Mike Porco
Mike Porco was the original owner and operator of Gerde's Folk City, located in Greenwich Village east of Washington Square Park on West 4th Street, New York City, from its inception on January 26, 1960 until he sold it in 1980. During that time period, Folk, Blues and Roots music had a resurgence into American pop culture and later became known as the Folk Revival of the 1960s.
Many famous folk music singers performed at Gerde's Folk City including Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Judy Collins and José Feliciano. Bob Dylan asked Porco to act as his legal guardian in 1961 when he signed his very first cabaret card. In Dylan's 2004 autobiography,[1] he referred to Mike as "the Sicilian father that I never had."[2] During Mike Porco's stewardship (1960-1980) the club hosted early performances by a constellation of Folk, Roots and Blues music stars. Many American radio standards and Civil rights anthems were ofttimes heard by the public at Gerde's Folk City for the first time.