Over the decades, Barbara Gustern became an integral part of New York's singing community. Debbie Harry, Kathleen Hanna, and others remember the beloved vocal coach and unsung hero, who was tragically killed in Manhattan earlier this month.
, her place of worship located around the corner from her apartment. “Her energy and dedication inspired us all,” the Rev. Dr. Anna S. Pearson, the executive director of the soup kitchen and the rector at the church, says. “Our community is diminished by her loss.”
“[Whether] you were a huge Broadway star or a downtown punk, she treated you like a regular-ass person,” Hanna says. “And it was really cool to have her as a friend and a mentor. It made you feel special and connected to the history of show business.” Hanna feels she owes Gustern her singing career in recent years. When she first met the vocal coach in the mid-2000s, she was suffering from an autoimmune disorder and didn’t think she would ever sing again. Even though Gustern lived nearby, Hanna felt so debilitated, she would take cabs to her apartment. “She helped me build back my voice and my confidence,” Hanna says. “She gave me my voice back.
Bond, who is trans and uses she/her pronouns, feels like Gustern was able to help her find her true voice. For years, she had performed as “Kiki” in a cabaret revue called Kiki and Herb. “I basically went to Barbara so I could rediscover my natural voice because I’d been singing in a character voice for about 10 years,” she says. “She was really somebody who just allowed you to be yourself. As a singer, I found that very important.
“Nothing will bring her back,” Starlite says. “But I just hope that justice is done, whatever form that may take. It’s still hard to think of her in the past tense.”
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