LibGuides: Rock & Roll Hall of Famers with Ties to Long Island: K

K

The Daisy -- as located at 124 Broadway in Amityville, New York -- was the site of multiple early performances by future Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band KISS. The band's June 16, 1973 performance at The Daisy can be heard here. Video filmed of the interior of the later-rebuilt spot can be seen here. Reportedly, the original site of The Daisy is now a parking lot for doctor's offices located at 120 Broadway, and the building housing The Daisy was torn down in the early 2000s.

Flyer for KISS performing at The Daisy:

Photo of KISS performing live at The Daisy in 1973:

Photo of the members of KISS with Sid, believed owner of The Daisy:

Ad for a then-upcoming KISS performance at The Daisy from 1973:

Business card ad then-upcoming KISS performances at The Daisy from 1973:

Art for bootleg CD showcasing a 1973 live performance of KISS at The Daisy:

Another early spot of note for KISS, Calderone Music Hall was a theater located at 145 North Franklin Street in Hempstead, New York. Salvatore Calderone and son Dr. Frank Calderone were visionary theatre operators in Nassau County, New York, and their Calderone theatre circuit was initially known for showcasing films and live stage shows. The Calderone Theatre opened on June 21, 1949, and in January 1974, Concerts East (an Island Park promotion firm headed by local legend Phil Basile) announced that it would manage the Calderone as a music venue. Reportedly due to a contractual obligation, the Calderone had to keep showing The Godfather Part II while staging concerts only on weekends after midnight. Capacity of the venue was believed to be for around 2,200 patrons.

KISS aside, among the notable artists who performed at Calderone Music Hall over the next decade into the mid-1980s were Aerosmith, Journey, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Billy Joel (Hicksville native), Electric Light Orchestra, Peter Frampton (who recorded some of his best-selling Frampton Comes Alive album in Commack), ZZ Top, The J. Geils Band, Santana, Barry Manilow, The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, The Ramones (whose guitarist Johnny Ramone had ties to Westbury), Meat Loaf (whose primary songwriter Jim Steinman was a native of Hewlett), Hall & Oates, Van Halen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Dire Straits, Elvis Costello, Judas Priest, Devo, Def Leppard, The Stray Cats (natives of Massapequa), The Talking Heads, Motorhead, Santana, The Pretenders, Cheap Trick, The B-52s, Twisted Sister (which includes multiple Long Island natives), and Blondie.

More specific to Freeport, Lou Reed performed at this location, when it was known as the Hempstead Theatre, on December 26, 1972 during Reed's Transformer tour. A recording of this concert, plus a remote radio interview for WLIR, became the Lou Reed album American Poet.

KISS performing live at Calderone Hall in 1975: