From 1973 to 2006, CBGB (aka CBGBs) occupied 315 Bowery on the Lower East Side. The place was small and grungy, but some of the greatest bands of the 70s and 80s made their U.S. debut here.
“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco
This ain’t no fooling around
This ain’t no Mudd Club, or CBGB
I ain’t got time for that now”–Life During Wartime, Talking Heads
In its heyday during the 1970s, the famous grungy dive bar at 315 Bowery called CBGB was like a second home to bikers, junkies, prostitutes, and inebriates (the bar was next to the Palace Hotel, which was reportedly the largest flophouse for homeless men in Manhattan). It was also the birthplace of some of the greatest punk and alternative rock bands in New York City.
At CBGBs, bands and singers such as the Talking Heads, Ramones, Police, and Patti Smith made their U.S. debuts, sometimes before a small audience of about 10 people (mostly the band member’s girlfriends or boyfriends). I still enjoy listening to the music of many of these bands today, but I also love the fact that 100 years before CBGB opened its doors, many beautiful song birds displayed their singing talents at 315 Bowery, when it was the second home for William Frederick Messenger, a founding member of the New York Canary Bird Fanciers Association.
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