Famous people who started as buskers?

[fettucinibrother]

I apologize for mentioning Charlie's addictions. Didn't mean any disrespect at all. It just happens to be my last memory of seeing him. Hearing his name again triggered a whole wave of memories for me. I had totally forgotten about his role in DC Cab. What a bad movie, but Charlie was great in it. Doing a little google search, I found his mention in Wikipedia. I did not know that he died of aids. Kind of ironic, becuse one of his jokes that I remember well goes like this...,
"Yeah, I went and took that aids test last week"...
" I got a 69"... "apparently I did poorly on the oral portion of the test"...
The aids scare was huge at the time and the joke just destroyed the crowd. Funny, Funny stuff.... RIP

Speaking of acts that worked the fountain at Washington Square. Anybody else remember Joey, Joey. The dude who jumped rope on a unicycle with a sword down his throat. That dude used to rock the fountain as well. I remember seeing a tape of his show from the fountain that was pofessionally shot with steadycam and aired on local cable access. It captured the "Washington Square Street Performing Scene" perfectly. I have a copy of that somewhere here in the archives. have to see if I can dig it up now...
Alfredo

[harmonicakev]

I saw Rick Avilez work Boston Common a few times in the early 1980's, and he rocked. No props, just his body and his mouth, and a lot of energy...very funny....
I saw the star of "Crossing Jordan" on the tonight show one night, and she claimed to have done some busking in Toronto.
B.B. King did some street music in Kansas City.
Brian O'Connor (Slaphappy) was the "conductor" on Shining Time Station,after Ringo and George Carlin. Does that make him famous?

[Peter Voice]

I don't know if he started as a busker but if you go to the Moruya (NSW south coast) sunday markets in January, you can catch Michael "Flea" Balzary, the "Red Hot Chilli Peppers" bass player, busking (playing trumpet) with friends.

[Rex Boyd]

I saw Rick Avilez at Caroline's Comedy Club in NY in 1991. Awesome. Probably the best stand-up performance I have ever seen. Very similar in his scope and abilities to Richard Pryor.

Wow, I wish I could have seen Avilez on the street as well.


Rex

[jester]

I saw Rex Boyd on TV several times in 1989. He then went on to become a great street performer...

So he did it the other way around... Cool eh?

[seanbridgesbikeboy]

hmmmmmmmmmmm

I heard a rumour arnold swartznigger did press ups with a hat out.In venice beach no he is the governer of los angeles

[seanbridgesbikeboy]

ROCK ON JIM

YOU ROCK BROTHER THIS IS A COOOOOOOOL THREAD

[jester]

Sean Bridges started by Singing "Tie a Yellow Ribbon round the old Oak Tree" wearing a cravat and playing the accordian with his hair died Von Munchkin Blonde... oh and he was on roller skates..

... this is true, although I'm sure he will deny it furiously....

[harmonicakev]

rock and roll

Brian Jones, guitarist and co-founder of the Rolling Stones did some busking in Scandinavia in the late 50's or early 60's..without much success....this is according to Bill Wyman's "diary " of the band.

[jeep caillouet]

most famous

I remember seeing Elvis Presly on Beale st. in Memphis some times he played on Union Ave or Front st. downtown on the river. Also there are many great and famous people who perform in Boulder co. such Mork and mendi ,oh yes breakdansers lets not forget about that really famous.....ah...you know....aaaah
gazzo. He took a spot at mallory tonite . The same great spot that he talked so bad about a couple months back. I guess things are looking up. Come on down the weather's fine.

[jester]

Albert Einstein would walk the streets of Stassbourg saying "think of a number" to people. People paid him to go away cos his hair was really weird in those days.

[unklesteve]

The Violent Femmes got started as a street act. They were actually strolling up and down and entertaining the line at a Pretender's concert when they were "discovered" and scored a record deal...

[Shoehorn]

famed one time buskers

What a flash to read abut Charlie Barnet! For a short while in 1983, I teamed up with Charlie playing sax and tap dancing in Washington Square. We decided to work together in the face of all that competition. I would start and he would finish and we would split the hat. Tony Fireman was big then. I knew Joey Joey- he did Michael Jackson bit - moonwalking on a uni- it killed. Last time I saw Charlie B. was on a movie set in the downtown square of Prescott Arizona . I thought I had stumbled on a weekend of work at a street festival but it was a movie shoot. Charlie and I did a set in bar for old time's sake and he introduced me to Rosanna Arquette and we hung out in his trailer. He did "ethnic rollerskaters"
Speaking of rollerskates, I knew "Slo mo" a bit, who was great, but Larry Fishburne?? Sure about that? Slo Mo was pals with Professor Bend EZ- a great balloonist.
Flea sat in on trumpet at our Monday jazz jam in Portland and we played together. He was cool. I can see him playing on the street in OZ.
Artis the Spoonman still busks when he is not sitting in with Audioslave. He played a string of gigs with my jazz band here in Portland last year. He has been my bro since EXPO 88in Brizzy.
Baby Gramps has put out 2 CDs featuring my work on sax and tap etc with his Portland First Friday band "The back swamp potioners". we gig here once a month.
I have done one gig at Town Hall in NYC with Bill Irwin, and a bunch of tap greats young and old,
"the elegance of tap, the comedy of tap" which Irwin emceed, at Town hall. he was so funny I had to be elegant. He is a fine tap dancer in his own right.
So what is my point? MY NAME SHOULD BE A HOUSEHOLD WORD BY NOW!!! Oh, wait a minute.........
Shoehorn
ps busking is a beautiful and liberating line of work!

https://www.shoehornmusic.com

[jester]

Apparently Anna Nicole Smith was never a busker.

[Frisbee]

Mac

Bernie Mac said on Letterman on Friday that he started out as a street performer in the 70`s.