Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicMy heart dropped on August 25 when I looked on Instagram and saw that John Fredericks, aka the musician John the Baptist, was leaving Manhattan.
I was sure John and his wife Karly were either upstate- or west coast-bound — another loss for New York City after months of being ravaged by the scourge that is the coronavirus, and another nail in the coffin for the once vibrant East Village.Mind you, I didn’t know John personally, but I knew of him thanks to a video that circulated far beyond his 7th St.
fire escape back in May. He was the guy playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” on his electric guitar as part of the daily 7 p.m.