David Ippolito

In 1992, Ippolito first performed an impromptu concert on a hill in Central Park in front of a small audience. Among those present was editor Jack Rosenthal from The New York Times, who the next day published an editorial about the performance.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/15/opinion/concert-in-the-park.html|title=Concert in the Park|date=June 15, 1992|work=The New York Times|accessdate=June 8, 2008}} The next week, Ippolito played again, and began to gather a following. Since then, he has performed on a hill near a rowboat lake almost every summer weekend to crowds of passers-by and regulars, including international tourists, and has become a cult figure in New York.[http://whatisee.org/mt/archives/entries/000344.html David Ippolito: That Guitar Man from Central Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104212302/http://whatisee.org/mt/archives/entries/000344.html |date=January 4, 2007 }}, WhatISee.org; accessed March 28, 2015.

File:DavidIppolitoThalia.jpg

His most recent CD, "Wouldn't Want It Any Other Way", was released in 2009. The album features "Keep Hope Alive", which was co-written with Sid Bernstein, the famous music promoter who brought the Beatles to the US. Ippolito has performed at venues throughout New York City, including an annual December performance at Merkin Concert Hall, as well as shows at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Symphony Space, The Red Lion on Bleecker Street, and Cast Party at the Birdland Music Club.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

Ippolito's Central Park concerts are relatively well-known. However, in 2000, the Parks Department ordered him (and all other musicians in the park) to unplug his small speaker, which led to outcry from his fans and letters to The New York Times by supportive audience members.[https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/17/opinion/l-the-ballad-of-guitar-man-in-the-park-296929.html "The Ballad of 'Guitar Man' in the Park"], Letters to the Editor, The New York Times, May 17, 2000. Accessed June 8, 2008. The current arrangement is that he has to select a month in advance which dates he wants to play, as well as pay for each permit, rain or shine.[http://www.thatguitarman.com/permits/ David Ippolito] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701033150/http://www.thatguitarman.com/permits/ |date=July 1, 2007 }}, ThatGuitarman.com; accessed March 28, 2015. On the Sunday after the September 11 attacks, approximately 1,000 of his fans filled his guitar case in Central Park with more than $7,000, which Ippolito, the son of a retired New York City firefighter, delivered to Ladder Company 25 and the 9/11 Fund. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

During 2006, Ippolito hosted a daily podcast called "I Love the Company," which was broadcast globally via Podshow.com. The 365+ podcasts featured new works by Ippolito and music by singers and songwriters around the world, which was joined by an "I Love the Video" videocast.[http://iltv.mevio.com/ I Love the Video], Mevio.com

As an actor, Ippolito has had roles in national TV commercials and musical theater productions.

Ippolito's song, "City Song," was used to close NBC's television coverage of the 2001 New York City Marathon.

He has appeared on ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", winning $64,000.

A playwright and storyteller, his work has been performed at The Soho Playhouse and The Actors Studio. Ippolito is currently workshopping his new musical project for the stage, "Possibility Junkie."

• The People on the Hill (1997)
• That Guitar Man from Central Park...In Person (1998)
• Just a Thought for Christmas (1999)
• It's Just Us (2000)
• Crazy on the Same Day (2002)
• Talk Louder (the Cell Phone Song) (2003)
• Common Ground (2004)
• I Love the Company (2007)
• Crazy on the Same Day (re-mastered in 2008)
• Wouldn't Want It Any Other Way (2009)

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• [http://www.thatguitarman.com/ That Guitar Man Website]
• [https://archive.today/20060624161700/http://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/newsletter/article/56 Description of his charity work]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070302213404/http://www.nyrock.com/interviews/2000/david.htm Interview]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080724074400/http://iltc.podshow.com/ I Love The Company podcast]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_aTbznZDT0 YouTube "Resolution (The Torture Song)"]
• [http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/a-protest-song-gets-a-television-showcase/#more-10243 New York Times: A Protest Song Gets a Television Showcase]
• [http://www.aptonline.org/catalog.nsf/AlphaLookup/3F5738781D98F9AC8525759A00733EC4 Television Documentary Film: Following Dreams]

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Category:Living people

Category:American folk singers

Category:American folk guitarists

Category:American male guitarists

Category:American male singer-songwriters

Category:Central Park

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Category:American rock singers

Category:American rock songwriters

Category:American people of Italian descent

Category:American street performers

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Category:Guitarists from New York City

Category:Singers from New York City

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Singer-songwriters from New York (state)