ROCKIN’ WITH THE BEEP: Marty Markowitz’s Musical Legacy

Marty Markowitz /photo by Howard B. Leibowitz /B.L.Howard Productions

Born and raised in Crown Heights, Marty Markowitz is Brooklyn’s biggest cultural booster. The Borough President is widely known for creating two of New York City’s largest and longest-running free concert series: the Seaside Summer Concert Series in Coney Island and the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series in Flatbush. No one has worked harder to make Brooklyn synonymous with great music. It is fitting, therefore, that we feature Marty as he prefers to be known, in our inaugural edition.

Like so many kids growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, Marty Markowitz fancied himself a rock star. “I wanted to be Elvis Presley. I even bought a guitar when I was 12 or 13, but didn’t have the ability.” He did, however, have the ability for organization and promotion, skills he would later use to bring the music he loved to the borough he loves.

The opportunity first presented itself in August of 1979, during his first year as a State Senator. “On my way home from Albany, I was passing by Midwood Field, across from Edward R. Murrow High School, and it struck me that maybe I could do music there,” he says. “I figured I might stage free outdoor concerts during the summer.” He could and did, producing shows on a shoestring using money from his own pocket to supplement funding from what is now the Brooklyn Arts Council.  “For the first two years we hired unemployed musicians, paid by the government, and featured local acts such as the Waldo Brass Ensemble.” Overcoming rain, technical glitches and other woes that happen at outdoor events, the concerts proved popular.

The Stars Come Out

Bandshell Program In Hand /photo by Howard B. Leibowitz / B.L.Howard Productions

In 1981, “I broke into show business,” Marty quips, when the concert series landed its first major star: big band legend Cab Calloway. With the success of the Calloway concert, “I knew what direction I wanted to go in,” he says. “I wanted to make it ‘Las Vegas in Brooklyn.’ The concerts would be about yesterday, not tomorrow, focusing on the music of  the’ 50s and ‘60s.” The series was expanded from four shows to eight, and featured such ‘50s icons as the Andrews Sisters, Peter Duchin, Dinah Shore, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughn and Andy Williams. The rock ‘n’ roll era would soon be represented by the likes of America, Chubby Checker, Fabian, Bobby Rydell, Three Dog Night and Bobby Vinton.

The Beat Goes On

In the summer of 1983 Marty launched the hugely popular Martin Luther King Jr. Concerts at Wingate Field, booking R&B and soul acts geared to younger African-American and Caribbean-American audiences, reflecting the increasing ethnic diversity of his legislative district. “The MLK concerts tend to draw more current entertainers and larger crowds,” he notes, adding that, “We booked Mark Anthony before anyone really knew who he was.” Last year’s headliners included Keyshia Cole, Anita Baker, the O’Jays and Ruben Studdard.

In 1991, the original oldies series was moved to Asser Levy Park and renamed the Seaside Summer Concert Series which Marty says “is wonderful for Coney Island. We had our best year in 2009,” he adds, citing a lineup that included Pat Benatar, Blondie, Gladys Knight, Hall & Oates and Donna Summer.

“Only in Brooklyn do you get concerts with this caliber of nationally celebrated talent for free,” he says proudly. “I walk around. You see people transfixed, for a few hours their troubles and challenges, they just give it up for the pure sheer enjoyment of it all.” Citing some of his personal favorite highlights, Marty says there was electricity in the air the first time Paul Anka performed  and that Liza Minnelli was “magic…everyone’s eyes were riveted on her.” Rosemary Clooney was another crowd pleaser, Frankie Valli “always dazzles,” and when Eddie Fisher performed, “women, most of them in their 60s, stormed the stage and threw their panties.”

The Future’s So Bright

Marty says he would like to attract more current top-selling artists to Asser Levy Park, but, in addition to meeting their monetary demands, “artists will only come to venues that are commensurate with their level of talent” and the park’s current lack of bathrooms and dressing rooms, among other amenities, has been a detriment. Going forward, he is hopeful that the proposed renovation of Asser Levy Park will make it more attractive to contemporary artists, even if it means charging admission for some of the bigger names.

“The entertainment industry recognizes Brooklyn as a valued venue, but we still don’t have a facility worthy of a major entertainment hub,” he says. “We need a year-round venue relevant to performers’ needs.”   Toward that end, Marty has spearheaded a plan to restore the long-dormant Loews King Theater on Flatbush Avenue and convert it into a music haven to rival Manhattan’s Beacon and Apollo theaters. There is much work to be done, but Markowitz is optimistic that the restored and revitalized theater will host its first concert before he leaves office in 2013.

Cradle of Creativity

Meanwhile, he sees no end to the cornucopia of talented performers emerging from, or settling into, Brooklyn’s neighborhoods. From classical composer Aaron Copland to rappers like Jay Z and Buster Rhymes – with a myriad of pop and rock stars in between – the borough has a long, proud musical heritage. “Brooklyn has an edge,” Marty explains. “We have an attitude and an extraordinary ethnic diversity here that generates a unique creative energy and brings out the best in these performers.”

Marty’s all-Brooklyn-artists dream concert would spotlight Neil Diamond, Carole King and Barry Manilow. He’d also add Lena Horne, were she still performing, and would grant Tina Turner honorary Brooklyn citizenship to put her on the bill as well. We don’t know if any of these will be showing up on a Brooklyn stage this year, but Marty is already hard at work planning this summer’s entertainment – and we’re sure they’ll be some very pleasant surprises.