How iconic rock club CBGB launched Blondie, Talking Heads the Ramones and more

nypost.com:

the iconic New York rock club that started a music moment five decades ago.In fact, the all-female act made themselves so at home at the East Village institution that they once played in their pajamas at a benefit gig — with a loaded lineup including Patti Smith, Elvis Costello and CBGB house band Mink DeVille — after club owner Hilly Kristal kept pushing their set time back.“We used to use the Ramones’ loft around the corner [at 6 East 2nd St., now known as Joey Ramone Place] as our dressing room because it was horrible at CBGB,” Ross told The Post.“So we went over to the Ramones loft, and we changed into our pajamas.

And we wore these pink flannel pajamas and cowboy boots back over to CBGB’s, and we brought pillows. We went on right after Allen Ginsberg — you know, the serious beat poet — and then we’re up there in pajamas singing ‘Fun at the Beach.’ ”And the B-Girls would make connections with other legendary CBGB bands such as Blondie, who broke the scene out of the club underground and to the top of the pop charts with “Heart of Glass” in 1979.

And from Television to Talking Heads, the club that the late Kristal opened on Dec. 10, 1973 became something totally different than what he originally envisioned with those initials standing for Country, Bluegrass, Blues.“It started out with, you know, a few drunks and a few friends,” Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry told The Post. “It was just, like, the local bar [with] some bikers, some Bowery guys.“And then it became the place to go.