Manny's Music was an American music instrument store in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on Music Row (West 48th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues), Midtown Manhattan, where musicians from beginner to professional could buy their instruments and meet each other. Many artists bought their first guitar from Manny's before they became famous. The store was in business from 1935 to 2009, years.

History

Manny Goldrich (15 April 1904 – 25 May 1968), originally a saxophone salesman, founded Manny's Musical Instruments & Accessories Inc. in 1935 on West 48th Street. From its start until 1959, Manny's was located at 120 West 48th Street. "Music Row" was so named because of the many music shops clustered there. At first, the store was about 20 feet by 20 feet, but expanded gradually to the whole building by about 1954. The store hit its heyday in the 1960s, after British invasion bands started to visit America. Prices were low and product ranges wider than in Europe. In 1965,

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offered to buy the property, and purchased a new building for Manny's at 156 West 48th Street. The shop moved officially to its new location in 1969, but Goldrich never got to see it. Before his death in 1968, he passed the store on to his son, Henry Goldrich (15 May 1932 – 16 February 2021), and daughter, Helen Burgauer. Manny's eventually passed, in the early 1990s, to Manny Goldrich's grandsons, Ian and Judd Goldrich. In 1999, they sold Manny's to its chainstore rival across the street, Sam Ash Music, who, in turn, maintained Manny's as a subsidiary and retained its staff and family managers until 2009.

The Wall of Fame

The walls of Manny's had thousands of autographed publicity photos of musicians. When Manny's closed in 2009, those photos became the focus of negotiations between Manny's owner, Sam Ash Music, and Manny's founding family. Holly Goldrich, Manny Goldrich’s granddaughter, and Sandi Bachom built a Web site, The Virtual Wall of Fame, where more than 3,000 photos are shown. The artists in the pictures include: * Johnny Ramone *

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* Johnny Cash * Jimi Hendrix * Buddy Holly *

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* David Gilmour

The Yellow Guitar

Henry Goldrich used to tell customers, "You try it, you buy it", as he did not want the shop's guitars to be scratched. This led to his purchase of "The Yellow Guitar", a

Danelectro Danelectro is a brand of musical instruments and accessories, founded in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1947. The company is known primarily for its string instruments that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro company was ...

that had been used for a photo shoot and was painted yellow. Goldrich required customers who wanted to try different guitar effects to use this guitar. George Harrison tried to buy it, but Goldrich did not sell the guitar.

Honors

* In 1988, Manny Goldrich was posthumously inducted into the

NAMM The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

Hall of Fame

In popular culture

Music videos

* Manny's was featured in Guns N' Roses' "

Paradise City "Paradise City" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). Released as a single in January 1989, it is the only song on the album to feature a synthesizer. The song pea ...

" video.

References

External links

Final Visit to Manny's Music on 48th Street, New York City (YouTube)

Henry Goldrich Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2003)
Ian Goldrich Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2017)
Judd Goldrich Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2017)
"The Virtual Wall of Fame"
{{Authority control Musical instrument retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 1935 Retail companies disestablished in 2009 1935 establishments in New York City 2009 disestablishments in New York (state)