There was a man who sang so beautifully accompanying himself with just a stick string and wash pan (gut bucket?) sounded like Nat king Cole. I think it was 8th st N/R platform- late 90s. He restored my faith in music after being in grad school for musicology - ha.
One of the most memorable artists in NYC during the late 80s-early 90s was the guy with the bent busted up saxophone who would enter a subway car, announce that his spaceship had crashed from Mars and he was in desperate need of Earth dollars to repair his ship - then he would play an example of Martian music - loud screaming and skronking until people gave him money to stop. Don’t know his name but he was legendary
I used to see Artis the Spoon man in Seattle back in the 70s/80's. He was amazing to see. He's roll out that bag and out would come an large assortment of Spoons & bones & ??? If it was warm or Summer, all he would have on was a tattered pair of shorts, nothing else & skinny as can be. But what a mesmerizing performer. He could move a huge audience with just those Tools. I often wondered whatever became of him. One of the Great Street Artists.
Thanks for this piece. I have seen many amazing players on streets around the world. They are mostly ignored by passers by but deserve our attention and recognition for their freely offered artistry. Good or bad, they serve to remind us that not all music is streamed.
Here in Perth Western Australia we had a guy called john Gill. He played Scott Joplin's music on a stripped down upright piano that he wheeled about on a handcart. Sadly John passed away 10 years ago.
We still have street musicians many from the local academy of performance arts. A rite of passage for them to create something on their own without all the bells and whistles and to gauge audience reaction. The public still appreciates the artistry and immediacy involved
When my first wife and I honeymooned in San Fran summer of 1990, we kept running into this guy down by the piers name of Chuck Edwards. He had a little table set up by where he was playing guitar and singing, and he was selling cassettes - "Old Favorites in San Francisco." We picked one up. Only later did I discover that he'd been a working, professional R&B singer in the '50s and '60s!
And of course, down south by Santa Monica Pier was Ted Hawkins, who parlayed his street music into a recording career ...
Gene Palma- great drummer in any setting. Gene Krupa and Buddy , two of my faves that made me take up the drums at 13. Should have stayed with the drums, but the guitar was calling my name. Turns out drummers are always in short supply, and guitarists are everywhere. There are some great street musicians here in Seattle. What I have learned over the years is there are world-class musicians in every town that you'll never hear, or hear of. They play because it's in their soul, and it's a gift to every passerby. Thanks for the tip of your hat to them, Ted.
When I moved to Manhattan from Queens NY in 1981, there were some great musicians playing on the streets and to this day, there are great players on the streets, parks and subway.
Thanks, Ted, for this moving, informative piece. Playing on the street is a great way to bring the warmth of music to the general public and to light up people's days. It ain't easy, but it's very rewarding as long as you stick to the wealth of the music and not how much money ends up in the donation jar.
Ted, another great piece. I recently read your book, Music, A Subversive History, which I thoroughly enjoyed and related to on many levels. I recommend it to all my fellow musician friends when the opportunity arises.
About ten years ago at a street fair a woman sang “lemonaaade, sweet delicious lemonaade!” My wife and I still remember that melody. It was so unique and catchy, not really a song, more like a call. Like farmers calling the cattle in. Which also makes me think of the lost art of commercial jingles. So many from my childhood deeply embedded in my brain. For some reason mostly beer ads. Of course those I probably heard hundreds of times.
In my research into NYC music history I recently read Everybody’s Doing It which contained some descriptions of the underground music of the dives, black’n’tans, and pleasure gardens of downtown NYC in the late 1800’s. I am really fascinated with this essentially undocumented prejazz music. This article really resonates with me — the sense that some of the most interesting, unique, and human aspects of music have been completely overlooked and lost forever.
There was a man who sang so beautifully accompanying himself with just a stick string and wash pan (gut bucket?) sounded like Nat king Cole. I think it was 8th st N/R platform- late 90s. He restored my faith in music after being in grad school for musicology - ha.
One of the most memorable artists in NYC during the late 80s-early 90s was the guy with the bent busted up saxophone who would enter a subway car, announce that his spaceship had crashed from Mars and he was in desperate need of Earth dollars to repair his ship - then he would play an example of Martian music - loud screaming and skronking until people gave him money to stop. Don’t know his name but he was legendary
I used to see Artis the Spoon man in Seattle back in the 70s/80's. He was amazing to see. He's roll out that bag and out would come an large assortment of Spoons & bones & ??? If it was warm or Summer, all he would have on was a tattered pair of shorts, nothing else & skinny as can be. But what a mesmerizing performer. He could move a huge audience with just those Tools. I often wondered whatever became of him. One of the Great Street Artists.
Thanks for this piece. I have seen many amazing players on streets around the world. They are mostly ignored by passers by but deserve our attention and recognition for their freely offered artistry. Good or bad, they serve to remind us that not all music is streamed.
Delightful piece. I have a friend who is a “street poet” in New Orleans. They add to the character of the city.
Folding money's good, too.
Here in Perth Western Australia we had a guy called john Gill. He played Scott Joplin's music on a stripped down upright piano that he wheeled about on a handcart. Sadly John passed away 10 years ago.
We still have street musicians many from the local academy of performance arts. A rite of passage for them to create something on their own without all the bells and whistles and to gauge audience reaction. The public still appreciates the artistry and immediacy involved
When my first wife and I honeymooned in San Fran summer of 1990, we kept running into this guy down by the piers name of Chuck Edwards. He had a little table set up by where he was playing guitar and singing, and he was selling cassettes - "Old Favorites in San Francisco." We picked one up. Only later did I discover that he'd been a working, professional R&B singer in the '50s and '60s!
And of course, down south by Santa Monica Pier was Ted Hawkins, who parlayed his street music into a recording career ...
Gene Palma- great drummer in any setting. Gene Krupa and Buddy , two of my faves that made me take up the drums at 13. Should have stayed with the drums, but the guitar was calling my name. Turns out drummers are always in short supply, and guitarists are everywhere. There are some great street musicians here in Seattle. What I have learned over the years is there are world-class musicians in every town that you'll never hear, or hear of. They play because it's in their soul, and it's a gift to every passerby. Thanks for the tip of your hat to them, Ted.
It's not quite authentic but I love the scenes with the Crab man and woman selling strawberries in "Porgy & bess"...(!)
When I moved to Manhattan from Queens NY in 1981, there were some great musicians playing on the streets and to this day, there are great players on the streets, parks and subway.
Truly excellent, Ted.
Street musicians are a treasure and a joy, and I always will give them something if I can- as a musician they get my utmost admiration and respect.
Thanks, Ted, for this moving, informative piece. Playing on the street is a great way to bring the warmth of music to the general public and to light up people's days. It ain't easy, but it's very rewarding as long as you stick to the wealth of the music and not how much money ends up in the donation jar.
Ted, another great piece. I recently read your book, Music, A Subversive History, which I thoroughly enjoyed and related to on many levels. I recommend it to all my fellow musician friends when the opportunity arises.
About ten years ago at a street fair a woman sang “lemonaaade, sweet delicious lemonaade!” My wife and I still remember that melody. It was so unique and catchy, not really a song, more like a call. Like farmers calling the cattle in. Which also makes me think of the lost art of commercial jingles. So many from my childhood deeply embedded in my brain. For some reason mostly beer ads. Of course those I probably heard hundreds of times.
In my research into NYC music history I recently read Everybody’s Doing It which contained some descriptions of the underground music of the dives, black’n’tans, and pleasure gardens of downtown NYC in the late 1800’s. I am really fascinated with this essentially undocumented prejazz music. This article really resonates with me — the sense that some of the most interesting, unique, and human aspects of music have been completely overlooked and lost forever.
Palma and Dave Tough would have gotten along.
My daughter played their harps on Columbus Avenue yesterday. Smiles all around.