Stanley Jay Way (Staten Island)
Present name:None
Location:At the northeast corner of Forest Avenue and Oakland Avenue
Honoree: Stanley Jay (d. 2014), along with Harold “Hap” Kuffner, founded Mandolin Brothers in 1971. The firm supplied instruments to such musicians as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Buffett, Judy Collins, The Edge (U2), and Paul Simon. It brought George Harrison to Staten Island to buy a pre-war National ukulele. Paul McCartney had his famous Hofner Violin Bass, the primary instrument he used with The Beatles, repaired there. In 1976 Joni Mitchell made a double purchase there. Returning to Manhattan on the Staten Island Ferry, she was inspired to write a song that begins “I went to Staten Island, Sharon, to buy myself a mandolin.” The song, on her 1976 album "Hejira," put Mandolin Brothers on the map. In 1980 Stanley Jay was a co-founder of Steinberger Sound Corp., makers of an all-graphite composite bass and guitar that became one of the most famous recording industry instruments of that decade. (Rose)
LL:2015/15