QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 23, 2022 Page 10
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Music’s superstars hail from Queens From Tony Bennett to KISS to 50 Cent, the borough has an iconic history by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor Queens is k now n as “The World’s Borough” because of our diversity, and the same can be said about the notables of the music world who have called this place home. Ni net y-f ive -yea r- old Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco, but he was born in Long Island City and grew up in Astoria. He named a 1987 album in honor of that western Queens neighborhood which has now become one of New York City’s hippest. Bennett has recorded hits as “Who Can I Turn To?” “For Once in My Life,” “I Wanna Be Around” and “Rags to Riches.” What is remarkable about Bennett has been his willingness to work with younger talent, a s ev id e nc e d by h is friendship with Lady Gaga. He held a retirement concert in R ad io Cit y Mu sic H a l l l a s t Au g u s t . Tony’s voice was still quite strong despite having battled Alzheimer’s disease since 2016. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel remain the most famous alumni of Forest Hills High School. Popular singles such as “Sounds of Silence,” “Homeward Bound,” “At the Zoo,” “Hazy Shade of Winter,” “Mrs. Robinson” (from the 1967 classic film “The Graduate” and the Grammy-winning “Bridge Over Troubled Water” made Simon & Garfunkel the
best-selling recording duo of all time until they were surpassed two decades later by Hall & Oates. After their breakup in 1970, both men went on to have successful solo careers, with Simon, the songwriter of the duo, not surprisingly having more success. When he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I asked him at his press conference about the opening lyric of his 1973 hit single “Kodachrome,” in which he sang, “When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” I asked Simon if that was a general teenage angst line or if it was an actual reference to our alma mater. “That was about my experience at Forest Hills High School. A lot of my old teachers let me know they weren’t happy with me!” he replied. Forest Hills High School was also the alma mater for those pio n e e r s of p u n k rock, the Ramones. T hey k new how t o make the most of three chords in a song as evidenced by “Rock ’n’ Roll High School,” “Rockaway Beach” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Lead singer Jeffrey Hyman, better known as Joey Ramone, tragically succumbed to lymphoma at age 50 in 2001. A Ramones-themed Forest Hills High School T-shirt is one of the biggest sellers in the souvenir shop of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, which
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The Biggest Names
Hip-hop pioneers Salt-N-Pepa, aka Sandi Denton, left, and Cheryl James, met at Queensborough Community College in 1985 and began to “Push It,” PHOTO VIA WIKIPEDIA / DAVID BURKE to immediate stardom.
Forest Hills’ the Ramones, the pioneers of punk who had a huge hit with “Rockaway Beach,” performing in Toronto PHOTO BY P.B. TOMAN / WIKIPEDIA in 1976. indicates how their popularity is multigenerational. The best guitarist to ever come out of Forest Hills High School was Leslie West, who was known as Leslie Weinstein when he was roaming the halls there. West is best known for being the lead guitarist and vocalist for Mountain, which had a giant smash in 1970 with “Mississippi Queen.” It was shocking to hear it on WABC back in the day because it had a far harder sound than what we were accustomed to from Top 40 radio at the time. Debonair Burt Bacharach, who just turned 94 last month, was born in Kansas City but his family relocated to Kew Gardens when he was young. He graduated from Forest Hills High School in 1946. The list of hit songs he has composed could fill a telephone directory. “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “Alfie,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “That’s What Friends Are For” and “Promises, Promises” barely scratch the surface. Jazz legend Louis Armstrong is claimed by both his native New Orleans, where the city’s airport is named after him, and Corona, where he lived most of his adult years. Armstrong’s joyous take on the theme from the Broadway show “Hello, Dolly!” kept Beatles songs from the top slot on the Billboard charts for a good chunk of 1964. “What a Wonderful World,” which is Armstrong’s second best-
known song after “Hello, Dolly!” was not a big hit when it was initially released in 1968 but became popular when it was part of the soundtrack to the 1987 Robin Williams film, “Good Morning, Vietnam.” “What a Wonderful World” has a strong local connection as it was co-written by Forest Hills Gardens resident Bob Thiele. Joey Ramone recorded a cover of the song shortly before his untimely passing. With their memorable makeup, unpredictable on-stage antics, and solid musicianship, KISS became one of the most popular live bands in rock history. Co-founders Gene Simmons (real name: Chaim Witz) and Paul Stanley (real name: Stanley Eisen) grew up in Jackson Heights and Flushing, respectively. Among their best-known hits are “Rock & Roll All Night,” “Beth,” “Christine Sixteen,” “Detroit Rock City” and “I Was Made for Loving You.” C y n d i L a u p e r’s “ S h e S o Unusual” album released in 1983, featured such hit singles as “Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” “All Through the Night,” “Time After Time” and “She Bop.” It remains one of the biggest-selling debut albums by an artist. Lauper, who grew up on 104th Street in Ozone Park, would go on to have more hits with “True Colors,” “Drive All Night,” “Goonies R Good Enough” and “Money Changes Everything.” Walter Egan from Forest Hills Gardens and one-time Kew Gar-
dens resident Henry Gross were both known for having one gigantic ’70s hit each. Egan’s “Magnet and Steel,” which was co-produced by Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, was one of the catchiest tunes from the summer of 1978, which was a terrific time for Top 40 radio. Although that was his only hit as a recording artist, he had success as a composer. His “Hot Summer Nights” made it into the Top 40 by a band called Night, while the legendary G r a m Pa r s on s r e c ord e d h is “Hearts on Fire.” G ross’ moment in the su n occurred during the summer of 1976 when “Shannon,” a song he wrote about the passing of an Irish setter owned by Beach Boys guitarist Carl Wilson, hit No. 5 on the Billboard singles char ts. Gross was also a founding member of the popular 1950s and early ’60s tribute band Sha Na Na, along with longtime friend and Mar tin Van Buren alum, Jon “Bowzer” Bauman. Sha Na Na was the most out-of-place act at the most famous rock festival of all time, 1969’s Woodstock held in Bethel, NY. With his multi-octave voice and matinee idol looks, Woodhaven’s Brian Hyland was a frequent guest on “American Bandstand” when it taped in Philadelphia duri ng t he J FK ad m i n ist rat ion. Hyland first achieved prominence in the summer of 1960 with the continued on next page
