Died On This Date (August 28, 2007) Hilly Kristal / Owned CBGB’s
themusicsover Hilly Kristal
September 23, 1931 – August 28, 2007
Opened in 1973, Hilly Kristal’s CBGB became the epicenter of the punk and new wave movement thanks to his early bookings of such acts as Blondie, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, Patti Smith, Television and the Ramones. After moving to New York City after serving in the Marines, Kristal became manager of the storied Village Vanguard jazz club where he booked such acts as Miles Davis. In 1968, he co-founded the Central Park’s Schaefer Music Festival which, over the next decade, hosted the likes of the Who, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, the Doors and Aerosmith. In 1973, he opened CBGB – OMFUG, which stood for “Country, BlueGrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers.” He closed the club during a much publicized rent dispute in 2006. Hilly Kristal died of lung cancer at the age of 75.
Born where Riverfront Stadium now stands in Cincinnati, Ohio, Roy Rogers moved to California at eighteen to become a singer. He formed the Sons of the Pioneers and released such early country hits as “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” “Cool Water” and “Don’t Fence Me In,” a later hit by the Talking Heads. By the mid-40s, Rogers was making westerns and becoming a matinee idol. Rogers married film actress, Dale Evans in 1947, beginning a life long partnership both on and off screen. The two starred together in films and on their weekly variety show, which was famous for it’s Evans penned sign-off tune, “Happy Trails To You.” Rogers died of congestive heart failure at the age of 86.
Lux Interior, lead singer of psychobilly stalwarts The Cramps died Wednesday, February 9, 2009. According to the band’s official press release, Interior passed away due to an existing heart condition in the early morning hours at Glendale (California) Memorial Hospital. Born Erick Purkhiser in Ohio, Interior eventually landed in Sacramento, California where he reportedly picked up hitch-hiking college student, Kristy Wallace. The two soon became soul mates over shared interests in obscure music and wild fashion and formed the nucleus of the Cramps. By 1975, the couple were in New York City helping define the original punk scene that also gave us the Ramones, Talking Heads and Patti Smith. But the Cramps sound was very different from the others. By combining equal elements of surf, rockabilly, camp, horror and fetish, along with Lex’s passionately reckless vocals and stage theatrics, the Cramps quickly built a legion of loyalists that would stay true to the band for decades to come. It should be noted that the Cramps are likely the only band in history who have performed at both the 
