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Back in 1978, M&A students were almost moved out of the Castle. The city of New York proposed that the students of the High School of Music and Art be moved to Haaren High School. Check out the photo from the New York Post and read the Daily news article dated April 20, 1978 about the student protests and what caused all the confusion.  The sixteen-year old in the front with the white shirt is Tove Wagner - Class of 1980. New York Daily - Thursday, April 20, 1978, Page 281 Board of Ed Kills Plan on Schools Move By Mark Liff In a last-minute switch, the Board of Education called off plans yesterday for the wholesale move of four Manhattan high schools populations to make room for a “campus laboratory high school” near City College. The board originally planned to move LaGuardia HS of Music and Art from W. 135th St. and Convent Ave. to the building now housing Haaren HS, at 889 10th Ave., at W. 59th St. This was to allow for the creation in central Harlem of an “experimental secondary school serving a student body representing a cross-section of the immediate community,” according to the board’s calendar of actions. Included in this proposed mass migration was the transfer of students from Food and Maritime HS and Haaren to the nearby completed Park West HS building, at 50th St. and 10th Ave. But, hours before the board’s scheduled vote last night, the proposal was withdrawn and a substitute motion was submitted. “There will be a campus high school idea,” said one top school official shortly before the vote. “It will be at Music and Art’s present site, but we don’t exactly know when.” Awaiting New School The board reportedly is counting on a City Council resolution directing the Board of Estimate to allocate the funds for a new high school on W. 65th St. and Amsterdam Ave. This facility is now a foundation in the ground, funds for its completion having been frozen in the fiscal crisis. “Music and Art will move into a Lincoln Center site only when the board feels the building is ready,“ the official said. “No one else will move into Haaren next year.  New York Daily - Thursday, April 20, 1978, Page 281
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Janis Ian is a singer/songwriter who is best know for radical songs about teenage angst At Seventeen. She won a Grammy for this song and a second Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for her autobiography, Society’s Child. Composer of numerous songs recorded by other artists, including Roberta Flack, Kenny Rogers, and Alabama; Janis has collaborated with country songwriter Rhonda Kye Fleming. Has written songs for motion pictures, motion including The Foxes and The Bell Jar. And to top it all off, Janis Ian attended the High School of Music and Art. 
By age ten, Janis picked up her father’s battered Martin D-18 guitar and mastered the acoustic guitar by eleven years old. Janis wrote her first song Hair of Spun Gold by age twelve, and was performing her songs in school functions. That next year (1964), Janis published her first song in Broadside Magazine. During the same year, she sang for the first time in a Greenwich Village club to praises from the locals. During this time, she changed her name to Janis Ian (her brother Eric's middle name).   On February 12, 1965, thirteen year old Janis signed a record contract with Elektra and recorded her first hit Society’s Child (Baby I’ve been Thinking). The song was about an interracial romance forbidden by a girl's mother. After its debut in 1966, it was banned across the country as subversive (the country had not yet repealed laws against interracial marriage). The single failed to attract much attention until the conductor Leonard Bernstein invited its writer to perform the song on his television special Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution. The show was filmed in November 1966 but not aired until early 1967. The publicity from this made the song an overnight sensation and Janis became an instant celebrity. During the fall of 1965, Janis entered the High School of Music and Art as a freshman but because of her hectic work schedule, she found herself at times missing classes. Her parents brokered a deal that Janis could take days off; as long as she pulled an A average on all tests. Unfortunately, she failed every subject on her first report card due to absences. Though some teachers made her life hell (with their attitude about her stardom), Janis stated that, "The kids were alright; they just wanted autographs or to come to recording sessions." (2) Classmate, Beth Parness, remembers Janis Ian: "Janis was in my conducting and voice classes. I remember her trying to sing Nel Co zpiu Non Mi Sento..a light comedic opera piece about being pinched by your lover..in fishnet stocking and tie dye minidress..She was hating every minute .."
During 1967, Janis was singing and playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs and landed a recording contract with Verve Records.
Excerpts from her book, Society's Child: My Autobiography, concerning her time at M&A during the beginning of 1967 (her sophomore year): "Christmas vacation came and went; I struggled to keep my grades up, and fought to maintain my writing output. Going to school was terrifying. The principal asked me to do a show in the auditorium and I refused. He told me I needed to pull up my grades, saying, 'If you can write all those songs, you can be a straight-A student,' What he forgot was that I was being a straight-A student; it was the absences that pulled down my averages." Janis decided to leave Music & Art high school during December 1967 of her junior year. (3) Janis threw herself into her work and produced an album almost every year.
Janis did a lot of touring throughout the country during the next few years. Her albums did well but it was rough for her, not having a hit comparable to the fame of Society's Child. But all of that was about to change.  Janis and Arthur Brooks (producer), working on "At Seventeen."  In March 1975, the album Between The Lines came out to glowing reviews. Within it was the song "At Seventeen." The song was about teenage cruelty and alienation. On September 24, Janis appeared again on The Tonight Show and afterwards, her career exploded. At Seventeen charted at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and album went platinum. On October 11, she also performed At Seventeen on the first Saturday Night Live. Janis achieved a high level of popularity in Japan: Ian had two Top 10 singles on the Japanese Oricon charts, "Love Is Blind" in 1976 Ian's 1976 album Aftertones also topped Oricon's album chart in October 1976. Also in 1976, Janis wrote and performed “Flying Too High” for soundtrack of Jodie Foster film Foxes. It also became her first international hit, reaching #1 in many countries. Janis continues to be prolific, as always, so the hits just keep coming.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that in 2008, Janis Ian released her positively-received autobiography Society's Child. An accompanying double CD, The Autobiography Collection, has been released with many of Ian's best loved songs.  1, 2 & 3 - Quotes used by Janis are from: Society's Child: My Autobiography, Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2008 eISBN: 978-1-585-42675-1  Janis Ian At Seventeen  Larry Lurin
Did you know that the school cafeteria was originally on the sixth floor of M&A? Below is an artist's rendition of the old lunchroom as seen in the June 1952 Yearbook (the artist is Larry Lurin - Class of Spring of 1952). If you look closely, you can see actual faces of the student body. And its hard not to notice all of the activity.
Six floor cafeteria - Spring 1952 Yearbook
When the lunchroom was opened to the 250 Music & Art students on February 1936, it was first housed on the sixth floor of the building. According to alumnus Theodore Rosov (Class of 1952), "...it was originally on the sixth floor with beautiful views east, south and north out of the large windows."
It was not until the spring of 1954 that the brand new cafeteria settled into its new home in the basement of the school.
June 2011
Always the favorite hangout. Instead of eating our delicious meals and listening for the bell to ring, alumni gather and celebrate the good times.
June 2017
 Laura Nyro was a singer, composer, lyricist and pianist whose career began in the 1960s. Her style was best described as a distinctive hybrid of Brill-style New York pop, mixed with elements of jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, show tunes and rock. Her songs were made famous by a multitude of well-known performers, which included Blood, Sweat & Tears, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night and Barbra Streisand. She was born Laura Nigro, in the Bronx on October 18, 1947. Her father, Louis Nigro, who was of Russian Jewish, Polish Jewish and Italian ancestry. was a piano tuner and a jazz trumpeter. Her mother, Gilda (Mirsky) Nigro, was a bookkeeper. As a child, Laura taught herself to write poetry, play piano and she listened to records of Leontyne Price, Billie Holiday, Debussy and Ravel. By age 8, she composed her first songs.
Laura entered the High School of Music and Art in 1961 at 14 years old. Throughout high school, Laura listened to the protest music of Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, early Bob Dylan and the Beatles. She also sang with her friends in subway stations and street corners. By age 17, Laura graduated in 1965.
While still in high school, Laura tried a few different names. When her career took off, Laura Nyro was the one that stuck. In 1966, through her father, Laura auditioned for record company executives Artie Mogull and Paul Barry who became her first managers. After selling her song "And When I Die" to Peter, Paul & Mary, Laura then made her first extended professional appearance at the Hungry I coffee house in San Francisco. Her voice was described as "a blues soprano," a "rich, charcoal-smudged alto," "a soul singer who soars - she can make you feel it deep down." Laura's debut album "More Than A New Discovery" was under the Verve Folkways label. The album provided material for the Fifth Dimension and Barbra Streisand.
By age 19 (1967), Laura did a live appearance at the huge Monterey Pop Festival (pre-Woodstock). 
Laura Nyro's songs have been recorded by artists as diverse as Carmen McCrae, Suzanne Vega, Phoebe Snow, Roseane Cash, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Jane Siberry, Mongo Santamaria, Junior Walker and the All Stars, Chet Atkins, Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, George Duke, Maynard Ferguson, Thelma Houston, Patty Larkin, The Roches, and many, many others.
Sadly, on October 18, 1997, Laura Nyro passed away from ovarian cancer. She was 49 years old. Same age as her mother. Taken from Laura's Anthology When asked about her approach to songwriting, that perhaps she is of the generation who addresses certain issues, and what what her responsibility is to express those issues - Laura replies: "I'm not interested in conventional limitations when it comes to my songwriting, because that's how I see life. I'm interested in art, poetry, and music. As that kind of artist, I can do anything. It's all about self-expression. It knows no package - there's no such thing. That's what being an artist is." 
(This article was updated on 10/8/19)
Diahann Carroll was the star of several television series and the headliner in a multitude of TV appearances. Her career as a singer/actress spans motion pictures, theater and has won her countless awards which include Tonys, Golden Globes, Emmys, Academy Awards and NAACP Image Awards.
Carol Diann Johnson was born on July 17, 1935, in the Bronx, but grew up in Harlem (515 West 148th Street). After singing at six years old in a Harlem church choir, her parents enrolled her in dance, signing and modeling classes. While taking voice and piano lessons, ten year old Diann won a Metropolitan Opera scholarship and she contemplated an operatic career. 
Diahann at 15 years old
By the time she was 15, she was modeling for Ebony magazine. She entered the High School of Music & Art in 1950 where she continued developing her voice. At 16, she teamed up with a girlfriend from M&A and auditioned for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, where she used the more exotic sounding name Diahhann Carroll. She won the contest and performed on the radio for three weeks. She sought modeling work but it was her voice, in addition to her beauty, that provided the magic and allure that drew others to her talents.
At age 18, Diahann graduated from M&A in the winter of 1953.
M&A Yearbook - Winter 1953
In 1953, Diahann was a freshman sociology student at New York University but her acadamic career took a backseat after she met with the Latin Quarter owner and it was arranged for her to appear on the TV showcase “Chance of a Lifetime.”
By the next year (1954), she made her film debut in the film Carmen along side Pearl Bailey. Through the 50’s and 60’s, Diahann headlined in Hollywood, Miami and New York supper clubs.
Photoshoot in 1956 - 21 years old
Numerous record albums were produced because of the charm of her melodious voice, which caused her to have guest appearances on musical variety shows during the 1960’s.
Most were familiar with character that Diahann played on the television series Julia in 1968. It was one of the first TV series to star a black woman in a non-stereotypical role. In 1974, she played the title role in Claudine for which she was nominated for an Oscar. Diahann also portrayed of Dominique Deveraux in Dynasty (1984). During her three years in this series, she played the wife of Brady Lloyd (played by Billy Dee Williams who is also an M&A graduate (Class of 1955). In 1995 Diahann again reunited with her old friend Billy Dee in Lonesome Dove: The Series).
From 1997 -2015, Diahann participated in film (Eve’s Bayou, Tyler Perry Presents Peeples) and a variety of television shows (Twice in a Lifetime, Soul Food, Grey’s Anatomy, and Diahann Carroll: The Lady. The Music. The Legend.).
Diahann was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 but had no family history. After months of radiation therapy, she was deemed clear. Diahann Carroll died of cancer on October 4, 2019.
Quote from Diahann Carroll concerning her life:
“All I wanted to do was sing. What happened was more.”  When most people think of Billy Dee Williams, they think of his deep voice and suave manners. His career spans radio, Broadway, television and his paintings hang in the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He was born William December Williams, April 6, 1937 and lived on 2125 West 110th Street in New York City. When he was a chubby little kid of 12 years old, he dreamed of being like Rudolph Valentino (the silent screen movie idol). With aspirations of becoming a famous painter, Billy Dee graduated from the High School of Music & Art in 1955. He then attended the National Academy School of Fine Arts and Design in New York, taking acting jobs to pay for his art supplies. In the early 60’s he devoted his energies to acting.  From 1955 M&A Yearbook Billy Dee is most famous for the roles he played in Brian’s Song, Lady Sings The Blues, Mahogany, Dynasty and of course, as the intergalactic entrepreneur and rogue Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi from the Star Wars film series.
Paintings by Billy Dee Williams
 Every baby-boomer remembers getting up on Saturday morning to watch "The Shari Lewis Show." Shari was best know as the ventriloquist and puppeteer for this popular children's program but prior to that, she attended the High School of Music and Art.  She was born Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz, January 17, 1933, and lived in the Parkchester Projects in East Bronx, NY. As a teenager, Phyllis studied piano and violin while at M&A and graduated in 1949 (see the above graduating class photo from the spring 1949 yearbook). As she moved forward as a performer, she changed her first name to Shari and despite a short marriage to Stan Lewis, she decided to keep her new last name. After a long and fulfilling career, Shari Lewis died from uterine cancer and pneumonia on August 2, 1998. The Shari Lewis Show made its debut on the NBC Television network on October 1, 1960. The show ran until September 28, 1963. As you're reminiscing, check out how talented Shari was as she performed the craft that she loved. |
Time To SmileLittle known facts about M&A and its students Archives
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