Willy’s Tale

William J. Guldy Jr. July 18, 1938 – June 23, 2024

Hold the Jameson and pass the tissues, please. My friend and mentor, William J. “Uncle Willy” Guldy Jr., a truly unique legend in the post-Woodstock music scene, passed away 10 days ago. It took me five to stop weeping. The expression, “words cannot describe…” is too easily applied, but not in this case. Anyone in Uncle Willy’s extended quantum reach over six decades emphatically knew that the man defined “original” in numerous categories.

If you wish to know a little background about Uncle Willy, several online obituaries and tributes are posted, but the one I like is from WPDH’s DJ Tigman, link here, accompanied by one of Willy’s classic poses. Also mentioned in the piece is my old friend and scoopmeister, veteran Hudson Valley music scribe John Barry; more on his connection to Willy in a minute.

When my then-wife and I moved from NYC to Ulster County, my first gig was selling ad time at WDST-FM, “The Woodstock Station.” Although the paychecks ebbed and flowed with my sales efforts, this station with a distinct rock and roll brand offered many perks. I had inside access to amazing live music as WDST produced shows both large and small; from Spearhead to Graham Parker, Cracker to Gov’t Mule. Levon, Rick and Garth all still lived and worked in the area, plus the high caliber of local musicians in all styles and a plethora of clubs kept the scene buzzing.

The station covered most of central Hudson Valley, with territory running from Newburgh to Hunter, but something always drew me to Kingston, the Ulster County seat, and its edgy blend of old and new, high-brow and low. One of my first and most fave clients was Tony’s Pizzeria, “Kingston’s oldest since 1933.” The owner Chris was a funky old hipster with a successful roofing business; the pizzeria was his side hustle. And across that bar was where I first experienced (which is the word) the force of nature known as Uncle Willy. At the time he was probably around 60 but moved like a sprite; serving regulars, telling stories and flirting with the (always game) females in the room.

Everyone in Kingston, and I mean everyone, from State Assemblymen to sanitation workers bellied up when Willy worked the bar, as he kept the crowd well-lubricated each fun-filled shift. On Friday nights the jukebox full of 60s and 70s rock and funk was turned up to 11. The walls and ceilings of both restrooms were festooned with painted caricatures of locals from the Mayor to a self-portrait by artist and regular Todd Samara. Over the course of many visits to Tony’s on business and otherwise, I slowly learned the Ulyssian elements of the Uncle Willy story.

Things kicked into high gear when Tony’s hired (for $50) Rick Danko to tape a WDST commercial alongside Uncle Willy, that listeners actually began requesting. This attracted the attention of the aforementioned John Barry, at the time a newsroom reporter at the Poughkeepsie Journal also assigned to the music beat. John, a big fan of the Band, called the pay phone at Tony’s Pizza looking for Willy, who was off the clock. I grabbed John’s # and promised to call him back as soon Willy surfaced, which didn’t take long, as Willy was a natural PR vortex. We called John back, he jumped right over the Hudson with a photographer, and that weekend Willy was featured in a full page PKJ story with picture. The legend was re-born.

(Speaking of John Barry, he just posted on his IG/Substack page a personal homage to Willy that confirms how many, many folks loved him. Please take a couple minutes (OK, you can pour that shot now) and enjoy it, link here . If you knew Willy, you’ll know. And if you didn’t, you will. Added bonus: this really cool YouTube video of Rick and Jorma Kaukonen on stage when Willy owned his eponymous bar on Kingston’s Broadway, link here.)

Anyway, that’s how things started with Willy and me, and the man’s antics and adventures could easily fill several volumes, not to mention multiple closets. The end game of this post will jump forward 25 years to when I worked for Willy booking and promoting live music at his final Kingston venue. But before we hit the time travel button, let’s make a few rest stops along Willy’s wild ride (all true or told to me by someone who was there.)

• Willy told me that his life changed forever right after he got out of the Navy in Florida, when he dropped acid for the first time and went to see an early version of the Allman Brothers.
• Mind blown, he returned to Ulster County where he became barkeep and then owner of The Sportsman’s Tavern, a redneck bar in Rosendale, just down the road from Kingston. He sold that place and bought The Well,an old bar above a Chinese restaurant on Main Street, that became his Shangri-La. This was the rockin’ early 1970s and as usual Willy’s persona and reputation drew a remarkable cast of freaks and fans (including Keith Richards) who came to hear Jorma, Papa John Creach, John Hammond Jr. and copious other artistes.
• Somewhere around that time Willy threw himself a July birthday/block party on Main Street that later became the (still running) Rosendale Street Festival, now a two-day music/arts/cultural fest that draws thousands. One of my most epic weekends was spent hosting the Creekside Stage, featuring 20 bands over two days, culminating with a rousing version of ‘Happy Birthday’ to Willy.
• In 1976 Willy ran for U.S. President as a write-in candidate. I saw the button.
• A lifelong baseball and especially Yankees fan, Willy over the years was a regular at hundreds of games, wearing his signature crown and cape and hyping up the crowd, and was considered the stadium’s unofficial mascot. He and his crew would famously road-trip to the Bronx in Willy’s custom pin-striped Cadillac convertible.
• Willy was also “Cape Man” when his lifelong pal WBC lightweight champion and Kingston native Billy Costello entered the ring. In November 1984 Costello defended his title against undefeated Saoul Mamby at the Kingston neighborhood gymnasium, and Willy brought him in. CBS Sports covered the fight and included local color in the broadcast, including an interior shot of Uncle Willy’s Broadway bar and the regulars cheering (screaming, really) for the victorious Costello.
• Tony’s Pizza sits directly across from the wondrous Ulster Performing Arts Center, a 1500-seat former vaudeville theater that was saved in the 1970s from urban renewal by aware Kingstonians. (Thanks to my pal Jodi, I happily worked there for two years that included amazing shows from Ray Charles and Don Rickles, who off-stage is a sweetheart btw.) Tony’s naturally was the pre-and-post concert bar of choice for UPAC shows and likely still is. Willy bore a striking resemblance to George Carlin and when the comic performed at UPAC, which was often, Willy would send over pizzas to the green room and invite George to join him after the show for a beer and a toke.

After his Broadway bar closed, Willy owned a few other local watering holes, including one in a grounded boat on Kingston’s waterfront on which I hear he also lived. When that spot closed, Willy became the “celebrity” bartender for various pubs around town, as he always brought a lively crowd and made the register ring.

I lost track of Willy for about 10 years while I raised my daughter out in the woods, but when she grew up and moved away, I sold my house and moved into a fixer-upper in downtown Kingston. One day on the street I ran into Willy, who told me he was opening a new pub on a choice corner location in the historic Uptown district. After I suggested a jazz club, he shook his head and said, No, I want a blues bar, and that’s where our story amps up big time. So like a good guitarist…stay tuned.

Next chapter: The Making of Uncle Willy’s Tavern, Uptown Kingston NY