"Pete Townsend would come in to the store and just take a guitar off the wall and shout, 'Pay you later, see ya!'"

[Sandi]

By kelfspoon

Manny’s Musical Instruments, a Midtown landmark since 1935, will close
its doors forever at the end of May, and the remainder of the Music Row
—as the block of W. 48th Street between
Seventh and Sixth Avenues is affectionately known—may soon fall like a
row of dominoes

Manny's music store in New York was an extraordinarily important
institution back in the Sixties. It was the place where everyone came
to not only buy guitars and amplifiers, but it was a meeting ground
for musicians to talk about gear, experiment with different pieces,
and talk to knowledgeable salespeople.
Everyone shopped there, from Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Led
Zeppelin and Frank Zappa to Buddy Rich, Chet Atkins, and The Beatles.
They were all there, and they all brought along photos - press photos,
typically - that they signed. It wasn't long before Manny's walls were
covered in these autographed shots. And with every pic there was a
story, and The Wall of Fame not only shows us the shots but tells us
the stories.
The Who: "Pete Townshend would come in to the store and just take a
guitar off the wall and shout, 'Pay you later, see ya!'"
The Rolling Stones: "(They) came in in 1965 and I showed them the
Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone which had just arrived. Mick Jagger said to
me, 'I could put a hole in my speaker, get the same sound.' They tried
it and they used it on 'Satisfaction. '"
The Beatles: "(They) really made the music business. They hung around
for an hour or so the first time they came in, signed autographs, and
purchased several thousand dollars worth of accessories. Ringo
purchased every sort of drum gizmo there was."
There are dozens of similarly amazing anecdotes. There are 200
autographed phots and dozens of vintage ads from various instrument
and accessory manufacturers like Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, and
others.
It was a real community feel Manny's curried, and after reading the
book and checking out the photos, you'll feel like you were there.