The Stone Pony is a

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

music venue in

Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188

known for launching the careers of many New Jersey music legends, including

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.
DeMasters, Karen (December 16, 2001). City Revival May Imperil Stone Pony. ''New York Times''. Retrieved December 19, 2010. The club opened in 1973.

History

Counting Crows - Stone Pony (7172535357)

Prior to becoming a music venue, the building housed a restaurant named Mrs. Jay's, later named Mrs. Jay's Beer Garden, that was frequented by a polyglot community of tourists, high school and college students, and bikers. During the mid-1960s, Mrs. Jay's management began to allow bands to perform. After the restaurant and beer garden went out of business in 1968, allegedly over a waitress wearing a see-through blouse, Mrs. Jay's moved two doors south and reopened a short time thereafter. The second incarnation of Mrs. Jays became a notorious biker hangout in its later days before being demolished in the late 1980s.

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depre ...

s lined entire blocks after cruising the circuit. The building that originally housed Mrs. Jay's reopened in Fall 1973 as The Stone Pony. Since The Stone Pony opened in 1973, many of the world's most popular musical artists have played on its stage. In 1991, The Stone Pony had to file for bankruptcy because of a series of drunk driving lawsuits. However, the nightclub reopened in 1992. Because of its importance to the music world, there was a national outcry when there was talk of closing the Pony during the late 1990s. The Stone Pony was repeatedly opened and closed as developers targeted Asbury Park through the beginning of the new millennium, and musicians and patrons organized and rallied in support of The Stone Pony. The annual

Asbury Park Music Awards {{Infobox award , name = Asbury Park Music Awards , image = Sarah Tomek at APMA.jpg , imagesize = , caption = Sarah Tomek of Days Awake, recipient of three Asbury Music Awards, on drums at the 2007 Asbury Music Awards ceremo ...

ceremony, founded in 1993 as "The Golden T-Bird Awards" and renamed "The Asbury Park Music Awards" in 1995, is usually held at The Stone Pony. The awards recognize excellence in the region's music community. The format for the ceremony is similar to that of the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

.
DeMasters, Karen (August 15, 1999) Top of the Pops at the Shore. ''New York Times. '' Retrieved January 4, 2011. It features the presentation of awards between performances of live, original music and poetry.
Pfeiffer, John (December 1, 2010). Asbury Park Music Awards and Musical Heritage Kickoff. ''The Aquarian.'' Retrieved December 18, 2010. The event is jointly sponsored by The Stone Pony, The Saint (music venue), The Saint,

WBJB-FM WBJB-FM (90.5 FM, "Brookdale Public Radio, 90.5 The Night") is a non-commercial, member-supported, educational public radio station licensed to Brookdale Community College, serving Central New Jersey with "The News You Need and the Music You Love ...

, and ''The Aquarian''. The club was renovated in 2000, preserving the character associated with its early years while adding a permanent exhibition of art and artifacts from the history of the city and the venue itself. State-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment were installed, and outside, facing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, The Stone Pony Landing area was redone with a beach motif, tenting and food facility. Fans and artists continued to support the Pony, and the Asbury Park Music Awards returned to the Stone Pony.
Woliver, Robbie (August 13, 2000). Asbury Park Music Awards return to the Stone Pony.''New York Times''. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
DeMasters, Karen (December 31, 2001). Stone Pony and King Biscuit Unite for Rock 'n' Roll's Sake ''New York Times''. Retrieved December 19, 2010.DeMasters, Karen (February 04, 2001)
"Marshall Crenshaw at Stone Pony"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Accessed December 19, 2010.
Strunsky, Steve (January 11, 2002). Stone Pony Rally. ''New York Times''. Retrieved December 19, 2010. Eventually, the music community prevailed,Newman, Andy (February 25, 2002)
"Just Up the Road From E Street, a Rock Landmark Stands Its Ground"
''

''. Accessed January 3, 2011. and a vibrant live music scene reemerged and crowds returned. "A visit to The Stone Pony has been considered a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to rock 'n' roll fans around the world. "It is a place that is important not just to us, but to the world,"

New Jersey Governor The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration ...

said as she officially reopened the club on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend 2000.

Asbury Park community support

Before it reopened in 2000, The Stone Pony made a commitment to become involved in the Asbury Park community. The club and the city co-sponsored a weekend-long Asbury Park Festival along the oceanfront. The festival was free to the public and featured local arts and crafts vendors as well as live music both inside and outside the club. The U.S. Postal Service created a special cancellation for the event, and hundreds of people lined up to have envelopes stamped for the occasion. The club was open in the evening, and part of the proceeds was donated to the

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

House on Fourth Avenue in the city, where the author of ''

The Red Badge of Courage ''The Red Badge of Courage'' is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Ove ...

'' lived during much of his short life. The Stone Pony has hosted a number of events supporting Asbury Park-area community groups and charities. Proceeds from a concert entitled "Remembering

Harry Chapin Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy A ...

" benefited a charity that fights world hunger, and the club has been designated as an official drop-off point for the

Food Bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direct ...

s of

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...

and Ocean Counties. The club held a fundraising event for the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation, the Acoustic Musicians Guild, sponsored a concert at which Bruce Springsteen appeared in support of the

Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms beco ...

Foundation, and held a benefit event for the family of a young man who lost his life in a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...

accident. The club partnered with the community in offering the first Asbury Park showing of a

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

exhibit spotlighting the city by students of the Rugby School at Woodfield for learning disabled and behaviorally challenged students. The Stone Pony's management also established "The Stone Pony Foundation" to promote

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origin ...

at the

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

and

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

levels. An amplifier was purchased for an aspiring teenage blues guitarist from the area, and the club was a sponsor for an event at another venue which benefited music and

art education Visual arts education is the area of learning that is based upon the kind of art that one can see, visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, de ...

in Asbury Park schools.

References

External link

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone Pony, The 1974 establishments in New Jersey Asbury Park, New Jersey Buildings and structures in Monmouth County, New Jersey Music venues in New Jersey Tourist attractions in Monmouth County, New Jersey Nightclubs in New Jersey