Fun Is Second Best

The Jam : I've Changed My Address

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On October 15, 1977 The Jam played CBGB's . Drummer Rik Buckler doesn't have fond memories of the bar that became a cornerstone of the American punk and new wave scene:

What I remember most about CBGB's is the cramped dressing room and being visited by one of the Ramones.  I don't know which one it was as they all looked the same, same hair, same jeans and biker jackets. ..Patti Smith also popped in to say "hi"...I was disappointed with CBGB because it was quite small and not how I thought it would be. Everyone was raving about the club being the New York version of London's Marquee, but it was nothing like the Marquee....I remember reading graffiti and stickers on the wall around the club and there just seemed to be a mess everywhere. The toilets were to be avoided too, if you could manage it.

40 Year Itch: Pouty Boys

The great thing about this band is they have absolutely no musical or socially redeeming characteristics and they know it

-SOHO Weekly News

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On May 5 1974, after reportedly helping to build the club's stage, Television played the first of many regular gigs at CBGB's. The Stilletos, who would eventually evolve into Blondie, opened.

Verlaine and Hell

Tom ( Miller) Verlaine came to New York City in 1968 and formed the band The Neon Boys with a former boarding school roommate Richard Hell and drummer Billy Ficca. When Richard Lloyd joined the band in late 1973, they changed their name to Television.

As Lenny Kaye noted, they were rough and ragged at the beginning

But, writing for Rock Scene , Patti Smith gushed "lead singer Tom Verlaine has the most beautiful neck in rock and roll..a guy worth losing your virginity to".

Patti Smith and Tom Verlaine

In late 1974, Brian Eno produced Television's first demos. They haven't been released. Richard Hell left the band in 1975 and was replaced by former Blondie member Fred Smith. Their debut album, Television, came out in 1977, made many critics Top 10 lists despite poor sales, and influenced future generations of rock poets and musicians.

40 Year Itch : This Ain't No Mudd Club

50,000 Bands and 1 Disgusting Bathroom

-CBGB movie trailer

On December 3, 1973 Hilly Kristal, having put up boards on the wall and fixed the slanting floor under the bar, opened up his country, bluegrass, blues bar CBGB in the Bowery. It took him a few months to realize the country, bluegrass and blues scene wasn't really happening in the city.

"But I covered myself, " Kristal told Spin Magazine. "The place's full name is CBGB and OMFUG. The OMFUG stands for 'other music for uplifting gourmandizers'. 

With the collapse of the Mercer Arts Center and Max's Kansas City booked, CBGB eventually became the only place for local bands to play. Kristal had two rules: Play your own music and haul in your own equipment.

On March 31, 1974 Television made their CBGB debut. Five months later The Ramones played their first CBGB show.

Most of the bands that followed have long been forgotten. But the ones who made it were among the most exciting musical acts in the world : Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Blondie, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, The Heartbreakers, Johnny Thunders, The Dead Boys .

's

The Police played their first American gig at CBGB on October 20, 1978.

In the 80's CBGB became a hotbed for the US punk rock scene. Bands like the Bad Brains, Beastie Boys and Misfits all played there,

The club close in October of 2006 with a final concert by Patti Smith. Kristal died the following year. 

Today there's a clothing store standing in its place.

  Oh, and somebody made a movie