Cafe Au Go Go
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Cafe Au Go Go was a Greenwich Village night club located in the basement of 152 Bleecker Street beneath the Garrick Theater.
In 1964, Comedian Lenny Bruce was arrested here on obscenity charges, along with owner, Howard Solomon. In 1964 Solomon also brought in a large group of singers and musicians from an off-Broadway show, and christened them the (Cafe) Au Go Go Singers to rival the Bitter End Singers across the street at the Bitter End Cafe. Solomon managed the group until their break-up in late 1965. In the Au Go Go Singers were Kathy King (later toured with Bobby Vinton), Jean Gurney, Michael Scott (afterward played bass for the Highwaymen), Rick (Frederic) Geiger (later performed in light opera), Roy Michaels (soon after joined "Cat Mother" and toured with Jimi Hendrix), and Stephen Stills and Richie Furay, both who would eventually form the Buffalo Springfield. Two other members, Nels Gustafson and Bob Harmelink, quit show business entirely after leaving the group.
It was also at the Cafe Au Go Go that afterward a new folk/rock group was formed (Geiger, Michaels, Scott, Gurney, and Stills) from the remnants of the Au Go Go Singers, called The Company. It was when the Rollins and Joffee Talent Agency sent The Company on a tour of Canada that Stephen Stills met Neil Young. Eventually, Stills, Young, Richie Furay (another Au Go Go Singers alumni) and two others became the Buffalo Springfield.
In 1966 Bruce Springsteen played his first NYC gig on the 2nd floor. The club was the first New York venue for the Grateful Dead. Richie Havens was a weekly regular. Before many rock groups performed there, the Cafe was mainly an oasis for jazz (Paul Evans, Stan Getz, etc.), comedy, and folk.
When the Cafe Au Go Go finally locked its doors for good, now-famous Stephen Stills was a featured performer in the gala closing.
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