I bought my first Strat from Henry, as well as several Fender amps, a Gretsch Country Gentleman just like George's

[Sandi]

I had no idea Manny's was closing. While I was at Columbia College it was my

home away from home, and the whole family treated me as their adopted nice

Jewish college boy. Henry was in charge then, and it was always a good idea to

refine your questions before you encountered Henry, as he always wanted you to

think he was in a hurry, even if he wasn't.



I bought my first Strat from Henry, as well as several Fender amps, a Gretsch

Country Gentleman just like George's, and finally a 1972 Guild D-55 acoustic,

which can be heard on most of the records I produced that called for an acoustic

guitar. I spent many happy hours in that store, chatting with everyone from

Manny's family to Jimi Hendrix. On my office wall is a Chuck Pulin photo of Pete

Townshend giving a thumbs up in front of the seemingly endless row of electric

guitars behind glass. It was a special place, different from Terminal and Sam

Ash on the same block. When you left Manny's with a new guitar, you felt a

special kind of musical empowerment. For several generations of musicians it's

the end of an era.



Tom Werman