Born Lewis Allan Reed, Lou Reed is arguably the architect of some of the later 20th century’s most powerful musical movements. The songwriter, composer, and guitarist, who grew up in Freeport, began his music career as a staff writer for Pickwick Records where he first met Welsh musician John Cale. The two formed the Velvet […]
Read MoreTwisted Sister was a dangerous combination of the New York Dolls’ glam, KISS’ theatrics, and the shock-rock styling of Alice Cooper. In 1972, Jay Jay French formed a glam-rock cover band modeled after the New York Dolls. An apprenticeship on the local Long Island club scene followed, and, by early 1976, French hired Dee Snider […]
Read MoreThe Farina brothers, Santo & Johnny, were born in Brooklyn—Santo in 1937, Johnny in 1941. The boys were young when their dad was drafted into the army, stationed in Oklahoma, and heard the sounds of a steel guitar on the radio. Their dad wrote home to their mom, saying, “I’d like the boys to learn […]
Read MoreGene Simmons—“The Demon” of supergroup KISS—was born in Israel and raised in Brooklyn. Along with Paul Stanley (“Starchild”), Peter Criss (“Catman”), and Paul “Ace” Frehley (“The Spaceman”), he formed KISS after his earlier band, Wicked Lester, called it quits in the early 1970s. KISS, the self-proclaimed “hottest band in the land,” had its humble beginnings […]
Read MoreThe group Barnaby Bye was founded in 1970 when the Alessi brothers, Long Island natives, met Peppy Castro while they were all part of the Broadway production of Hair. The band is twin brothers Billy and Bobby Alessi, Peppy Castro (formerly of the Blues Magoos) and Mike Ricciardella (formerly of the Long Island band The […]
Read MoreMusician, songwriter, and record producer Walter Becker was born in Queens, New York, in 1950, and part of his youth was spent growing up in Forest Hills. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of Steely Dan. Becker met future songwriting partner Donald Fagen while studying at Bard College. After a […]
Read MoreA rule-breaker, a trail-blazer, and a four-time Grammy winner, Pat Benatar is a classically trained mezzo-soprano. During the 1980s, she had two multiplatinum albums, five platinum albums, three gold albums and 19 Top 40 singles, including the Top 10 hits “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is a Battlefield, “We Belong,” and “Invincible.” Born […]
Read MoreBlue Öyster Cult came together as Soft White Underbelly in 1967 at Stony Brook College through the efforts of students and rock critics Sandy Pearlman and Richard Meltzer. The original line-up consisted of Andy Winters (bass), Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (guitar), John Wiesenthal—quickly replaced by Allen Lanier—(keyboards), and Albert Bouchard (drums), with Pearlman managing and […]
Read More“Come on everybody, take a ride with me …” When those eight little words from the song “New Orleans” first hit the radio in 1959, the man who sang them heard them credited to someone else. Sitting on his front porch, the former Gary Anderson thought someone had ripped him off, but it turned out […]
Read MoreThe Lovin’ Spoonful was founded in the early 1960s, with its roots in the Greenwich Village folk music scene of the day. When producer Eric Jacobson suggested that drummer-vocalist Joe Butler and bassist Steve Boone hook up with John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, The Lovin’ Spoonful was born. Their hits include “Do You Believe In […]
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