Hilly Kristal, American businessman, founded CBGB (born 1932)

Hillel Kristal was an American club owner, manager and musician who was the owner of the New York City club CBGB, which opened in 1973 and closed in 2006 over a rent dispute.

CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters CBGB were for Country, Bluegrass, Blues, Kristal's original vision for the club, but CBGB soon emerged as a famed and iconic venue for punk rock and new wave bands, including Ramones, Dead Boys, Television, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Patti Smith Group, Blondie, and Talking Heads.