Do you remember
Music Row
Back when Manny’s Music
was the place to go
Man, that was Heaven
don’t you know
Just a subway ride away
to music row
I first heard ‘bout Manny's
when I was just fourteen
My guitarist Bobby said
We had to make that scene
So, unbeknownst to our parents
we hopped the E Train
from Kew Gardens to Times Square
and we scurried past the porn that used to cluster there
Walked crosstown
To Seventh Avenue
Then turned and headed North
Like a human corkscrew
We were teencats from the suburbs
But we weren’t lost
We knew the address
And we’d get there or bust
When we arrived at Manny’s,
Man we was in the zone
Drums, guitars, basses,
amps and microphones
Inside Manny’s
Was like another world
We were like prospectors
Who’d just discovered the mother lode
You saw every brand of instrument
When you passed through Manny’s door
It was better than my first trip
inside a candy store
Epiphone, Martin, Gibson,
Gretsch, Vox, Danelectro, Shure,
Rickenbacker, Hagstrom, Hofner, Fender,
Slingerland, Ludwig, Hohner and more
So many axes, amps and skins
I thought my head would explode
I must’ave died and gone to heaven
it was a sensory overload
And all the photos on the walls
A gallery of rock stars galore
Ain’t never gonna’ be
Another landmark like Manny’s Music Store
Do you remember
West 48th Street brother
And how the sound of music
spilled out into the gutter
Manny yelling “turn it down”
was in fact quite a nice mellow fellow
And his son Henry didn’t fall far from the tree
Hollering “If you try it- you buy it" then chuckling "just go and play Old Yellow”
Music Row
48th between sixth and seventh
It was as if we’d died
And gone to heaven
Heaven was just a subway ride away
Dreams came true that very day
We were players on a mission
It was like rock was our religion
And Manny’s was the church
The place to come and play
Yeah, Manny’s was our hallow ground
But now it seems so far away
Alas a little piece of history
Lives on in Manny’s name
Kudos Holly and Sandi for launching
The Manny's Virtual Wall of Fame
And now, that along with this little verse
Are all I’ve left of those golden days
So sadly I say farewell to Manny’s Music Store
With a guitar case full of heartfelt praise
©Jim Monroe 2015
Comment
Thank You Jim....
It's so good to remember when I would have to beg Henry for a Schlepper Shirt and how proudly I would wear it on the road and how when my Gibson LG1 burned along with the rest of my apartment how amazed I was when Blood Sweat and Tears told me to go to Manny's and pick out a guitar, whatever I wanted.
Henry went into the back and brought out the last D28 with Brazilian Rosewood.
Talk about a kid in a candy store.
Henry always treated me like was was his pain in the ass nephew and I will Love him forever for it......
Sandi, Please don't take this down... If it costs money to keep it up just ask for contributions and I will make sure that I put that out on every site that has musicians who hold Manny's close to their hearts......
wow, thanks Jim, I was just about to take this page down, glad I didn't
© 2024 Created by Sandi Bachom. Powered by
You need to be a member of THE VIRTUAL WALL OF FAME to add comments!
Join THE VIRTUAL WALL OF FAME