In 1978, twenty-year-old aspiring dancer Madonna Louise Ciccone gave up a scholarship to the University of Michigan and moved to New York City with only $35 in hand. After calling Manhattan’s East Village home for a time, Ms. Ciccone soon found herself in need of other accommodations and settled into what could only be described as a unique setting - future pop icon Madonna began living in an abandoned synagogue, located in the bustling neighborhood of Corona, Queens. On this episode of "Queens County USA," host Mark Bacino explores the "Material Girl’s" little-known but musically formative days spent in the World’s Borough.

If you enjoy what you hear, please subscribe to "Queens County USA" and visit "QCUSA" on the web at qptv.org/queenscountyusa

What do folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, pop composer Burt Bacharach and punk rock pioneers The Ramones have in common?

It may be hard to believe, but the aforementioned musical legends are all, indeed, prestigious alumni of Forest Hills Public High School, located in the Forest Hills section of Queens, New York. On this episode of “Queens County USA,” host Mark Bacino explores Forest Hills High’s interesting history, as well as its fascinating and varied roster of accomplished graduates.

If you enjoy what you hear, please subscribe to "Queens County USA" and visit "QCUSA" on the web at qptv.org/queenscountyusa

In 1957, Viking Press published “On the Road” written by famed author, Jack Kerouac. A work widely considered to be one of the great American novels. While recognized the world over and acknowledged as a seminal classic of the “Beat Generation” literary movement, few are aware that Kerouac wrote nearly the entirety of his sprawling “On the Road” from the interiors of two humble apartments, both located in Queens, New York.

Nicknamed “The Wizard of Ozone Park” by friend and celebrated Beat poet, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac had little-known but deep connections to Queens County, having lived in both the aforementioned Ozone Park and Richmond Hill sections of the World’s Borough between 1943 and 1957.

Listen in on this episode of “Queens County USA” as host Mark Bacino explores Kerouac’s unsung life and times in Queens.

If you enjoy what you hear, please subscribe to “Queens County USA” and visit “QCUSA” on the web at qptv.org/queenscountyusa