Bob's Uncle Manny loved music...and the music business. His folk club of the 1960's featured many great performers, old time movies and a great meeting place for those of us in the Philadelphia area. Manny Rubin died a few years ago. We're hoping to hear from many of you who have memories of that time at The Second Fret. Tell us your stories...share your memories...and relive some of those days of long ago...when we were all a lot younger although not necessarily, wiser <g>...bring back those times when Manny Rubin brought the best and most "up & coming" in the Folk Music scene to us all.

Something NEW...I've been asked by some folks to get together an e-mail listing of some former Second Fret patrons & workers so they can renew past acquaintances and find out what folks are doing so many years later. I think it's a great idea. If you want me to keep your e-mail address and make it available to others who request it, send me an e-mail to: info@secondfret.com and I'll take care of it. I will not post these addresses on the web they will be shared only when requested specifically from my e-mail listing. We'll see how it goes.

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Lived downtown, around the corner from the Fret between 1963 & 1971. Memories are too many to recount in detail but one I like is seeing Joni Mitchell there. Her then boyfriend joined her in singing a duet while he sat in the crowd! She then shook hands with everone in the adudience as they left the club. Let's see today's stars do that. BTW, Garth Brooks spent 23+ HOURS after a concert signing autographs. Same idea. Sincerely. Bob Trostle

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Hey Debbie, I saw my first live bluegrass band at the Fret..The Greenbrier Boys and I think it was Nov 64. I went at least three nites. I had been playing for a year, but had not till that time seen a live band other than the guys I was learning with. It was after Rinzler had left them and Wakefield was officially the mando picker, but that week he had stuck an icepick in his finger, and Rinzler was taking his place. They were great. DCB

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It was a miserable winter evening in 1963 and Raun MacKinnon and I had just hustled our shivering bodies through the narrow entrance to the upstairs dressing (ahem) room of the "Fret". We were waiting for the arrival of a "Wild-blind-Flamenco playing-folk-weird-incredible-young-New York-performer. The "buzz" was it would be a night to remember. As the clock ticked on and just when we began to fear the worst (a no show) we heard a scuffling, tripping, banging, then seriously cursing, relatively high pitched young man's voice yell "The Door...the f...ing door...OPEN IT!!!!!". A short, wiry, dressed in black, dripping wet (apparently it had started to rain outside) long haired maniac with sunglasses (remember it was both winter and, by then, nighttime) careened into the very small dressing room....guided by a terribly disheveled looking young woman. With no hesitation he shouted, "Does any one wanna hear a great joke" and without waiting for a response he began relating the one about the "........( I really don't remember), but for the next ten or fifteen minutes Raun, myself, and other Philly folkies crammed into that ridiculously small dank space and listened while this incredibly intense, visibly nervous, sightless young man unwound his tightly sprung mind and body...I could both feel and see the tension leave him and fill the crowded room; we became his "body electric" absorbing the jolts and tribulations of his "trip down". As we jittered he relaxed and began to dry off..,, he opened his guitar case and gently lifted out his guitar; a huge smile came over his face as he harmonically tuned each string. We all nervously quieted down and the genius of Jose Feliciano filled the room, the 2nd fret, and all of us. The buzz was "RIGHT ON!!!!!"

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I have some memories of the Fret as well as quite a few others from the scene on Sansom St. I was a high school kid in the 60's and my friends and I would drive to Phillie almost every weekend because Reading was just not happening. There was almost always a concert connected to the visits in those pre-Spectrum days and I still marvel at the acts we saw for almost no money by todays standards. Our favorite places were The Electric Factory down at 22nd and Arch the 2nd Fret of course, and The Main Point. We would usually try and make a day of it, arriving in the afternoon having lunch and hanging out at the shops on Sansom or in Rittenhouse Square. I remember a small group of shops that had been built into a parking garage on Sansom was one of our favorite hang outs, along with places like Wards Folly and Apparatus. Periodacally Rizzo's Raiders would come down Sansom St. to clear the loitering riff-raff,(which was us) from the sidewalk. That however is one of the few negative memories I Ihave from those heady days. What I remember vividly about the Fret was that seeing a show there was like sitting in someones living room. I loved that. Then there was the spiral staircase and pinball upstairs. The last show I recall seeing there was the Velvet Underground. They were late and the rumor was that they had been busted in Boston. As I recall,they gave a fairly good performance though I don't believe Lou Reed was there with the band. Anyway, thanks for the memories and a chance to wax nostalgic. Peace, Paul E. Scull II

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One other small thing I could say...Manny was always gracious to me and my friends. I'd bring two or three friends (you know, one to carry the microphone, one to open the door, one to carry the tapes.) I carried the tape recorder, myself. There was never a charge. It was fair because I'd always mention the place in my show. Unfortunately, I never got to know him or many of the low-life that hung out at the Fret. Wish I had, though.

We'd just tape the show & scuttle back to Penn. Sometimes we'd invite the act back to my apartment and the Party would start. It was definately a fine thing when the likes of McCurdy or Sonny & Brownie would come on back to West Philly. Usually it was the act with a greater friendliness to libation.

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I was a student at St Joe's in Philly in 1965-66. I discovered folk music that year (36 years later I'm still listening to the stuff-I bought 4 CD's by singer-songerwriters who weren't alive in 1966 the other day in Northampton, MA). The first date I had with a college girl involved going to see Gordon Lightfoot at the Second Fret. I had a great time both in terms of the date and in terms of the music. The Second Fret was a great place to see music and over the years I've wondered what became of the place.

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Saul Broudy forwarded your request for memories of Manny Rubin and his many ventures into the promotion of folk music. I worked for Manny, performing at three of his venues from the late 1950s through the folk boom of the 60s. His first coffehouse was the Proscenium (I'm probably spelling that wrong, but it's been a while) on Chestnut Street. The coffehouses of the 50s each had their own, distinct clientelles. The Artist's Hut was patronized by Beatnik art students from Tyler, the Accademy and the Museum School. The Gilded Cage got the Science Fiction Society, the chess players and the folksingers. The Humoresque catered to the gay crowd. The Pro, Manny's place, specialized in Beat poets and starving actors. Manny was the first one to offer real shows because the Pro had a stage in the front and it became the "place to be" for those who wanted to hear the poetry of Ginsburg, Rexroth, Ferlengetti and Ted Jones. I was a fairly well known coffehouse singer back then. I was often hired (at a princely ten dollars a night) to play guitar behind the poet du jour at the Pro. Later, when Manny opened the Second Fret on Sansom Street, I played a few weeks, scattered over three years. Once, Manny hired me to develope an act for a comidienne/singer, Micky Zacher. His idea was to make her a star like Carl Bowers had done for Joan Baez. Mike Miller

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I was at "The Fret" the first night it opened (it was a snowy winter night), and almost every Friday or Saturday night for several years thereafter. In fact, the back of my head is the brightest spot on the LP cover, "Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry at the Second Fret." I would like to know if you or your husband can tell me when exatly it opened (my guess is winter of 1960-61), and if Manny is still alive. I would also like to know if there are any histories of The Fret available on the Web or elsewhere.

The Fret was a fabulous resource in Philadlephia throughout the '60s. I saw so many great performers there I could fill pages with their names. It was my home away from home, and I have extremely fond memories of the place. Manny was extremely handsome, as I recall, always in a very sharp suit and tie. Joy, the girl at the door who also did the announcements, was eveyone's dream girl. Those were the days! (My friend, Jerry Ricks, now a legendary blues guitarist living in Mississippi, worked in the kitchen there.) Continued success with keeping the Second Fret name alive. Best regards, Peter J. Curry

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I remember going to the Fret with my good friend Fred Brownstein to hear Mississippi John Hurt play the blues. He was up in years, even way back then. Most of the artists sat, between sets, at a table off the the side with a big mug of coffee. When MJH was there, there was no mug of coffee, there was nothing. Then, Manny came through the front door with a brown paper bag and handed it to MJH. That bag sat on his table all evening and, between sets was frequently raised to his mouth for a big swallow. The performance he gave was memorable! Judy

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I have far too many fond memories of the Fret to go into them all. I remember going up that awful spiral staircase and taking drinks to the performers since many of the waitresses wore short skirts and didn't want to climb the open stairs. I remember asking Ramblin' Jack to play a particular song that I was trying to learn from a record and him replying "Cost you a drink across the street." After the set he came back to our table and we went across Sansom street to "Little Johnny's" and had a couple of Bourbons. And Lord, I remember Joy on the lights and the sound board. She was the most beautiful woman my barely post pubescent eyes had ever seen.

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The photos mentioned here can be seen on the photo page: Photos by Kristin Petri; Mississippi John Hurt... Interesting thing is the Stella 12 string guitar sitting on the piano under the clock. John played the 12 string that night, the only time I ever saw him play one. He never released recordings on the 12 string as far as I know. He was late for the show that night. Joy's boyfriend had a big 750 cc Triumph motorcycle and he was driving John around Rittenhouse Square. John wouldn't get off, he loved it so much, so the show was about 20 minutes late. John's opening act that night was a young guy we had never heard of. He had one record out and after the show a lot of us bought it. It was several years later that he put together a band and made it big. Give up? It is a very tidy and well coiffed Jesse Colin Young and that first record can still stand up today.

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My friends and I lived in a small town, about a hour from Philly. I remember my first visit to the Fret, when I saw a then unknown artist named Arlo Guthrie and heard Alice's Restaurant for the first time. I was 16 then, and the world just opened up for me in the 2nd Fret that night. My fondest memory of the Fret was one day we drove down to see David Blue. We walked past the club around 2 in the afternoon and heard music. David and his band were rehearsing so we decided to walk inside and listen. He wasn't sure if it was cool for us to be there, but he let us stay. We cherished that moment, and went back that evening for the actual show. We grew up over the next two years on a steady diet of the Fret, the Main Point, the Trauma, and the Electric Factory. I saw Tim Buckley, Eric Anderson, the Cream, Hendrix, Moby Grape, Velvet Underground, and Frank Zappa, to name a few. I feel so lucky to have been a kid during those times. People were so nice to me, even though I was just a hick visiting the big city. As Robert Hunter once quoted another writer, "those days will come again, but not for me".

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I can remember when I was just a small child ( hadda be, 'cos I'm only 'thutty-nine' now, being drug from the Guitar Workshop to the Fret to hear Sonny & Brownie... watching them maike their painful way down that ridiculous spiral stair and then having a real yadda- whiger of an argument on stage, culminating with Sonny stomping back UP the staircase and Brownie just sitting there with a mysterious 'gotcha' half smile on his face, noodling off riffs until Sonny got over his mad. Guerrila theater and espresso...SOCH a deal!

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One day John Pilla comes puffing into the workshop 'towing' The Good Doctor with him. They sit down and-as visiting 'royalty'- are immediately set upon by Dennis who wants Doc to play every flattop in the place. Which he proceeds to do. We got treated to about forty minutes of he and John smacking 'Blac Mountain Rag', ' Wanna Go Back To Dixie', 'Cherokee Shuffle", and on, and on.... until Doc has played out the wall, so to speak.

"Y'might got anything else here, Dennis? I really ain't too impressed with those I've played."

So Dennis goes into the cellar and brings up a pre-war D45 which some fool has spray-painted ( ! ) bright crimson red and on the face of which are about thirty little Trompe L'Oiel cherubs in gilt, complete with trumpets and wings. It was an offense to the eye. Dennis hands it to Doc with no comment, Doc proceeds to wail away for about ten minutes doing fiddle tunes (Pilla seamlessly accompanying him) and then finally askes the question that we'd all been waiting for: "Hey, Son, How come y'all said I wouldn't want to play this here box? It's just fine as anything I've ever played."

So Dennis proceeds to describe the guitar to Doc, not missing a single cherub or paint-run. Dead silence for thirty seconds.

Doc finally says ( and gave me a real lesson in life at the same time), "Y'see, that's your problem. You only look at how it appears to you. I really don't care about that...I'm only concerned with what it sounds like and how it plays."

Well, that's how I remember it from my bassinett in the corner, seeing as how I was so young and small and all....

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There's so much I remember about the Second Fret. In the 60s I ran a weekly Hootenanny there. ( I believe they were on Tuesdays). Nowadays they would call it an "Open Mike" night. Back then some of the regulars were Debbie Ansill, Raun McKinnon, Barbara Lail, Benji Aronof---Paul Wilson together with Jerry Ricks and banjo whiz Marshall (Freedland????) teamed up to be the infamous "Johnson Boys" and every now and then a young, aspiring comic named Bill Cosby would stop by to do his latest routine. The Fret was a beautifully decorated club. Owner/ Manager Manny Rubin had the good taste and enough creative ideas to turn any space into something special. The Fret was subdued and handsomely appointed with rich wooden antiques, Tiffiany type lamps, a wrought iron spiral staircase and stained class windows. I used to think the upstairs windows facing Sansom Street were authentic stained glass untill one night in 1967 while hanging out with Joni Mitchell in the 2nd floor front dressing room I looked closely and discovered that Manny had "made" the stained glass windows with theatrical gels and electrician's tape. Joni loved the Fret and developed a friendship with club manager Joy Flebbins. In fact it was at Joy's apartment in Philly that Joni wrote her song, "Both Sides Now". Joni worked one weekend at the Fret---the next weekend at the Main Point in Bryn Mawr. She would stay the full week in Philly with Joy and her husband. Manny Rubin---the people who worked for him used to call him "Money" Rubin--- was indeed a smart business man who was careful with his dollars but generous and kind in reality. He was an honest man too. The Fret was our premiere folk club in its day, and presented some of the best act in folk music week after week. The Fret staff, Joy, David Stark, Patty Mayfield, Jack Niklos, Lisa Goldberg, Jerry Ricks, Chuck "The Mind" and so many others i just can't remember were a tight-knit little group of folkies who enjoyed the music and the special qualities of the club. I'll never forget the Second Fret. Gene Shay WXPN Radio Philadelphia, PA

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Lisa Goldberg asked me if I wanted to meet Brownie and Sonny. Yeah, the pope certainly is Polish, and I certainly did! We went up the spiral staircase and I hung around awestruck and stupid, til Brownie asked me sweetly if I'd mind taking the lid off his coffee for him, and then said "Thank you, Darlin'." I thought I'd die.

When Mississippi John Hurt was in town, my neighbor Leonard Jaffe would walk (no one had an extra cent) from Powelton Village to the Fret every single night to sit in rapture and study his fingering. Joyce Nitkin

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After reading all the wonderful comments about the many artists that performed at the �Fret�, I thought I�d chime in with another point of view. I was a regular and witnessed many of the Folk acts already mentioned by others. However, my most vivid memory (other than meeting Joni Mitchell)was seeing/hearing the great San Francisco band Moby Grape. In my humble opinion, the �Grape� was right up there with the Beatles and Stones. They were incredible performers, musicians and songwriters. OK, so they had a bit of a drug problem,...but it was the �60s. And where else but the Fret was I going to get a chance to meet and hang out with Skip Spence, Bob Mosley, et al.

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I was gone by the time the Second Fret emerged, but if not for the Humoresque and the Proscenium,some of us wouldn't have made it through high school. Once Manny Rubin allowed me to wait on tables at the Proscenium -- I must have been 16, and I felt I'd been annointed!Does anybody remember the name of the coffeehouse at Temple University in the late '50s-early '60s? I think it was on Broad Street. Thanks for this site. --Wendy email: wgailmor@aol.com

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I used to live at 22nd and Walnut in the late 60s. Hung out in the square and on Sansom Street. Memories of the 2nd Fret include undergound movies shown on a relatively small (home movie type?) screen in between acts.

I remember seeing Joni Mitchell play there before she had recorded, although her songs had been covered by Tom Rush and Judy Collins. She was quite young and slightly stage shy, giggling and apologizing when she had to stop and tune her guitar.

The main impression I have of the room is of a comfortable funky intimacy that made you feel more like you were hanging out with the musicians in somebody's house than seeing a show. Wonderful.

The Tin Angel is vaguely similar in terms of size, but it's hard to explain how different the Fret felt. (It was the 60s!)

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I have read the comments and several people have hit the nail on the head, being in the Second Fret was like being in a good friend's living room (a good friend who happened to know some very, very talented people, that is). I hung around in the Gaslight and the Bitter End in the Village some weekends and they booked the same people but it wasn't the same. There you were a customer, in The Fret you were a friend. Performers felt it too, they loosened up more in the Fret. We went to see Brownie and Sonny there one night and after getting through the doll house sized door beside the piano and up on the vestigial stage, Sonny sat down on his chair. Unfortunately, one back leg was too near the edge and he fell backwards, barely catching himself. He recovered and "looked" at Brownie, complaining "This stage is too small!". Brownie thought for a minute and said,"Could be worse." This made Sonny mad and he shot back "How?". Brownie replied "Well, There's only two of us; we could be them &@#*'ing New Christie Minstrels." Sonny nodded agreement and the show began. Thanks Manny for letting us attend the world's best and longest running rent party. Pete.

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I have just come across this site and would like to add my comments to the page. I was both an enthusiastic customer of the Second Fret and later, as one of Manny's managed acts, I performed there several times under my maiden name, Raun MacKinnon. I'm very sorry to read that Manny has passed away.

Does anyone remember Don Paulin and Audrey Bookspan and know what happened to them? I used to come down to the city as a teenager to hear them, and Carolyn Hester (whom I now see out here in California once in a while, usually at our annual Christmas party), and I remember meeting Oscar Brand at the Fret, as well as the New Lost City Ramblers, Bonnie Dobson, Judy Roderick -- there were just tons of wonderful acts whom I admired very much. I remember the first time I played the Fret professionally I opened for a group called The Catch Club -- I've wondered for a long time what happened to those guys as well!

I'm very sorry, but I have no tapes or photographs from when I performed at the Fret or I would be happy to forward them.

Thank you very much for posting this site -- it is a pleasure to read the comments and memories.

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Well, let's see. I waitressed at The Fret from about 1966 to 1970 or 1971. Sam hired me. My first 2 weeks on the job first Phil Ochs & then Tom Paxton broke attendance records one after the other. I was married and lived in Germantown before moving back downtown to 22nd & St. James Pl. (around the corner from the Mandrake Memorial), so I wasn't in on many of the the after hours parties and I can't match the great stories. But those years come rushing back to me as I read them. The people & music were the best. I don't have any amusing stories to tell about him, but since no one seems to have mentioned him, I've got to add the name of my favorite performer to the list of luminaries that played The Fret - Ritchie Havens. He was a shaman even then. And does anyone remember that there were several versions of Alice's Restaurant? Deborah Beaumont

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Jerry Ricks... Ramblin' Jack a bit "under the weather" and singing up a storm. How about actually walking down the street after a Fret show with a group that included Joni Mitchell... Someone putting an ad in the Phila. Folksong Society magazine which stated: "Manny Rubin Likes Folk Music Sometimes" (I cut it out and had it in my wallet for years!) And Sonny & Brownie... And my all-time favorite John Herald, lead singer with The Greenbriar Boys... In the Ralph Rinzler - Bob Yellen daze... What did Country Joe say? If you can remember the 60's you weren't really there. Anyway, my then-wife Sherry and I did go to Woodstock so I guess we can't remember!

The small 'green room' up the stairs from which I was never kicked out... Got to see and talk to a few performers in those days. Manny walking around... I actually went to a few post-concert parties where he played the spoons.

Tom Rush, Paxton, Van Ronk... Chris Smither... Pat Sky... Len Chandler, who still Keeps on Keepin' On... I was in touch with him a few years ago... Almost forgot John Pilla, our very own, backing up Doc or doing his own thing...

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In answer to Deborah's question, yes I remember several versions of "Alice's Restaurant". In fact I still have a reel-reel tape with a recording (off Gene Shay's show?) of the "Rainbow Roach" version. Thanks for reminding me, I think I'll listen to it tonight....Pete.

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The accidental discovery of this site brought memories back like the sounds and smells of pig night at the Om Mane Pade Sigma house! I lived for a while right around the corner (above the R&W) and I saw so many performances at the Fret that it's overwheming to try to recall all of it. My most notable experiences were the times I was given the honor of driving a superstar of the time like Joni Mitchell or Jesse Colin Young out to Bala for radio appearances with Gene Shay. The rock era began, Mandrake Memorial became the house band, memories frome those daze are non-existent. I'm saddened to hear that Manny has passed on. From the Proscenium to the Fret to the Trauma I followed and dug all that he presented.

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I was there Fall 69 to Spring 70. New Years Eve was The Velvet Underground; they played many times that Winter. Lou Reed, Doug Yule, Mo Tucker, Sterling Morrison. Friends of mine had a comedy band called Lobotomy that opened for the VU frequently. A guy named Ed managed the place, I think. The memories are tattered in the wind. Bob Wenten

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Hi my name is Frank Stallone I had a band called Valentine and we played the fret many times with Mandrake Memorial, Bonnie Rait, Dave Van Ronk etc. I was the last person to ever play the FRET. I WAS WITH MIKE BACON( from Good News). Ed Vincent had changed the club around, I was doing a folk act not many in the crowd, some greasers from Kensington threw a quart of beer at the club, it got out of hand the next day the club was history. It was one of the great clubs during a real fun time on Sansom St. the like I must say we will never see again. If you have any photos of my band my website is frankstallone.com. Peace and God Bless Frank Stallone

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ah what great days! and the 'Fret' was such a big part of it. Hangin' out with the Velvet Underground upstairs between sets! There was this other band that played there, P.I.L.T. (Pleasure in Little Things) but the best nights spent at the Fret were the nights with THE MANDRAKE MEMORIAL! my favourite band of the time ... Thanks Manny Larry 'LarEu' Eubank

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The seond fret I believe was out the Main Line in Ardmore not in Phila. I went to many shows. In particular I remember a great show by Jerry Jeff Walker. Also remember local band Mandrake Memorial. Buddy Guy.

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Back in the early sixties I played flamenco guitar under the name of Juan Moreno. Manny hired me many times as an opening act and I always made the trip down from New York with pleasure. I remember working at the Second Fret with Miriam Makeba, Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, and Leon Bibb among others. Manny was good to work for and the audiences were, for the most part, attentive and appreciative. After a while I went on to other things, forming the New York Electric String Ensemble, a group which was totally unsuitable for the Second Fret. Eventually I left the music business altogether in favor of a career as a visual artist. You can see my work, including works inspired by those flamenco days, at http://www.talbot1.com Thanks to Manny for some really good times and some great memories. Cordially, Jonathan Talbot

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I was only 14 the first time my brother took me to the Fret.I fell in love with the Jim Kweskin jug band & went everytime they were there. If I slouched in my front- row seat i could put my foot on the edge of the stage! I found out that it was "Ambush" perfume that Joy wore, & when I smelled it from that time on it brought happy memories Sandy Brubaker

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For reminiscences about the Fret, The Trauma, and Manny, check out my interview at www.geosound.org.

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Great to have found your site about the 2nd Fret!! My band, Stone Dawn played the Fret in the late 60's. I remember my first show was in 1965. I was only fifteen years old. I traveled into Center City by train as I lived in the N.E. area of Philadelphia. I heard about the Fret as "THE" coffee house on the scene. As I paid my .75 cent admission price I became hooked! I had to have more! I went back to my band & told them of this really "cool" coffee house we have to play. Anyway, I have posted a few photos & a interview w/ Manny Rubin, the owner of the Fret & manager of the local band, Mandrake Memorial on my web site's,Geo Sound Archive page: http://www.geosound.org Also posted is an interview with the former Mandrake Memorial band member, Michael Kac who talks about the Fret, Manny & the scene in Philly during the 60's. Also posted is another club Manny had, the Trauma. Much love to Debbie & Bob Rubin for keeping the 2nd Fret alive! George Manney

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I grew up in Philly and lived there until 1971. My memories of the whole Rittenhouse Square, Electric Factory, 2nd Fret era are sprawling and a bit disorganized. I remember seeing Mandreak memorial there on multiple occasions, always being wowed by the sound of their electric harpsichord (very unique for the time). If I'm not mistaken, I also saw a play performed there, possible an early performance of "The Boys in the Band." I remember how tiny and intimate the whole scene was. Dylan sang "I wish I wish I wish in vain / that we could sit simply in that room again / ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat / I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that." What I wouldn't give for a big box of tapes from the Fret, Main Point, Heacket's Circle..... man. Very happy to have stumbled onto this site and happy that someone is keeping some sort of oral history of those heady dayz.

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I remember seeing The Velvet Underground there 3 or 4 times. Once there were just 8 people in the audience; another time it was packed. What a cool place!

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I used to go up to the Fret from West Chester with a buddy of mine. I recall hanging out outside on a Saturday afternoon when Dave Van Ronk came out for a smoke. Amazingly he struck up a conversation with a couple of suburban high school kids, talking to us like we were human beings! A great human being and performer. I also remember seeing Arlo there when he played one short tune and then announced "And now for my final piece..." and we all looked at each other like "Wha?" and then he played Alice's Restaurant for about 45 minutes. Others I saw there included the Kweskin Jug Band, just after Bill Keith joined them and Benji Aronoff. Sorry, but I saw Doc, Tom Paxton, Tom Rush, Pat Sky, John Hurt, Steve Gillette, the Greenbriar Boys, Janis Ian, etc. at the Main Point!

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At fourteen, I was obsessed with folk music and the second fret had it all. A few years later, I was the �house� musician� opening for virtually every folk act at the time (1963-4). I got to jam with Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis, Son House, Sonny Terry and Brownie Mc Ghee, Libba Cotton, Muddy Waters, Jessie Young, Doc Watson and on and on and OOONNNNNN!!! What an experience. As I look back, I feel honored to be a part of such a creative and singularly special time in the evolution of both the Second Fret AND in the folk music revival movement. I remember buying a Dylan/Baez poster from Manny for a quarter. DAMN! Why didn�t I buy the whole stack???...woulda, coulda, shoulda�

The Manny/Second Fret stories are so endless and (some x rated) varied, I don�t know where to begin, so�

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I worked at the Second Fret from about 1963 to 1967. For a year I took Joy's place as manager while she was on an extended trip abroad. The Fret has always been some of my happiest and some strange memories. The strange ones are probably NC17 so I'll just stick to the acceptable ones. I remember Manny as having a tough exterior, but a heart of gold. If you were his friend (and all his employees were his friends too) he would do anything for you. I never wnated to get on his bad side though. One of my best memories ws from after I left Phila. for California and Joy was still there. She said that some guys from Brown University had coome to Philly specifically to get my "autograph" as part of some freshman hazing thing and she had to sign it for me since I was long gone. Iwas young, skinny and had long blonde hair and was also known sometimes as the "Ice Queen" or so I have been told. I can't even list all the performers I met while I worked ther but the ones I enjoyed the most were Uncle John - Mississippi John Hurt. He was such a sweet unassuming gentle man and yet he had a twinkle in his eyes for a pretty girl too. The other one was Joni Mitchell. I spent some time with her when she was writing 'both sides' and reveled in her lovely voice. Other people have sung her words but willl never match her pure tones. I was married to my first husband part of the time I worked there and he had a motorcycle and was very much into the 'folk scene' A group of us gave ourselves 'blues names' he was Blind Washington Memorial and I was Blind Lincoln Tunnel. I met Ramblin' Jack Elliot and Spider John Koerner, Tom Rush, Tom Paxton, Phil Ochs,Patrick Skye, Arlo Guthrie -you can hear me laughing on his recording of Alice's Restaurant. Joy is still my best friend and even though we don't see each other as often as we used to when we do get together it is as though no time has passed at all. We have spent lots of time obver the years reminiscing about our times at the Fret. I may have a picture with Manny, Joy Shelley, John Pilla at a concert of the Mandrake Memorial - about 1966 I think. If I can find it I will send it to you.

Thanks for the memories - it was great to read all the comments and so many favorable ones at that.

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What a treat it was for me to find this site today! I was starting an internet search to see if there are any bands with the name Second Fret, but lost interest in that when I found this first. I have such fond memories of the place that I wanted to use "second fret" as my e-mail address on yahoo, but found someone else already has it. Still determined to honor those memories, I used a slighly misspelled version instead.

Back in the mid-60s, my friend Marian and I went to the Second Fret every time Doc Watson, or Doc and Merle Watson, or Dave Van Ronk played there. It was my first introduction to bluegrass, folk and blues music.

Two years ago at Merlefest, the annual Americana music festival in North Carolina dedicated to the memory of Merle Watson, I had the opportunity to speak briefly with Doc Watson. I said, "Doc, I used to go hear you and Merle play at a little place in Philly called The Second Fret. I wonder if you remember that place?"

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Oh. Lord; the second fret. In the early 60's, I was working my way through Penn at Goldsteins' Funeral Home. Obits had to be at the Bulletin (Remember that?) by 9pm, and the trip down from north Broad, generally in a hearse or station wagon with Goldsteins' on it, meant a stop at the fret to see what was going on. Met my first girlfriend there. Manny finally figured out who was parking that f*#*&^ing deadwagon right in the front and strongly requested I park it round the corner. He was a jewel. Loaned 3 of us enough money to buy a cheap speaker and PA from Radio 437. Even helped us "christian" the owner down a little. Met too many great musicians to mention all, but John Hurt, Tom Paxton, Joni M stand out. Buffy Sinte-Marie made her second or third public appearance there.

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As a student host on a folk music program at WXPN-FM (U. of Pa.) between 1965-69, I had the opportunity to tape performances at the Fret that we later played on our station (student run at the time). Artists recorded included Joni Mitchell. While playing her music on air, I got a call from a teenage photographer who wanted to send me a photo he had taken of Joni at the club. When I got it, I knew I was looking at the work of someone truly special. Don't remember how I got the photo to Ms. Mitchell, but she shared my enthusiasm and as a result, Joel Bernstein became her professional photographer for many years. Would like to hear from him and have him contribute that photo to this site.

I only have the fondest memories of the Fret...there's never been a club like it.

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My Dad had an open-air parking lot at the NW corner of 15th & Spruce Street. So I had spent most of my life on that corner, and when Dad passed in 1968, he left the parking lot to my brother and I. I moved to an apartment on Hicks Street (a small street that ran along the side of the Drake Hotel right accross the street from the lot) shortly after Dad's death. I used to see a guy crossing through the lot often with long, dark hair, and we would flash the Peace sign to each other, as was the customary greeting for young 'hip' people back then. Once in a while, we would share some words, and that's when I found out his name was Randy Monaco. He told me he was in a band named Mandrake Memorial. If you lived in Center City and were young and thought to be part of the scene, you knew who Mandrake Memorial was. I started going to the 2nd Fret to see them. Sometimes, there were as few as 15 people there to see a show, but they delivered their set as professionally as if there was a full house. I loved the band immensely, and would go see them at The Trauma as well. I remember seeing Tom Rush and The Velvet Undergroundat the Fret. It was so comfortable and intimate at the Fret. I also remember another Coffee House, The Gilded Cage, nearby...they would mostly have poets delivering verse there. 20th and Sansom was a very hip street at the time, with 2 clothing stores that I often frequented-Wards Folly and The Apple. There was a neat head shop and Sansom Street Shoes (with a Sales guy named Pinny), also on that block. I think my most memorable Mandrake experience was when they opened for The Doors at The Convention Center. Their set was so tight that night, and they received such wonderful applause, I felt sure they were going to be 'the next big thing'. Randy had such a nice voice, and that synthesizer was so new and exciting for music back then...the memories are so sweet-like it was yesterday.

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Thanks to all of you who've added to our memories page. It's been wonderful to learn new things about The Fret and to relive some of those great times. Have a Peace-Filled 2005 and keep writing and we'll keep reading. Debbie & Bob Rubin

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Have a wonderful 2005 filled with Family, Friends and Great Music...always music. Bob and I from Second Fret wish you all Peace.

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I remember Manny very well. I must have performed at his club at least 25-30 times maybe more.

I remember around 1968, about 2 hours before I was to perform, all of my belongings were stolen from my

car including my 1932 Gibson J-200. Manny hustled me up a guitar and I finished the show. I was very depressed

Many and I went over to �Little Johnnie�s� bar across the street, after the show, and got loaded.

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I just went on your site and read everything and it brought back such memories. My husband, Gamble Rogers and I were returning from NYC where we lived in a big apartment we shared with Phil and Alice Oaks. We stopped in the Fret because someone we knew was playing there. We did a guest appearence. I always remember it being one of my favorite places in the country. When we got back to Winter Park, Florida, we started a coffee house named the Carerra Room and I coppied as many ideas as I could from the Fret. Maggie Rogers

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Sorry this isn't totally relevant to the Second Fret, but I was searching the web to research an old poster I own that reads 'Crosstown Bus July 14th 337 Washington St Brighton N.Y. Rock & Roll Ensemble- Mandrake Memorial Band-The Pink Oyster Loves You-Slip cover Fare $2.50'. After seeing the site and reading about Manny & his club, I couldn't help but feel sorry to have missed the experience. Thanks for sharing............. Tony in Portland,OR

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Geez-- teenagers in a 56 Chevy from the northeast --we used to see The American Dream--P.I.L.T.--Sweet Stavin Chain--MANDRAKE MEMORIAL!! Those Mandrake shows were fantastic!!! Craig had just built his modulator--Randy was using the Goya violin bass--Kevin on double bass Sonor drums. Michael Kac used that Rocky Mountain keyboard!! We LOVED those shows! Then we (I) wrecked the Chevy. Oh well--The 2nd Fret is a cherished memory! Thanks Manny!!! Dave Lynd Yakfulness@hotmail.com

to have been included. If you should change your mind, you have my permission to add my comments.

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Sorry (but understandable) you're not posting on the site these days, but I've just read everything that's still there and enjoyed it tremendously.
I was fortunate to have played the Fret as opening act (in no particular order) to Dave van Ronk, Arlo Guthrie, the Yougbloods and several other artists. Joy and I became close friends the moment we met, and she's living in Bodega, CA., still making beautiful art (remember the portraits in the big upstairs room as you went back to the bathrooms?) and running an antique store. Like Raun McKinnon, I don't have any tapes from the Fret, but there may be some photos hidden somewhere in the house. If you're still collecting, I'd be happy to search through the boxes.

Hope the site can open up again soon, and I'll stop by again.

Thanks for doing the project,
Carol Hunter