Rock stars hail the legacy of CBGBs founder Hilly Kristal following his death on August 28.
The 75-year old patron of punk rock founded the legendary venue in 1973. It was the launching pad for a generation of stars, from Blondie to Talking Heads to the Ramones to Television. Following a bitter battle, the club succumbed to the ongoing gentrification in New York in 2006.Kristal died from complications due to lung cancer. Soon the tributes starting flowing for a man Bad Brains called in a statement "don of punk and the king of the bowery". The cult hardcore heroes said, "The Brains didn't go to college... CBGBs was our university. Hilly was our head master."
Deborah Harry said in a statement "I am very sorry that Hilly is gone. He was a big help to Blondie and to the New York music scene for many years." E Street band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt, who campaigned fiercely for the club during last year's legal battles, said, "CBGBs was a tragic loss New York will never recover from and maybe its better Hilly doesn't have to watch the town that invented personality slowly turn into the Mall of America. Rock and roll will miss him."
Patti Smith, who played a three hour set at the final CBGBs show said in an emotional tribute, "To me the name CBGBs could be a slang term at this point meaning freedom. Hilly offered us unconditional freedom."
