The Stone Pony at Fifty
Venerable Asbury Park Venue Celebrates Throughout February
Fifty years ago today, Manhattan-raised entrepreneur Jack Roig opened The Stone Pony at 913 Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey. After working in the nascent computer industry and at a Point Pleasant Beach club, Roig pursued new ambitions on the corner of Ocean and Second Avenues. He had significant competition, as the small city had numerous other live music venues. The Sunshine In, which was then located around the corner at Kingsley Street and First Avenue, hosted numerous local and national acts. A blizzard blanketed Asbury Park in snow on February 8, 1974, and the club’s inaugural evening had one paying customer. Roig had a dollar to show for his efforts that night. (In this Asbury Park Press article, Roig implies that there was no connection between the club’s name and the band The Stone Poneys, fronted by Linda Ronstadt in the 1960s. He says the name was inspired by a shirt worn by a romantic interest.)
It was an inauspicious start for an auspicious idea. Local musicians flocked to The Stone Pony, including one who was about to attain global stardom, and its reputation and status swiftly rose. Its first house band, the Blackberry Booze Band, led by Steven Van Zandt and Southside Johnny Lyon, would soon morph into Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes. Bruce Springsteen would make scores of impromptu guest appearances with the Jukes and other artists and play several impromptu concerts of his own there. Today, the venue is one of the most famous in the world, sought after by aspiring new artists and hardened veterans alike. Notable bands and performers have ascended its stage over the decades, including names like Anthrax, Green Day, KISS, and The Pretenders, and equally notable cult powerhouses The Fenwicks and Jesse Malin. (An outlandish coincidence: Casablanca Records released KISS’s self-titled debut album on February 8, 1974.) Contrary to popular belief, Springsteen did not get his start at The Stone Pony. He worked his way up a local circuit that included The Sunshine In (which closed in 1977), The Upstage (now an apartment building), and The Student Prince (now Porta, a restaurant and nightclub). He had already released two albums on Columbia Records by the time The Stone Pony opened. But his numerous appearances at the club across the decades are beyond legendary. Just a few of them include the Memorial Day Weekend live radio broadcast introducing Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes; an impromptu concert in the wee wee hours of July 5, 1976 (after a Jukes concert); and an unannounced Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band appearance during Born in the USA Tour rehearsals on June 8, 1984 that included the live world premieres of “Born in the USA”, "Darlington County”, “Glory Days”, and “My Hometown”.
The Pony’s ride has had its bumps and forks in the road; it has closed and rebounded. The Nineties were a particularly trying time, with periodic closures and both Springsteen and Southside Johnny living in California in the earlier part of the decade. Fortunately, while the twenty-first century has not been conducive or welcoming to live music generally, The Stone Pony thrived. New generations frequented it, it opened an outdoor Summer Stage in its backyard (former location of Mrs. Jay’s Beer Garden and the Sunshine In), and it celebrated its history, with memorabilia and photographs adorning the walls that are still there. The official website has more details about the club’s history. Today, it is managed by Madison Marquette. While the company’s management of other historic Asbury Park venues (notably the shuttered Convention Hall and the Paramount Theatre) has been controversial, The Stone Pony thrives.
The City of Asbury Park has proclaimed today Stone Pony Day, and the club is celebrating with multiple events throughout February. Tonight’s event, 50th Anniversary Kickoff, features original DJ Lee Mrowicki. Roig will be there, too. Admission is free. (If it runs late enough, one might even see me there after engagements have been kept.) On Saturday afternoon, the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music will present The Stone Pony 50th Anniversary Panel, with Roig, musicians, promoters, and writers relating stories about the club’s history. On February 10, the celebration continues with Decades of Rock, with a different local band playing covers from each decade of the club’s history; and Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes will play two sold-out shows on February 16 and 17.
Since at least Stephen Crane, Asbury Park and its residents and visitors have changed national and international culture. The Stone Pony, like Crane’s house on Fourth Avenue, is one part of that cultural legacy that still stands.