The Gaslight Cafe facts for kids
The former site of the Gaslight Cafe as seen in November 2021.
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| Location | 116 MacDougal Street New York City, New York United States |
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| Coordinates | 40°43′47.01″N 74°0′1.93″W / 40.7297250°N 74.0005361°W |
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| Type | Coffeehouse |
| Genre(s) | Folk music, et al. |
| Opened | 1958 |
| Closed | 1971 |
The Gaslight Cafe was a famous coffeehouse in New York City. It was located in a lively area called Greenwich Village in Manhattan. People also called it The Village Gaslight. It opened in 1958 and quickly became a popular spot for folk music and other types of performances. The cafe closed its doors in 1971.
History of The Gaslight Cafe
The Gaslight Cafe started as a "basket house." This meant that performers were not paid a set amount. Instead, they would pass a basket around after their show. People in the audience would put money in the basket to pay the artists.
John Mitchell opened the Gaslight in 1958. At first, it showed off "beat poets" like Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso. These poets were part of a group called the Beat Generation. Later, the club became well-known for folk music.
John Moyant bought the club in 1961. His father-in-law, Clarence Hood, and his son, Sam, managed the club for several years. In 1968, Ed Simon reopened the Gaslight. The club was run by Betty Smyth and Susan Martin until it closed in 1971. Betty Smyth is the mother of Patty Smyth, a singer from the band Scandal.
Gil Robbins, a folk musician and actor, worked as the club's manager in the late 1960s.
The Gaslight Cafe was right next door to a bar called the Kettle of Fish. Many performers, including Bob Dylan, would hang out there between their shows. Nearby was also the Folklore Center. This was a bookstore and record shop owned by Izzy Young. It was a popular meeting spot for musicians and a center for the New York folk music scene.
In 2005, Columbia Records released an album called Live at The Gaslight 1962. This CD included ten songs from early performances by Bob Dylan at the club.
Kristin Baggelaar and Donald Milton wrote about the Gaslight in their Folk Music Encyclopedia. They said, "The Gaslight was weird then because there were air shafts up to the apartments. The windows of the Gaslight would open into the air shafts. So when people would applaud, the neighbors would get disturbed and call the police. So then the audience couldn't applaud; they had to snap their fingers instead." This meant that instead of clapping, the audience would snap their fingers to show they liked a performance.
Brian Fallon, the lead singer of the band The Gaslight Anthem, said his band's name came from The Gaslight Cafe. He heard it was one of the first places Bob Dylan played. He liked the sound of the name and the images it brought to mind.
Famous Performers at The Gaslight
Many famous musicians and artists performed at The Gaslight Cafe. Here are some of them:
- Bill Cosby
- Bob Dylan
- Joni Mitchell (her first show in New York City was here in 1966)
- Luke Faust (a banjo player and singer)
- Len Chandler
- Paul Clayton
- Luke Askew
- Wavy Gravy
- Bruce Springsteen
Between 1964 and 1966, many artists had early performances here. These included Richie Havens, José Feliciano, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs, Eric Andersen, John Herald, Ralph Rinzler, The Greenbriar Boys, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Carolyn Hester, and Dave Van Ronk.
The band The Blues Project (with Danny Kalb) played their first "electric" show at the club. Blues legends like Mississippi John Hurt and Jesse Fuller also performed there. Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton even played together for a week with John Hammond Jr..
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, many other musicians played at the Gaslight. These included Odetta, Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Bonnie Raitt, Reverend Gary Davis, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Big Mama Thornton, Link Wray, Mimi Fariña, jazz musician Charles Mingus, Happy Traum and Artie Traum, Doug Kershaw, Bob Neuwirth, David Bromberg, David Buskin, and Janis Siegel (who later joined The Manhattan Transfer).
The Gaslight Cafe in Pop Culture
The Gaslight Cafe has appeared in books, movies, and TV shows:
- In her 1999 book Clear Springs, Bobbie Ann Mason wrote about hearing "beatnik poetry" at the Gaslight in the early 1960s.
- The TV show Mad Men featured the Gaslight in an episode called "Babylon" (2007).
- The movie Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) shows a cafe similar to the Gaslight.
- Live at The Gaslight 1962 is a live album by Bob Dylan.
- The documentary Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation talks about the musicians and history made at the Gaslight.
- The TV show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel uses the Gaslight as the main place where the character Midge Maisel performs stand-up comedy.
- Dave Van Ronk wrote a song called "Gaslight Rag."
- David Bowie's song "(You Will) Set the World on Fire" from his album The Next Day mentions the Gaslight.
