-driven beer, distinguished by a firm respect and admiration for West Coast pioneers, and bending that to our East Coast / NYC interpretation.”
Since opening in 2012, and with the help of an equally talented and devoted team, SingleCut has gained a loyal following throughout the East-Coast’s most respected markets. With his steadfast determination for the perfect pint, Rich penned “Mastery Knows No Shortcut” as the SingleCut mission statement. “It boils down to always demanding greatness, never compromising, and always play it at maximum volume.” Visit the Astoria location of SingleCut at 19-33 37th Street or schedule in house pick up or delivery, as well as apparal and mail order throughout New York. Visit them on Facebook and Instagram.
And now, a look at the greatest musicians to rise from Queens County.
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Queens is in the house, represent represent. A Tribe Called Quest represent represent
Hailing from the St. Albans neighborhood in Queens, A Tribe Called Quest found its roots within Kamaal Fareed and Malik Taylor, childhood friends who went by the names ‘Q-Tip’ and ‘Phife Dawg’. It was through Q-Tip’s days as a battle rapper in high school that he would team up with his friend Ali Shaheed Muhammad as his DJ. Once they later added their neighborhood friend Jarobi White to the mix, the foursome started calling themselves “Crush Connection” before landing on the name “Quest”. The group’s current name came to be thanks to another hip hop trio from their high school named Jungle Brothers.
Tribe’s debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, was released in 1990 and was met with immediate acclaim. The Source gave the release it’s first ever “5-mic’s” rating and the album went Gold in 1996. This record was followed by 1991’s Low End Theory which went Platinum five years later. In 1993, the group released Midnight Marauders, one of their most popular albums which contained their highest charting single, “Award Tour.”
These three albums would solidify Tribe’s status as hip hop greats and they would continue their classic jazz-hip hop fusion sound with their fourth release. Beats, Rhymes and Life would debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 and less than a year later, the group would contribute a track to the the soundtrack to Men In Black. Leading up to the release of their fifth album, A Tribe Called Quest announced that The Love Movement would be their final record.
Over the next seven years, the members of Tribe would each work on solo projects until the group reunited in 2006 to help Phife pay for his increasing medical bills. In 2015, after performing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the group decided to start recording a new album in secret. Phife Dawg sadly passed away on March 22, 2016 as a result of complications with his diabetes. Their latest album hadn’t been completed when he passed away, so the remaining members continued work on it until it was released on November 11, 2016. Tribe appeared on SNL the day after it was released and performed tracks from We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service in front of a mural of Phife Dawg. The album went gold within a year of its release.
THE RAMONES
The Ramones all originate from Forest Hills and kids who grew up there either became musicians, degenerates or dentists. The Ramones are a little of each.
Tommy Ramone
1-2-3-4! There is no band that represents Queens more than The Ramones. Known throughout the world as the first true punk rock band, The Ramones pummeled the music industry with their pseudonyms, short songs and thousands of concerts over their 22 year career.
All of the original members met in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens and while it took a bit for the roles to be properly assigned, it was Douglas Colvin who first adopted the “Ramones” name when he began to call himself Dee Dee Ramone. Jeffrey Hyman became Joey Ramone and John Cummings became Johnny Ramone. Johnny’s former bandmate Thomas Erdelyi was planning to become the Ramones manager but soon took on the role of the band’s drummer, taking on the name Tommy Ramone.
Their first gig occurred at Performance Studios in March of 1974 and more famously, the band made their debut at the fabled CBGB in August of the same year, playing 74 times at CBGB before the end of the year. Ramones, their debut album, was released in February 1976 and was met with glowing reviews despite not being a commercial success. The Ramones went on to release six albums in the next half-decade and 14 albums throughout their career.
Throughout their tenure, the band had a number of different drummers, with each adding a member to the Ramones family. Marky, Richie and Elvis Ramone each had a place in the history of Ramones drummers and throughout the 90s, Dee Dee was replaced with C. J. Ramone on bass. In 1996, following their appearance in the sixth Lollapalooza festival. The Ramones played their final show at The Palace in Hollywood. The last time all four original members would be seen together was an autograph signing in New York City on July 20,1999.
The legacy of The Ramones can be seen in their many accolades, recognizable songs and influence on countless bands over the last few decades. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their first eligible year in 2002 and in 2016, the intersection in front of Forest Hills High School was officially named The Ramones Way. To this day, when hits like “Blitzkrieg Bop,” “I Wanna Be Sedated,” “Rock ’n’ Roll High School” or “Rockaway Beach” come on, you will no doubt see folks banging their head and stomping their feet to the frenetic and iconic beat that The Ramones made their own.
PAUL SIMON
No artist has embodied the diversity of Queens quite like Paul Simon has. He was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1941 but his family moved to Flushing, Queens when he was four years old. His musical career would begin at age 11 when he met a student named Art Garfunkel during a production of Alice in Wonderland. At the age of 16, their song “Hey, Schoolgirl” reached number 49 on the pop charts under the name ‘Tom & Jerry.’
After finishing college and recording songs under a number of pseudonyms, Paul reunited with Art and they were signed by Columbia Records, who changed the duo’s name to Simon and Garfunkel. Their debut album, Wednesday Morning, 3AM, was initially unsuccessful and it wasn’t until radio stations in the US started receiving request for ‘The Sound of Silence’ that it began to garner attention. That track eventually went on to become a number-1 hit on the charts and allowed the duo to record four more albums together. Sounds of Silence, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bookends and Bridge Over Troubled Water were all successful and the band also contributed to the soundtrack to the 1967 film The Graduate.
Despite the commercial success of Bridge Over Troubled Water, the duo broke up in 1970 and Paul released his self-titled solo album in 1972, receiving acclaim and generating two popular singles: “Mother and Child Reunion” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”. This album was followed by the pop-folk release of There Goes Rhymin’ Simon which features “Kodachrome” and “Loves Me Like A Rock.”
Three years later, Simon would be awarded two Grammy awards for his release of Still Crazy After All These Year, which gave us the hit “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.” In the first half of the 1980s, he released One-Trick Pony and Hearts and Bones, which did not receive as much acclaim as his previous solo releases, and made me him feel like he had lost his inspiration as an artist. While driving his car in 1984, he threw on the cassette tape of Gumboots: Accordion Jive Volume IIand the unusual sound interested him in a way he hadn’t felt before. He traveled to South Africa to record the album that would become his most popular and most successful solo album, Graceland.
Graceland propelled Simon back into the spotlight and he received Grammy awards for Album of the Year and Record of the Year for his work. The album also contained numerous hits, including “You Can Call Me Al,” “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” and “The Boy in the Bubble.” After the success of this release, he followed it up with 1990’s The Rhythm of the Saints and, as a result of these two records, he was primed to play again to another crowd in Central Park. On August 15, 1991, a reported 750,000 people gathered to witness his solo performance in front of one of the largest concert audiences of all time.
Paul Simon has embarked on a number of notable tours since then, playing with Bob Dylan in 1999 and Sting in 2014. In 2018, Simon announced he’d be retiring from touring and appropriately capped off his final tour with a concert in Flushing Meadows’ Corona Park. Simon has received a total of 12 Grammy awards throughout his career, but more famously he has appeared on Saturday Night Live as a either a guest or host 14 times. Most recently, he performed on the show in 2018 on his 77th birthday.
TONY BENNETT
Anthony Dominick Benedetto was born in Long Island City, Queens in 1926 and began performing after the Great Depression ended at age 13 as a singing waiter throughout Queens. He attended the New York School of Industrial Art to study music and painting, but dropped out to support his family and then was drafted into the Army at 18 towards the end of World War II. After fighting on the front lines in Germany and France, he was discharged from the Army and returned back to the States in 1946 where he studied at the American Theater Wing and learned the bel canto singing style.
In 1949, Bob Hope took Anthony on the road with him and simplified his name to Tony Bennett. Tony was signed by Columbia Records and his first hit, “Because of You,” sold over a million copies and before long he was playing seven shows a day at the Paramount Theater in New York. He released his first album, Cloud 7, in 1955 and built up his nightclub act over the next many years. In 1962, he performed a heavily-promoted concert at Carnegie Hall and also sang on the initial broadcast of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
That same year, Bennett would release his most popular track to this day, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which earned him two Grammy awards and would become his signature song. Over the next two decades, Tony would see less success with his new record company and his lackluster releases, and it would take a near-fatal overdose and the help of his sons to get him back on track and shake his “Vegas image.”
Throughout the 90s, he introduced a new generation to his original style, appearance and song catalog and was regularly booked on Late Night with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and other popular shows. In 1994, he appeared on MTV Unplugged and the resulting album from this performance went Platinum and gained two additional Grammy awards for Bennett.
In 2006, Tony’s highest charting album, Duets: An American Classic was released. The album featured duets with Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and more and gained him another two Grammy awards. This was followed up by the 2011 release of Duets II which featured one of the last recording of Amy Winehouse before her untimely death. With this release, Tony became the oldest artist to have an album debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart when it was released.
Tony also has the honor of having two World Records according to Guinness. The first was in 2014 for the album Cheek to Cheek which he recorded with Lady Gaga, for which he was awarded the record for “oldest person to reach No.1 on the US Album Chart with a newly recorded album.” In 2018, Tony re-recorded the song “Fascinating Rhythm” which he first sang in 1949. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this became the “longest time between the release of an original recording and a re-recording of the same single by the same artist”
MOBB DEEP
East Coast hip hop had its renaissance in the 1990s and one of the duos that helped establish its historical dominance was Mobb Deep. This duo formed when Kejuan Muchita and Albert Johnson met at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. Each hailing from neighborhoods in Queens, Kejuan adopted the name Havoc and Albert took Prodigy and the two originally made a demo tape under the name “Poetical Prophets.” Their tactic was to bring a cassette player to the address of record labels they’d find and play their tape to any artists passing by.
Famously, the only artist who stopped to listen to their music was Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, who introduced the duo to people in the Def Jam office. Prodigy got a solo deal and had an uncredited appearance on the Boyz n the Hood soundtrack, but when The Source wrote a feature about their demo tape, the two changed their name to Mobb Deep and got signed by 4th & B’way Records. Their debut, Juvenile Hell, was released in 1993 and due to its failure to achieve success, they were dropped by the label.
That same summer, Loud Records was looking for another hip-hop group to sign after their success from releasing Wu-Tang’s “Protect Ya Neck.” They signed Mobb Deep who worked on developing a new sound over the next two years as they worked on their second album, The Infamous. This album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold two months after its release.
In the eighteen months between album releases, the East Coast vs West Coast hip hop feud was at its height and a number of tracks on their next release, Hell on Earth, were seen as dis tracks towards 2Pac and others. Despite the rivalry, Havoc publicly said that he was “happy… they were saying our names.” Their three releases over the next nine years did not find as much success as their previous albums and the group briefly signed with G-Unit Records. During these G-Unit years, Mobb Deep became the first American hip hop duo to perform in India.
The 2010’s would see the duo break-up due to a falling out on Twitter, but they would reunite the following year. In 2014, the group would release The Infamous Mobb Deep, containing new music and unreleased tracks from The Infamous sessions. This would sadly be the final album they would release together as Prodigy passed away on June 20, 2017. The band’s legacy lives in through the countless acts these two inspired with their novel sampling, hardcore delivery and production style which summarized their lives in Queens.
ACTION BRONSON
Action Bronson is known for the two loves in his life, music and food. Born Ariyan Arslani in Flushing, Queens, Bronson first was a gourmet chef in New York City and had an online cooking show titled Action in the Kitchen. At the time, rapping was just a hobby of his, but he began to fully concentrate on his music career after breaking his leg while working.
Action’s debut album, Dr. Lecter, was released in 2011 only on his website and he released a number of mixtapes over the next few years while collaborating with countless other artists. His big break came in 2014 when he released his second album and starred in his own monthly web series. The album, Mr. Wonderful, and the show, Fuck… That’s Delicious garnered him popularity around the world.
Bronson has released two additional albums since then and has starred in The Irishman and The King of Staten Island. His show has since left the Vice network and gone independent and Action now focuses the episodes on his fitness lifestyle and cooking at home, rather than exploring restaurants around the world.
NIKKI MINAJ
This borough is famously named after royalty so it’s only appropriate that it’s the home of Nikki Minaj. Known the world over as the Queen of Hip Hop, she has sold over 137 million records and has had over 100 entries on the Hot 100 Chart.
Onika Tanya Maraj-Perry was born in Trinidad and Tobago in 1982 but moved to South Jamaica, Queens when she was five years old. In 2004, she recorded music with the Brooklyn group Full Force and began to upload songs to her MySpace profile after leaving the group. She released three mixtapes between 2007 and 2009 before being discovered by Lil Wayne, who signed her to Young Money Entertainment. Her debut album, Pink Friday, was released in 2010, has since gone triple-platinum and featured the hit-song “Super Bass.”
Over the next few years, Nikki would continue to release music and appear in other media as well. She voiced a character in 2012’s Ice Age: Continental Drift and also released her second album as well. Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was comprised half of hip hop tracks and half of dance-pop tracks. For her third album, Minaj wanted to take things back to her hip hop roots and released The Pinkprint in 2013. It’s hit track, “Anaconda” became the first music video for a female rap song to hit 1 billion views.
The second half of the decade had Minaj continuing her success. She was featured in the third Barbershop movie, Barbershop: The Next Cut, and released her fourth album, Queen, in 2018. She performed the lead single “Chun-Li” on Saturday Night Live and also started her own Beats 1 radio show. Since this 2018 release, she has performed on countless other projects including BTS, Karol G and Doja Cat.
Well my name is DMC, the all time great I bust the most rhymes in New York State
Few groups in history can claim to have influenced more than an entire generation of musicians. Run DMC did all that and had a slew of firsts throughout their career. They were the first hip hop ground to achieve a Gold record, achieve a Platinum record and have an album go multi-platinum. They also were the first hip hop group to appear on MTV or American Bandstand, perform at Live Aid, be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine or be nominated for a Grammy. Simply put, this was always Run’s House.
Joseph Simmons and Darryl McDaniels each grew up in Hollis, Queens and had dipped their toes into the burgeoning hip hop scene in NY by the time they were teenagers. Simmons older brother Russell had managed Kurtis Blow and was finally convinced to let them record as a duo. They brought their friend Jason Mizell, who went by the name Jam Master Jay, on as their DJ and the trio was born. Simmons was already rapping under the name DJ Run, but his brother made Darryl change his name to DMC, after his favorite car company. And with this, Run DMC was born.
The group’s debut album, Run-DMC, was released to the world in 1984 and the hit track, “Rock Box,” was the first video of its genre to appear on MTV. The video showed the group wearing black Kangol hats, black jeans and t-shirts, gold chains and Adidas sneakers. This look would define the band and influence fashion within the music industry for decades. Their following album, King of Rock, was released the following year.
In 1986, the trio teamed up with producer Rick Rubin to produce their third album, Raising Hell, which would go on to become one of the top-selling hip hop albums of all time. Just before the completion of the record, Rubin suggested that a rock cover would appeal to another audience. This led to the infamous cover of “Walk This Way” which featured both Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith on the track and would become one of the most famous songs from the 80s. This same album featured the hit track “My Adidas” which led to a monumental endorsement deal with the brand.
The 1988 release of Tougher Than Leather introduced the world to “Run’s House.” This was followed up over the next few years with Back From Hell and Down with the King. In 2002, they released their last album before the untimely passing of Jam Master Jay. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
KOOL G RAP
When hip hop was on its initial rise, it had its share of artists whose legacy and fame would last to this day. Notorious BIG, Jay-Z, Eminem and more still cite Kool G Rap as one of their biggest influences and his skills as an MC stands the test of time. He was one of the first rappers to incorporate mob content into his lyrics and his storytelling rivals that of Slick Rick.
Born in 1968 in Corona, Queens, Nathaniel Thomas Wilson grew up with legendary DJ Erik B who introduced him to DJ Polo. They got the opportunity record their first demo “It’s a Demo” thanks to Queen’s DJ Marley Marl who immediately added the two as Juice Crew members after the recording. Kool G Rap appeared on Juice Crew’s “The Symphony” in 1988 before releasing he and DJ Polo’s debut album in 1989. Road to the Riches is on The Source’s ‘100 Best Rap Albums’ list and the song “Men At Work” is the song that initially brought the member of The Roots together.
1990 and 1992 saw the release of both Wanted: Dead or Alive and Live and Let Die, which are each considered classic hip hop albums. In 1993, Kool G Rap chose a solo career and released his first solo album, 4,5,6 in 1995. Over the next two decades, Kool G Rap would release five additional solo albums and three other collaboration albums. He may be considered one of the most influential rappers from hip hop’s Golden Age, but he certainly never overstayed his welcome.
ERIK B
Eric Barrier is one of half of the hip hop duo Erik B & Rakim, one of the greatest DJ/MC combos in history. The beats and samples that he used during his mixing resulted in Paid in Full still being recognized as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
Eric was born in East Elhurst, Queens in 1963 and he started DJ’ing with his brother and friends at a local roller rink. He originally was paving the way for a basketball career until he decided that music was going to be the priority in his life. While DJ’ing for a local radio station, a promoter in Queens introduced him to a rapper that would shape the course of his life forever, William Griffin, who went by the moniker Rakim.
The two’s first release was the 1986 single “Eric B is President,” which would catch the ear of Def Jam’s Russel Simmons. Simmons would sign the two to Island Records and in 1987, they would start work on their debut album, Paid in Full. The record was completed in one week and was certified Platinum eight years after its release. Two of the singles, “Paid in Full” and “I Ain’t No Joke,” became instant classics within the genre. On two separate occasions, Rolling Stone magazine has named the album number 51 on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
One year later, the two released their follow-up record, Follow The Leader. This album went Gold as did their 1990 release of Let the Rhythm Hit ‘Em. As the 90s began, they had a track on the soundtrack for House Party 2 and they also wrote the theme for the 1992 film, Juice. Both of these tracks were featured on the groups final album, Don’t Sweat The Technique. After this final release, the duo split-up due to contract-related disputes. However, in 2017, Erik B & Rakim reunited at the Apollo Theater in NYC before going on an American tour the following year.
CYNDI LAUPER
Although she was born in Brooklyn, Cyndi Lauper’s time in Ozone Park, Queens from age 4 to 17 made her who she is today. When she graduated from sixth grade, she was given her older sister’s acoustic guitar, which kicked off her love of music. It was also around this time that she started wearing colorful hair and clothing, which would become her image for the following decades.
Throughout the 1970s, Cyndi would begin her musical career as a singer in a number of cover bands. She found that she loved singing on stage, but was becoming increasingly unhappy singing only cover songs. She met a saxophone player named John Turi and in 1978, the two of them formed a band named Blue Angel. The manager for The Allman Brothers Band heard their demo and bought out their contract, all because he loved Lauper’s voice.
Blue Angel only had one release but it was unfortunately not well received. The band broke up after this and Lauper started waitressing and singing in small clubs around New York. She met David Wolff at one of these club performances and in 1981, he took over as her manager. Before long, she had recorded her first album as a solo artist and in 1983, her debut record was released to the world. She’s So Unusual had a total of six singles off of it, with “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time” becoming instant classics. She received the award for Best New Artist at the 1985 Grammy Awards and she also won the first ever Best Female Video award at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards.
1985 was just as busy for Lauper as she was part of the USA for Africa song “We Are the World” and was also featured on the soundtrack for The Goonies. The following year she appeared on the Billy Joel album The Bridge and also sang the theme song for the Pee-Wee’s Playhouse tv show. Her second album, True Colors, came out the same year and was followed up in 1989 by A Night to Remember.
Over the next 23 years, Cyndi would release eight additional albums and appear on dozens of television shows. She won an Emmy for her appearance on Mad About You and won both a Grammy and a Tony Award for her work on the hit musical Kinky Boots.
LL COOL J
I represent Queens, she was raised out of Brooklyn
Would James Todd Smith be as popular as he is if he went with his original pick for a name? J-Ski rolls off the tongue, but James wanted to avoid a name that could be associated with the rampant cocaine epidemic spreading across the country. For that reason, we all know that everyone may like Cool James, but the Ladies Love Cool James.
Smith grew up in Queens and his love for the group The Treacherous Three got him to start rapping at the age of 10. At the age of 16, his family saw his love for music and bought him the equipment he needed to further his passion. With turntables, a mixer, drum machine and amplifier in hand, he was recording demo tapes in his grandparents basement and sending them to record companies around NYC.
One of these record companies was Def Jam, who signed LL Cool J in 1984. That same year, he released the single “I Need A Beat” and sold over 100,000 copies of the 12-inch record. The following year, Def Jam released his debut full-length album and Radio sold a half million copies in its first five months. He would open for Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys on their Raising Hell tour and would go on to be the first hip hop artist to perform on American Bandstand.
One of LL Cool J’s most popular albums would follow in 1987 when Bigger and Deffer was released. This success led to 1989’s Walking with a Panther, which sold well but was criticized for straying from his original sound. Fans would only have wait another year for LL’s fifth album to return to its roots. Mama Said Knock You Out earned him a Grammy for the title track and would go on to become the best selling album of his career.
The beginning of the ’90s would allow LL to star in big screen roles and saw the release of 14 Shots to the Dome in 1993 and Mr. Smith in 1995. The latter featured “Doin It” and “Hey Lover” as singles and are still two of his more popular tracks to this day. Over the next 26 years, LL would go on to release seven more albums, star in many movies as well as the hit show NCIS: Los Angeles and would host the show Lip Sync Battle. This year, LL Cool J will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the Musical Excellence Award.
Louis Armstrong
If anybody was a master, it was Louis Armstrong. He was and will continue to be the embodiment of jazz.
Duke Ellington, 1971
With his gravelly voice and impressive trumpeting, Louis Armstrong is still considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. Born in New Orleans in 1901, Louis was surrounded by the early sounds of jazz throughout his childhood. He was taught how to play the cornet at the age of 11 by Peter Davis who later chose the 13 year old Louis as his bandleader. He learned to sight read while playing on riverboats in the area until 1922 when he moved to Chicago to play in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band.
When you talk about the colorful landscape of all the distinct soulful musical genres, it’s safe to say Steve Gadd has explored all of them behind his drum kit. The comfortable corridor of his Upstate New York roots groove comes from growing up in Monroe County in the town of Irondequoit.
Gadd, who celebrates his 76th birthday on April 9, has been playing drums since he was 11. At this age was his first out of State gig on The Mickey Mouse Club in California after winning a National Talent Round Up Course by Walt Disney.
Steve Gadd by Artist Maria Friske
His music education continued in New York State as a member of the Rochester Crusaders local drum corps in High School. In 1968 he graduated from Eastman School of Music in Rochester. He was then drafted into the United States Army and played the next three years in the Army Band. In 2005 he received an honorary Doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music. In 2017, Eastman School of Music awarded him and Chick Corea with honorary Doctorates as well. In 2019 Steve Gadd Band self titled album won him a Grammy award for best Contemporary Instrumental Album.
A journey like this for Gadd is one that is always evolving however, this month he just released a live recording of his band from The Blue Note Tokyo. After a stay in England this past March and returning to LA he took time to talk with NYS Music about the ride. Sir Paul McCartney once said about Dr. Gadd, “Stevie’s a great drummer, no point having him unless I use his style, this great distinctive style”
Steve Gadd and Paul McCartney
Matthew Romano: Thank you for taking the time to speak with NYS Music today about Past, Present, and Future Music experiences in the State.
Steve Gadd: Absolutely. My Pleasure. Thank You.
MR: Tell me about growing up in Rochester going to see live music in Monroe County at the Ridgecrest Inn that started to put the groove in you.
SG: Everybody they brought in was great. Art Blakey, Oscar Peterson, Ray Bryant and his brother Tommy Bryant with Papa Joe Jones, Slam Stewart. I used to take my drums and sit in and play with those guys when i was a kid. Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Ventura, Gene Krupa, they brought all the big names in. It was fantastic and it was a small room. They had matinees on Sunday afternoons where they would let me and Chuck Mangione sit in with them. We had a lot of fun. A lot of great memories.
MR: Do you remember a piano player from Syracuse at that time by the name of Vinny Falcone?
SG: Sure I know Vinny, he ended up working with Sinatra. He was a great keyboard player man.
MR: Speaking of great keyboard players, At a Montreal Jazz fest you mentioned that Chick Corea helped show you some ideas on drums you were working out for yourself in the Sixties while developing a sound.
SG: Yea he did, I had got a new set of drums. I went from a 22 inch bass drum to an 18 inch bass drum and when I switched them out Chick wanted to come to the Club when I did it. He was a Tony Williams and Elvin Jones kind of freak. He loved their playing, He went up and just sort of played and I had been trying to figure out what guys like Tony and Elvin were doing for a long time. I did it by slowing the record down to speed 16 to understand. They were doing a lot of new things that haven’t been done. Seeing the way Chick approached the drums and how free he was helped make sense of a lot of the questions I had. Ya know he just had a great approach to everything and a great touch. The freeness.
Chick Corea and Steve Gadd
MR: Is there anything that sticks out from all the studio and live sessions playing with him over the years?
SG: All of my memories of playing with him were great. His level of consistency and level of playing music just kept on growing. So all of the projects were memorable. One that sticks out because it was a live thing with strings and horns and two different bass players was Leprechaun. The thing that’s different about that than the other albums is that everybody was live and the arrangements were pretty amazing. I’ll never forget that.
MR: Chick had a great quote about Return to Forever on playing music that has already been written, “Playing something old? You don’t create in the past or the future, you do it now, is it old? Is it new? I say its just all creation.”
SG: Right. He was a true artist, there’s no doubt about it.
MR: How did you start your years with Eric Clapton, in the studio or on the road?
SG: We started together live in the 90’s on a blues tour he was doing and then he kept on using me for different things after that.
MR: How about the most raw blues project you did with him on the “Sessions for Robert Johnson” with Billy Preston, Nathan East, Doyle Bramhall II, and Chris Stainton. As an interpretation of the infamous and mysterious acoustic record from the Delta Crossroads?
SG: Eric brings the songs in and takes the lead on that stuff. For the most part he’s got it mapped out in his head. Sometimes an idea might make it flow better and he’s open to that. The players that he hired are hand picked guys that he liked how they played but most importantly loved where their hearts were musically. Ya know what I mean? It was like these are people that are his soulmates. It was fun and great to play with Billy Preston too.
MR: Any stand out moments over the years playing with Eric? Or the same concept as memories of playing with Chick where all the nights are unforgettable?
SG: Yes. They are all on a bigger level. Some because of the sound, the energy of the audience. Along the way some are more magical than others. But for the most part the bar is high, that’s the way we feel. We go up there and leave it all on the bandstand.
MR: Your last live release with Eric Clapton is from The Budokan in Tokyo. He mentions it’s the best place he has played in 40 years. Your band’s new album is from Japan as well and playing off what you said about the audience. Does a disciplined fervor for live music make for a better performance?
SG: I mean you always go off the audience. When you get it musically to a level where everyone on the bandstand is having fun and can hear each other and you can trust the audience is hearing it the way you are it gets to a spiritual level. In Japan or wherever you are. That’s the goal.
SG: You don’t get a lot of those opportunities, those were ridiculous size audiences. That’s not an everyday occurrence for me, it was great. Gerry Niewood who I grew up with in Rochester played at that show as well on Saxophone. The stage was a few stories up to get it high enough for everyone to see and hear. It was pretty spectacular.
MR: Like all major musical gatherings in New York State history I don’t think anyone knew the performance would be so big.
SG: It was fantastic. I don’t know what they were anticipating but I know they were happy at the end.
MR: Going across The Great Lawn to the Upper West Side’s Beacon Theatre in March 2020 you were on drums as part of the house band for the Love Rocks NYC Benefit. That was the your last live performance in New York and also coincidentally the first socially distant concert to be streamed as the pandemic touched down that day. It limited us in the sold out theater to only 300 people. The house band alone had almost 20 people on stage. Highlights of the night was your cover of Derek and the Dominos “Why Does Love got to be so Sad?” with Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks . You also locked in a groove with percussionist Pedro Martinez for Dave Matthews set as well.
SG: Will Lee puts a good house band together for that event. I have played with Derek Trucks at one of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festivals but that was my first time playing with Dave Matthews which was great.
MR: Your former percussion player with Paul Simon, Cyro Baptista, helped carry the beat at The Beacon Theatre at the end of last year for an eight week residency with Trey Anastasio. It served as the only other major groove to come out of The Upper West Side most recently.
SG: Trey Anastasio of Phish? Yea, Cyro and I played with Paul Simon for The Rhythm of the Saints. I’ll have to check it out.
MR: Speaking of being part of Paul Simon’s rhythm section over the years, did any of your time in the Army help inspire the almost military like precision on your iconic “50 Ways to Leave your Lover” groove?
SG: No the Army band was like a Buddy Rich kind of thing. What your talking about was from Drum Corps. When I was in Rochester Crusaders and Empire Statesmen. A lot of the rudimentary stuff I used came from there
Steve Gadd as a member of the Rochester Crusaders
MR: Spring just started. What’s on the horizon for 2021?
SG: We just released the new live album and waiting on some tours that keep getting rescheduled. I did a book on drum exercises that’s going to be released. I think Ill continue to write them. I enjoy it. A lot of new ideas came to mind. Different stickings and using the rudiments in various ways. It’s like a snare drum exercise book. I’m mainly just trying to stay in shape and stay creative so I’m ready for when things open up.
MR: Staying true to your always changing chameleon man like musical background behind the drums of all different types of soul music. Can we keep expecting new tempos out of you in 2021 as well?
SG: I hope so. It keeps evolving. Ya do the best you can every new day. Thank god you have another one to live and ya give it your best shot. Ya know what I mean?
In February of 2014, Paul Simon and Sting began their ‘On Stage Together’ Tour in Houston, TX. The tour traveled across North America, Oceania, and Europe before concluding in Amsterdam in 2015. I was lucky enough to catch one of the shows on my birthday, March 4, 2014, at Madison Square Garden. That made this night even more special than it was already set out to be. The accompanying band was comprised of members of both Simon and Sting’s bands respectively.
“Welcome to our little experiment” Simon said to the crowd early on. After performing the first few songs together, the duo took turns alternating throughout the night, but still sprinkled in a few more songs together before they both took the stage once again for the encore. After the opening duets, Simon left the stage and Sting began his Police heavy solo block with “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”, Englishman In New York”, “I Hung My Head and “Driven To Tears”. He ended his first set with “Walking on the Moon” which transitioned nicely into Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion”. After that, Sting left the stage and Simon began his first solo set with “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”. The rest of his set were all hits from his solo career like “Graceland”, “Still Crazy After All These Years” and “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard.”
Before Paul left the stage again, they both did a magnificent cover of Sting’s “Fragile” from his Nothing Like the Sun album. Sting started his next set with a stripped down cover of Simon’s “America”. “Paul has been my mentor and teacher for many, many years” Sting told the audience. He then explained that the song reminded him of when he first came to America. Him, Stewart and Andy rented a station wagon in New York and drove across the country playing in dives and staying in shitty hotels. He said “Even though this song was written a decade before, it still reminds me of that time”. He then continued his set with some more Police classics like “Message in a Bottle” and “Roxanne” along with more solo hits like “They Dance Alone” and “Desert Rose.”
Another highlight of the night is when Simon appeared back on stage and helped end Sting’s set with another duet cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer”. The two sounded amazing as they harmonized on the song that was recorded over 40 years earlier.
For his next set, Paul dusted off the title track to his 1983 album Hearts and Bones as well as his 1991’s percussion driven “The Obvious Child”. I love this song but for some reason it is not a crowd favorite. But, needless to say he quickly reengaged the sold out crowd at The Garden with what is probably his most popular solo song “You Can Call Me Al” to end his final solo set.
The encore began with “Bridge Over Troubled Water” with Sting nailing the high notes on the first verse. Paul sang the second verse before transitioning right into “Every Breath You Take” as well as a vibrant version of “Late in the Evening”.
At this time the band walked off the stage and it appeared the show was about to end, but Simon and Sting then both picked up acoustic guitars and harmonized once again on the Everly Brothers “When Will I Be Loved” that they dedicated to the late Phil Everly.
The show was over three hours long and it was so good that I could have watched the entire performance again. This was one of the best collaborations I have ever seen between two iconic performers coming from different backgrounds and styles.
Paul Simon and Sting, Madison Square Garden, NYC – March 4, 2014
Setlist: Brand New Day@, The Boy in the Bubble@, Fields of Gold@, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic#, Englishman in New York#, I Hung My Head#, Driven to Tears#, Walking on the Moon#, Mother and Child Reunion@, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover*, Dazzling Blue*, Graceland*, Still Crazy After All These Years*, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard*, Fragile@, America#, Message in a Bottle#, The Hounds of Winter#, They Dance Alone#, Roxanne#, Desert Rose#, The Boxer@, That Was Your Mother*, Hearts and Bones*, Mystery Train*, Wheels*, The Obvious Child*, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes*, You Can Call Me Al*
Encore: Bridge Over Troubled Water@, Every Breath You Take@, Late in the Evening@, When Will I Be Loved?@
