Madison Square Garden, in the middle of Manhattan, has been the place New Yorkers and visitors have been going to be entertained since the late 1800s.

Situated blocks from the Empire State Building, Penn Station, and the flagship Macy's department store, The Most Famous Arena may have hosted countless sporting events and award shows, but today we will look back at a few of its most memorable musical moments.

Let's start with when one of the most famous women in the world sang the most-covered song to the President of the United States.

Marilyn Monroe Sings Happy Birthday to JFK - May 19, 1962

President John F. Kennedy turned 45 years old on May 29, 1962, but ten days earlier at the Garden, there was a Democratic fundraiser attended by 15,000. Rat Packer Peter Lawford introduced Marilyn who emerged a few beats intentionally tardy to play up penchant for not being on time.

When the bombshell made it to the mic, she handed Lawford, who at the time was married to the president's sister, Patricia, her fur. When her stunning semi-see-through sparkling dress was revealed there were thousands of gasps.

Then Marilyn, with the accompaniment of legendary pianist Hank Jones, sang in that breathy style that's since been imitated for decades. Tragically her song would be one of her last public engagements, as she would die three months later. President Kennedy would be assassinated in '63.

Bruce Springsteen turns 30 at the No Nukes Concerts - November 22, 1979

Four years after he was placed on the covers of Time and Newsweek on the same week, the Boss was recruited by Jackson Browne and James Taylor to perform at MSG for a benefit show to bring attention to the dangers of nuclear energy.

Earlier in '79 there was a partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear reactors in Pennsylvania that caused a panic. Activists rallied against the new energy source out of fear that the nuclear waste and accidents could be devastating to human life.

Springsteen anchored an all-star group of musicians that included Browne, Taylor, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash, the Doobie Brothers and many others over two nights at the Garden.

Springsteen's encore of "Quarter to Three" by Gary U.S. Bonds sent the fans home happy and the Boss completely spent.

Led Zeppelin concludes their '73 North American Tour - July, 1973

Led Zeppelin's three Garden gigs for their '73 tour were Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham playing their hugely successful North American Tour, where they supported their fifth studio album, Houses of the Holy.

Did it end with the band being mysteriously robbed of $200k from their hotel safe? Sure. But because they filmed the shows they were able to produce the sizzling concert film The Song Remains The Same from the best moments of that finale.

The band may have been immersed in all the rock star trappings a hugely popular and sexy group could encounter, but look and listen to "Dazed and Confused" and tell me this isn't one of the genre's finest bands at their peak.

Elvis Presley's return to NYC - June 10, 1972

Due to the Army, a film career, and travel, by 1972, the King had not been to Manhattan to perform since the 1950s.

That June he performed four shows in four nights at MSG, kicking it off with his first big hit, the "Big Boy" Crudup cover of "That's All Right."

Dressed like he just walked off a stage in Vegas, the King performed 20 songs with a full band and singers.

His four consecutive sold out shows in front of 80,000 fans was the first time an artist had accomplished that feat at the Garden.

Jay-Z - September 9, 2009

Opening with "Empire State of Mind" (a title which is a riff of Billy Joel's New York State of Mind), Jay-Z hit the stage on 9/9/09 as the headliner of a 9/11 benefit show that included included Puff Daddy, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry and Chris Rock among others.

“We celebrating life tonight, we having a good time,” the native New Yorker told the sold out crowd. “But let’s not forget in 2001 when the first Blueprint came out terrorist attacked New York. They thought they would weaken us. They were sadly mistaken. We stand here even stronger. This is our town. We run New York City. We run this town.”

Which, of course, led in beautifully to Rihanna singing the hook and eventually Kanye running out in leather jacket for his verse. What color was the jacket, RiRi's outfit, and Jay's getup: all black, everything.

The show was the first of The Blueprint 3 Tour that traveled around North America and concluded at Staples Center.

What a way to kick it off.

Billy Joel's Record Breaking MSG Residency - (2014-?)

By 2024 no one will be close to touching Billy Joel's record of shows at MSG as he is scheduled to play his 149th concert there on 6/8/24.

Joel's first gig at the Garden was on December 14, 1978. In 2006, he left Elvis in his dust with 12 consecutive shows. Just like how Taylor Swift was honored at Staples Center, a banner reading “Joel – 12” was raised in MSG's rafters to commemorate his record.

But since 2014, Joel set a goal of playing one show a month at the Garden. From 2014-2019 he only missed one month in 2017. Then the pandemic ruined things, allowing him to only play two shows each in 2020 and 2021, but he seems to be on pace in 2023.

The Garden gigs have become such an event that the Piano Man attracted some A-list special guests.

So far that has included Springsteen, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Steve Miller, Axl Rose, Brian Johnson, Paul Simon, Bryan Adams, Miley Cyrus, and even Olivia Rodrigo.

The 74 -year-old claims his '24 shows will be his last of the residency.

So snatch up your tickets on his website while they are still available.