It almost went unnoticed by me that last week we lost two of the great cultural names of the 20th century: Hilly Kristal and Aaron Russo. The influence that Rock and Roll had on America is immeasurable… and certainly more important than the adventures of Wide Stance Larry or the connivances of Karl Rove.
Hilly, who died at age 75, was the founder and owner of CBGBs in The Bowery, NYC, where for 33 years (until it’s closing last October) gave us The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, Patti Smith and the most original artists of the 70s and 80s. Aaron, who was 64, gave us big time rock in Chicago and NY, the early career of Bette Midler, and, more recently, he had been involved in the major issues of American freedom.
We spend too much time looking at how politicians influence all of us, but miss the fact that they are the smaller contingent. Culture prevails.
I had a special feeling for Aaron Russo, whose Kinetic Playground in Chicago let me present my production of Frank Zappa’s “Lumpy Gravy” while I was a lowly theatre student at Northwestern, and where I got to meet the great bluesmen Albert King and B.B. King on the same night.
Here’s a little documentary on Aaron from YouTube:
