Streisand, Benatar, Lauper: Long Island Musicians Feted

By Tiffany Razzano

Good Rats members, inducted in Hall of Fame last month; Alec Baldwin presented award to Billy Joel in '06 Photos by Chrissy Sampson

Not many artists openly admit to hailing from Long Island. But the truth is, a number of musicians and bands, representing every genre of music from rap to folk have spent some part of their career on the Island, from the farthest point east to as far west as Queens and Brooklyn. And it's the goal of the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, a nonprofit organization, to honor and celebrate the careers of such artists, which so far have included Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Johnny Maestro, Richie Havens and Joan Jett.

This time around, at its most recent induction ceremony, another red carpet affair, on Oct. 30 at the Garden City Hotel, two years after its first class of inductees were celebrated with a gala, even more well known artists were inducted: Simon & Garfunkel, Barbara Streisand, Pat Benatar, Mariah Carey, Louis Armstrong and The Ramones. The list could go on, and it does.

"Not many bands say they're from Long Island," said James Faith, the group's executive vice chairman. "They say they're from New York City, not Long Island. They couldn't say that if they wanted a career. We're just tired of it."

He added, "The people love it. It makes people from Long Island feel good about where they come from."

"It's amazing to be recognized where you come from," said rapper LL Cool J, who grew up in St. Albans, Queens. "It's a part of my roots. When people recognize you where you come from, it's a little more truthful, a little more serious."

"This is my hometown," said doo wop singer Kenny Vance, who founded Jay and the Americans. "There's nothing like being recognized in your hometown."

And though some might balk at the idea of including artists from Queens and Brooklyn in the LIMHF, the group considers these artists to have made a very real contribution to the Island's musical heritage. So, for the LIMHF, it's natural to include artists from those boroughs in the mix. "People in Manhattan, they say, 'Let's go out to the Island,'" said the group's new chairman, Allan Varella. "Brooklyn and Queens not that long ago were considered part of the Island."

At the group's first induction ceremony, held in 2006, Billy Joel showed up and got his award from Alec Baldwin, turning the event into a media frenzy. Following the celebrity effect of Joel, when the LIMHF began planning the ceremony for the next year, it found it a daunting task to live up to that inaugural gala. So for that reason, as well as financial reasons and the availability of the second wave of artists being inducted, the LIMHF took a year off from the party-planning to refocus on its original mission - celebrating the great and varied musical artists of the area, while educating residents, both young and old.

"It's not about the parties," said Faith.

When it came time to plan the second induction ceremony, "We decided we wanted to focus more on the artists' families and make it more private," said Varella. "We wanted to change the essential motive of the gala. We didn't want to focus on the celebrity."

Even more importantly for the LIMHF, it spent that year focusing on its educational component and programs with local schools. They offer several multimedia programs for schools and libraries, as well as educational seminars for local musicians and music scholarships for area students. Also, over the past few years, the group has amassed memorabilia from Long Island musicians, putting together a traveling educational exhibit, which could be viewed at various local schools and libraries.

Now, the exhibit - which will become a full-fledged museum - and the LIMHF have found a permanent home in Port Jefferson, in an historic bank building in the downtown area. This building will house the museum, an extensive educational facility and an archived resource center available to the public.

For more information about the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, go to www.limusichalloffame.org.

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