See photos of the legendary CBGB in its heyday
These vintage photos of the city’s most famous rock club will make you pine for the scuzzy cool of old New York
By Hank Shteamer
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It's simple: CBGB is New York City rock. When former jazz booker Hilly Krystal opened the club in 1973, he christened it with initials that stood for "country, bluegrass, blues," but as any self-respecting local arts connoissuer knows, those genres weren't the ones that ended up making the East Village venue one of the most legendary clubs in the world. To this day, even as a luxury boutique occupies its former space at 315 Bowery, the club is synonymous with the ’70s and ’80s punk movement, in all its many forms, from the arty cool of Television, Talking Heads and Blondie to the scuzzier likes of the Ramones, Suicide and Bad Brains. Below, take a journey back to a time before the heart of the local music scene relocated to Brooklyn, when a grimy club on the Bowery seemed like the center of the rock universe.
These incredible photos come courtesy of two photographers: David Godlis (black and white), who will shortly publish a collection of his classic pictures after a successful Kickstarter campaign, and Ed Waste (color), who has more fantastic work on his Flickr page.
These incredible photos come courtesy of two photographers: David Godlis (black and white), who will shortly publish a collection of his classic pictures after a successful Kickstarter campaign, and Ed Waste (color), who has more fantastic work on his Flickr page.
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