The Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater, famous for its legendary shows and unforgiving audience, is one of the only musical venues in New York untouched by time. It’s the spot where James Brown recorded his famous Live at the Apollo, widely hailed as one of the best live albums ever made. On December 28, 2006, two days after Brown’s death, thousands lined the streets, trying to get into the Apollo’s memorial service for the legend. The Apollo still holds amateur nights every Wednesday where anyone can get onstage and try to win over the crowd. They’re a tough audience, though — before she was famous, Lauryn Hill was once booed off the stage. Shows run most nights and tours of the historic theater are offered during the day. The lobby is always open to the public, where you can see the famous log performers rub for good luck before taking the stage. There’s also a collage of famous artists who have graced the Apollo stage (such as Sammy Davis Jr., Brown and Red Fox) in the lobby and a gift shop that sells everything from a $131 suede jacket to a 50 cent pencil.

Sylvia’s Soul Food
Sylvia’s Soul Food has been a favorite spot for locals — and the busloads of Japanese tourists that stop by every day — since it was founded forty-five years ago. Just a quick walk from the Apollo Theater, Sylvia’s attracted stars like Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross and James Brown before and after their gigs in the 1960s. Today, it’s a favorite spot for everyone from Paris Hilton to Nelson Mandela. Janet Jackson and Beyoncé (who loves the fried chicken) are recent customers, as well. Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC used to stop by in the early 1980s and drum out beats on the countertop until Sylvia came out and made them stop. Plus, Puff Daddy signed the Notorious B.I.G. there in 1992. If you stop by, we recommend the ribs and the killer mac and cheese. And say hello to Sylvia, who at age eighty-one stills runs the place. (more…)

New York Dolls — New York Doll Hospital
This decades-old doll repair shop is often credited as spot that inspirated Arthur “Killer” Kane to name his ‘70s glitter-rock band the New York Dolls. Dolls singer David Johansen disputes this account, explaining that guitarist Syl Silvain came up with the name the Dolls, then Johansen added “New York” to it. “I was thinking how there was New York, and then the rest of the country was like Gommorah,” says Johansen. “The city was so different than now — it was burnt out, full of boarded-up buildings and had this post-apocalyptic vibe. It was like love among the ruins — that’s the kind of name I was going for.” Nonetheless, people all over the world still send their dolls to get repaired at the Doll Hospital. “I never lost a patient,” boasts proprietor Irving Chase. One recent customer was Bruce Springsteen, who had his favorite childhood teddy bear repaired so he could give it to his son.

The Ramones — “53rd & 3rd”
On the Ramones first album, Dee Dee sings about hustling on this street corner, an infamous gay prostitute zone in the early 1970s. Joey Ramone’s brother, Mickey Leigh, recalled seeing him there in punk oral history Please Kill Me: “He had a black leather motorcycle jacket on, the one he would later wear on the first album cover … I was kinda shocked to see someone I knew standing there, like, “Holy shit. That’s Doug standing there. He’s really doing it.” Dee Dee also claims the song is about him, and not a Green Beret as is often said. “The song ‘53rd & 3rd’ speaks for itself,” he once said. “Everything I write is autobiographical and very real. I can’t write any other way.” The corner now houses the Lipstick Building, named for obvious reasons. (more…)

Rock Daily’s tour of classic rock & roll landmarks continues with the help of Google’s endlessly entertaining Street Maps feature. In this installment, check out four places that played major roles in the history of The Beatles.

John and Yoko’s First NYC Apartment, 105 Bank Street

In 1971, after a long stay at the St. Regis Hotel, John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved into a tiny pad owned by Lovin’ Spoonful drummer Joe Butler. This was during Lennon’s most political period, and he often hosted gatherings at the apartment that drew counterculture figures like Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. Lennon also demoed much of his Some Time in New York City album in this spot. After 18 months, though, John and Yoko moved on up, to the Upper West Side apartment building called the Dakota.

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It’s been a few weeks now since Google debuted their Street Maps feature. Here at Rock Daily, the novelty of panoramic street-level shots hasn’t worn off, especially since we’ve put the tool to good use — namely, checking out the current state of some key rock and roll landmarks. We showed you sites ranging from the Fillmore West to the Chelsea Hotel in our first and second Sixty-Second Tours. Below, check out four more landmarks in their present form — all of them instrumental in the life of Bob Dylan.

• Café Wha is most commonly known as Dylan’s first stop when he arrived in New York on January 21, 1961. Owner Fred Neil (who scored a hit in 1969 with “Everybody’s Talkin’”) let him onstage to accompany him on harmonica. Six years later, Chas Chandler of The Animals discovered Jimi Hendrix here and later got him signed to a record deal. Located on MacDougal between Bleecker and west Third Street, Wha was one of the original facilitators of the artistic explosion that took place in New York during the late Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. It’s also the longest running folk club in the city.

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Privacy advocates and the U.S. Government are up in arms about Google Street Maps, but here at Rock Daily we still can’t get enough of them. Last week, with help from Street Maps, we took you on our first Sixty-Second Roll Tour; here are five more major rock and roll monuments. Today, some of them are banks and Honda dealerships, but we prefer to remember them as they were.

Dylan’s New York House (the green door)
In 1969, tired of obsessed fans pestering him in Woodstock, Bob Dylan took his family back to New York and bought this house on MacDougal Street – which is about a minute away from the coffeehouses he frequented a decade earlier. Unfortunately, A.J. Weberman, the king of all Dylan nuts, soon found out where he lived and began digging through his garbage. Webberman also brought hordes of other Dylan followers to his front door. Eventually Dylan had enough and beat Weberman up right outside the apartment.

Fillmore East
From 1968 until 1971 this building (check out an older photo here,) currently an Emigrant bank, was perhaps the greatest concert hall on The East Coast. Opened by legendary concert promoter Bill Graham as a sister venue to the Fillmore West in San Francisco, pretty much every major rock band of that era played the 3,600-capacity theater – from Pink Floyd to The Who to Led Zeppelin to The Byrds. In March of 1971 the Allman Brothers Band cut At Fillmore East Here. In the Eighties the building housed legendary gay club The Saint.

Fillmore West
Graham moved the Fillmore from its original location on Geary Street to this site in 1968 and called it The Fillmore West. The Grateful Dead played the final show there on July 2, 1971. It’s now a Honda dealership.

Chelsea Hotel
This hotel, once the tallest building in New York City, has been a haven for artists of all kinds. Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Mark Twain, Arthur C. Clarke and countless others all lived here. Leonard Cohen’s song “Chelsea Hotel” is about an encounter he had with Janis Joplin in one of the rooms. On October 12, 1978, Sid Vicious was staying there with Nancy Spungen when she was found stabbed to death. Sid was arrested, but he died of a heroin overdose while out on bail. The room the couple shared on the first floor was turned into four other rooms, after management got tired of visitors asking to stay there.

CBGB
CBGB (Country Bluegrass Blues and Other Music For Uplifting Gormandizer) opened in 1973. Hilly Kristal, its owner and founder, originally envisioned it as a country and bluegrass bar, but within two years it became ground zero for the burgeoning punk movement. Television, The Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, the Talking Heads, the Dead Boys and many more played here regularly during their early days. On October 15, 2006 Patti Smith played the final show at CBGB which was forced to close due to a long standing dispute with the landlord. Kristal plans on opening a new CBGB in Vegas.

Images: Google Maps