Kristal died on Tuesday in a Manhattan hospice, following a lengthy battle with lung cancer.
While Country, Bluegrass and Blues (as the club's initials suggest) were more Kristal's thing, his club became a launchpad for acts as diverse as The Ramones,Patti Smith, Television, Blondie and Talking Heads.
Though it may not have been the birthplace of punk, CBGBs was certainly its incubator, attracting thousands of three-chord thrashers to the iconic venue in the Bowery area of New York's East Village district.
He may have dreamed of becoming a musician himself, but Kristal did far more for music as the founder of a club equal in importance to the Cavern, Liverpool. Fans have turned CBGBs into a makeshift shrine, with candles, flowers and a foam baseball bat in tribute to The Ramones' 'Beat On The Brat'. The boarded-up front has also been daubed with the words:'RIP Hilly, we'll miss you, thank you.'
Hilly Kristal is survived by his son, daughter and wife. 'He wanted the club to survive him,' his daughter said. 'He is survived by the fans and bands that played there.'