Hilly Kristal

Hillel " Hilly " Kristal ( born September 23, 1931 in Manhattan, New York City; † August 28, 2007 ibid ) was an American club owner and musician. He belonged to the legendary New York club CBGB, which was from 1974 the nucleus of the U.S. punk and new wave.

Life and work

Hillel Kristal - named after the historical Rabbi Hillel - was born in 1931 in Manhattan in the wake of Russian-Jewish U.S. immigrant. However, he moved in infancy with his family at this time in the predominantly rural Hightstown, New Jersey to, also known as Jersey Homestead, a Jewish settlement project. Beginning with his enrollment, he learned to play the violin, at a young age he studied music and eventually attended the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. He was also for a time in the Marines, where he worked among other things as a DJ. At the age of eighteen, he moved to New York, where he starred in the 1950s and 1960s in a number of bands and earned his living as a singer. Among other things, some performances at Radio City Music Hall are listed. He later became manager of the legendary jazz club the Village Vanguard, where he organized a performance of Miles Davis among others.

In 1970, Kristal in the street Bowery in Downtown Manhattan is a bar, which he called Hilly 's on the Bowery. In 1973 he changed the name to CBGB & OMFUG, an abbreviation (acronym ) for the styles of music that he wanted to see played there: " Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizers ". The club was known as the nucleus of punk and new wave, bringing artists such as the Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Television and Blondie out.

In October 2006, joined the club after the rent should be greatly increased. This occurred over the years, many well-known musicians, and the CBGB remained very popular until its closure among music fans from all over the world and tourists, although it had lost its cultural relevance as the nucleus innovative music back in the early 1980s. Following the closure Kristal thought for a while about it, reopen the club in Las Vegas.

Kristal died on 28 August 2007 from lung cancer. He left two children: Mark Dana Kristal Kristal Burgman and Lisa.