| Issue #30, October 20, 2006 |
Hall Of Fame
Joel, Jett, Coltrane, Chapin, Gershwin, Sedaka, Lauper, Etc.
By Debbie Tuma
It was like the Academy Awards had come to Long Island. The red carpet was rolled out in front of the Patchogue Theatre of Performing Arts, and 29 world-class musicians, music businesses and music institutions were getting ready to accept their first-ever inductions into the new Long Island Music Hall of Fame.
Last Sunday night, crowds were cheering behind barricades and hanging out of upstairs windows as black and white limousines dropped off performers from all genres of music — from rock to blues, jazz, hip-hop, and classical. Sixties and seventies rock groups like Vanilla Fudge, KISS, and Twisted Sister came walking down the red carpet too.
Long Islanders Carmine Appice, drummer of Vanilla Fudge, guitarist Vince Martell, and organist Mark Stein, had all come to celebrate the new Long Island Music Hall of Fame, and to be some of the first inducted. “I’m really excited about this new project, and about the amount of support being shown for Long Island talent,” said Vince Martell. “We’ve been busy touring, and we’ll be playing at this theater on October 28. Originally, we were going to take two years off, but it was 32 years — so we’re happy to be back in the music scene.”
Crowds went wild when (Piano Man) Billy Joel strolled into the theater, and worked his way through the press line, where he chatted and posed for photos. He and the other inductees signed two guitars and two cymbals which will be auctioned off on eBay to raise money for the Long Island Music Hall.
“Being from all over the Island, I couldn’t NOT come to this event,” said Joel. “Although I’m originally from Hicksville, I’ve lived in towns from Sag Harbor to Oyster Bay, and I love the whole area, its bays and its farms. I’m still fishing on the East End, where I spent a lot of time this summer.” Joel brought his friend Alec Baldwin, of Amagansett, who presented Joel’s award to him.
Another inductee, blues legend Sam Taylor, talked about how he got started in the 1950s performing in the Bluebird and other clubs in Flanders and Riverhead. “Those were great clubs and great times,” he recalled. “I’m still rocking on the road — I flew here from my Holland tour because I feel I belong on Long Island, and I wanted to support this Hall of Fame. I feel it’s long overdue.”
Harry Chapin, whose extended family lives in Sag Harbor, was honored posthumously Sunday night, with his widow, Sandy and his singer daughter, Jen Chapin, accepting the award. In her father’s footsteps, Jen Chapin, of Brooklyn, has cut a few of her own CDs, and she performed at the event.
The Long Island Music Hall of Fame, which is a non-profit organization still seeking a home, inducted 29 famous musicians (both alive and deceased), music businesses and music institutions, from Suffolk, Nassau, Queens and Kings Counties, who have made their mark in different genres, including: Mose Allison, Sam Ash, Sr., Tony Bennett, Gary U.S. Bonds, Harry Chapin, George M. Cohan, John Coltrane, Perry Cuomo, James D’Aquisto, Edward “Little Buster” Forehand, George Gershwin, Richie Havens, Joan Jett, Billy Joel, Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, the Long Island members of KISS, Cyndi Lauper, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Long Island Philharmonic, Marian McPartland, George “Shadow” Morton, Run-DMC, Neil Sedaka, SUNY Stony Brook, Stray Cats, Sam Taylor, Twisted Sister, Vanilla Fudge, and Leslie West.
While most of the awards recipients strolling up the red carpet said they were proud and happy to receive their award, Leslie West, lead singer of Mountain, joked modestly, “I guess they needed to fill an empty seat.” He gave a live performance, as did several other musicians, including Johnny Maestro and Little Anthony. Presenters for the evening included Paul Shaffer of “The David Letterman Show,” Peter Tork of “The Monkees,” C.J. Ramone, and Felix Cavaliere of the “Young Rascals.” Shaffer, of Canada, presented the award to his friend Peter Criss, of KISS, with whom he recently worked on a new solo album.
Although the Long Island Music Hall of Fame has no walls at the moment, its Board of Directors is eagerly considering several offers of buildings across the Island to house its educational programs and museum. The Founder and Chairman of the Board, Richard L’Hommedieu, of Smithtown, said he first got the idea for this project, while traveling to Atlanta, where he saw the Georgia Hall of Fame in Macon. “I saw all their wonderful music exhibits and their museum, and I wondered if there was enough musical talent on Long Island to have something similar,” said L’Hommedieu, who formerly published Long Island Entertainment Magazine. “When I got back home and started doing some research, I was amazed at the overwhelming amount of talent we have, from Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.”
Richard Arfin, of Sag Harbor, who is Vice-Chairman of the Board said, “Long Island has the most musical talent of any place in the country, so it’s the ideal place to start a Hall of Fame, to teach our children about our musical heritage.” The new Long Island Music Hall of Fame would be a non-profit organization, and would have educational programs and scholarships available in the fields of music. L’Hommedieu said he has received several offers of buildings from Riverhead to Stony Brook, Port Jefferson, and as far west as Roosevelt Park. He is now making decisions for the right location, and hopes to have it up and running by 2008.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who also attended, said, “There is so much pride on Long Island that these first 29 inductees have touched millions of lives around the world. We give them accolades for never forgetting their roots.” This new Hall of Fame will be for ours and future generations.” For more information, check their website at www.limusichalloffame.org.
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