In 1959, Manny Roth laid down some marble floor and spray-painted the walls black in this basement venue that had been a horse stable. The idea was to have a place for the beatnik crowd to enjoy.

Roth held "hootenanny" nights where anyone could perform a song. It was on Jan. 24, 1961 that a 19-year-old Bob Dylan played his first NYC set, consisting of several Woody Guthrie tunes. At the end of the set, Roth asked the crowd if anybody had a couch Dylan could sleep on (he had just hitch-hiked from Minnesota).

Jimi Hendrix used to play at Cafe Wha? in the mid-60s when he called himself Jimmy James and fronted The Blue Flames.

Manuel "Manny" Lee Roth is the uncle of Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth. Manny Roth passed away on July 25, 2014 at the age of 94.

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Gerde's Folk City (or Gerdes) was one of the pivotal music venues for the folk music revival of the early 60s, and continued to feature many breaking musicians and bands until the lease was not renewed in 1987.

Originally located at this address, the venue moved to 130 West 3rd Street in 1970.

It was at this location, that Bob Dylan played his first professional gig supporting John Lee Hooker on April 11, 1961.

Dylan's performance at Gerde's on September 29, 1961 was reviewed in the New York Times by Robert Shelton, after which Dylan's career catapulted.

Gerde's is also the place where Dylan first met Joan Baez, and where he first played "Blowin' in the Wind" in a public performance.

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Originally built as a Consolidated Edison power plant, this building became The Power Station recording studio in 1977 under the direction of producers Tony Bongiovi and Bob Walters. The result is an award-winning recording space used by scores of musicians and bands. In 1996, the studio was renamed Avatar Studios.

Bob Dylan's 1983 album Infidels was recorded at The Power Station from April–May, 1983. Dylan needed someone with experience with new recording techniques, so Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler was selected to produce the album. Additional musicians include the Jamaican reggae rhythm section of Sly & Robbie.

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Towards the end of his 1977 tour, Bob Dylan called Rob Stoner (bassist for the Rolling Thunder Revue) and asked him to help assemble a band to rehearse for the next tour.

Dylan rented space at this address in Santa Monica, and named it for the general condition of the neighborhood at the time. He hired engineers Arthur Rosato and Joel Bernstein to transform it into a rehearsal area/studio.

Dylan's expanded pop-based band practiced in the space, and eventually rented a mobile truck with a 24-track to do the recordings for the 1978 album Street Legal. The cover of that album features the exterior of Rundown Studios.

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In 1963, members of The Blue Velvets were watching a PBS documentary on Vince Guaraldi, who had a recent hit with "Cast Your Fate To The Wind." The Blue Velvets were excited to learn that Guaraldi's label, Fantasy Records, was located nearby in Oakland, CA.

The band approached Max Weiss, co-owner of Fantasy Records, about doing some instrumentals for the label. Weiss was impressed with the energy of the band and signed them, but had them change their name to The Golliwogs (which they kept for 3.5 years).

After Fantasy Records was sold to Saul Zaentz, the band changed their name again- to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

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