Bob Dylan played at Cafe Wah? on his first night in New York City in 1961. Jimi Hendrix's played his first gig as a band leader in Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in 1966. Chas Chandler, the former bassist in The Animals, discovered Hendrix at Cafe Wah? and formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience with Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding. Other notable performers who have graced the stage include Bruce Springsteen, Peter, Paul & Mary, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby.