The Bitter End was established in 1961 as a small music club
on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, and became the launching pad for the
careers of hundreds of musicians and comedians. In its heydays in the 1960s and
1970s, the late Paul Colby provided a stage and an audience for the likes of Bob
Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Jackson Browne, Neil
Diamond, Hall & Oates, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt,
Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Bette Midler, Carly Simon, Kris Kristoffersen, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Curtis Mayfield, Joan Baez, Sam
& Dave, the Chambers Brothers, Phil Ochs, Peter, Paul & Mary, Randy
Newman, Harry Chapin, Tommy James, and Donny Hathaway. He also booked many up and coming
comedians, including Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Billy Crystal, Cheech &
Chong, Ray Romano, Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman and Lily
Tomlin. Later acts included Patti Smith, Blues Traveler, Rusted Root, Gavin
DeGraw, Norah Jones, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Ingrid Michaelson and Jon Stewart.
Colby died in his home in Montclair, New Jersey, at age 96
on February 13, 2014. The club hosted a musical tribute to him tonight that
included performances by John Sebastian, Peter Yarrow, Guy Davis, Josh White,
Jr., Ronee Blakely, Eric Andersen, Willie Nile, the Persuassions, Aztec Two-Step, Tom Chapin
and the Chapin Sisters.
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| Eric Andersen |
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| Tom Chapin and his daughters, The Chapin Sisters |
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| Josh White, Jr. |
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Neal Shulman of Aztec Two-Step.
Behind him, a slide show showed a photograph of a young Paul Colby with Linda Ronstadt. |
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| Jen Chapin, the daughter of Harry Chapin |
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| Dan Cazio |
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| Willie Nile |
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