Gary, Indiana

Name: Gary, Indiana
Address: Gary, IN

Everything Gary is known for

45 songs mention this city 50 artists from here

RoadyGoat plays music like this when you drive through Gary. It's free on iPhone, and full songs play through Apple Music.

Gary, Indiana, located along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and about 25 miles southeast of downtown Chicago, is widely recognized as the birthplace of the Jackson family, a prominent name in entertainment. This industrial city, known for its large steel mills, has a rich musical heritage that extends beyond its industrial roots.

With 53 artists calling Gary home and 40 songs mentioning the city in our collection, its musical influence is undeniable. Notable artists from Gary include pop icon Michael Jackson and the legendary soul group The Jackson 5. The city is also referenced in songs such as "2300 Jackson Street" by The Jacksons and "Harold’s" by hip-hop artist Freddie Gibbs.

Music in Gary

Songs About Gary

Harold’s

Freddie Gibbs

96%

"William School niggas was wearing budgets"

2300 Jackson Street

The Jacksons

95%

"2300 Jackson Street"

Gary, Indiana

Robert Preston & Meredith Willson

81%

"Gary, Indiana"

Gary, Indiana 1959

Dave Alvin

79%

"Back in Gary, Indiana in 1959"

Palmolive

Freddie Gibbs

55%

"Scary Gary nigga, my neighborhood something like Fallujah"

Chocolate City

Parliament

46%

"We've got Newark, we've got Gary"

beat it

michael jackson

45%

billie jean

michael jackson

45%

black or white

michael jackson

45%

smooth criminal

michael jackson

45%

thriller

michael jackson

45%

The Shake

Neal McCoy

30%

"Gary, Indiana, Mobile, Alabama, Phoenix, Arizona, Bismarck, North Dakota, New York, L.A., Houston, Tampa Bay, London, Tokyo, everywhere you go"

Can I

Kehlani

10%

"song that's sang from Mike Jack"

5% TINT

Travis Scott

"grab the bad sister like Janet"

Excursions

A Tribe Called Quest

"Way that Bobby Brown is just amping like Michael"

God is Perfect

Freddie Gibbs

"That east side insane-ass shit"

Perfect Imperfection

Kevin Gates

"I'm Michael Jackson, I'm reincarnated"

Victory (Drama mix)

Puff Daddy & the Family

"I perform like Mike / Anyone -- Tyson, Jordan, Jackson"

I. The Worst Guys

Childish Gambino

"Rather blast a Jackson 5 in the back of an Acura"

Eyez Closed

Snoop Dogg

"Wonder if God ask Mike how to moonwalk"

Showing top 20 of 45 songs · Hear more in the free iPhone app

Artists From Gary

Showing top 20 of 50 artists · Hear more in the free iPhone app

Rivers & Roads in Song near Gary

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Gary.

Interstate 65 25 songs U.S. Route 66 19 songs

Musical Heritage

The Gary Record Shop That Beat Capitol to the Beatles RoadyGoat

1953

One of the great untold stories in American music starts in a Gary record shop. Vivian Carter was a Gary radio personality who, with her husband James Bracken, ran Vivian's Record Shop. In 1953 they launched their own label and named it from their initials, V and J: Vee-Jay Records. Founded here in Gary and soon based up in Chicago, Vee-Jay grew into the most successful Black-owned record company in America before Motown. Its roster was staggering: the bluesmen Jimmy Reed and John Lee Hooker, the gospel of the Staple Singers, a young Curtis Mayfield with the Impressions, even the pop hitmakers the Four Seasons. And then came the moment almost nobody remembers. When the giant Capitol Records passed on an unknown British band, little Vee-Jay said yes. In 1963 it became the first American company to release the Beatles, and it put out their first U.S. album, called Introducing the Beatles. So before the British Invasion swept the country, the Beatles first reached America through a label born in a Gary record store. (Sources: Encyclopedia of Chicago; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.)

Five Brothers, Four Number Ones, One Mural RoadyGoat

1970

Over in Gary's Miller neighborhood, on South Lake Street, a big mural celebrates the brothers who turned this steel town into a music legend: the Jackson 5. The full family that came out of one small Gary house is almost unbelievable, Michael, Janet, Jermaine, Jackie, Tito, Marlon, and more. But here is a record that still stuns. When the five brothers signed with Motown, their first four national singles, I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save, and I'll Be There, every single one of them shot to number one on the pop chart. No group had ever launched its career with four straight chart-toppers like that. The little two-bedroom house where they rehearsed is the quiet shrine a few blocks away; this bright mural is the loud, public thank-you, the city's way of putting its proudest sound up on a wall for everyone to see. (Source: city of Gary.)

6.3 mi away

History of Gary

The Magic City Under Martial Law RoadyGoat

1919

Boosters called Gary the Magic City, a whole town conjured out of the dunes by U.S. Steel. But the magic was built on brutal work. Inside Gary Works, men commonly pulled twelve-hour shifts, seven days a week, in heat and danger. In September 1919, Gary's steelworkers joined a nationwide strike, demanding shorter hours and the right to a union. The city became one of the strike's flashpoints. Tension boiled over between strikers, police, and the replacement workers brought in to break them. When the local and state forces could not hold order, the federal government sent in the U.S. Army. About a thousand troops marched into Gary in October, a force that swelled toward four thousand, and their commander declared martial law over the city. U.S. Steel simply refused to bargain, and the great strike collapsed without winning its demands. The company would not even grant the eight-hour day until 1923. So the same planned streets the promoters bragged about had, for a few weeks, soldiers patrolling them, the hidden cost of the Magic City. (Sources: Encyclopedia of Chicago; Indiana University.)

The Gary Kid Who Flew Around the Moon First RoadyGoat

1928

The first human being ever to fly all the way around the moon was born right here in Gary. Frank Borman came into the world in this steel town in 1928. He grew up to become an Air Force pilot and then a NASA astronaut, and in December 1968 he commanded one of the boldest missions ever attempted: Apollo 8. Until that flight, no human had ever left Earth's gravity to circle another world. Borman, along with Jim Lovell and William Anders, rode their spacecraft a quarter million miles out and looped around the moon ten times, the first crew to see its far side and the first to watch the Earth rise over the lunar horizon, a photograph that changed how people saw our planet. It was a daring dress rehearsal that made the moon landing possible just seven months later. Not bad for a kid from Gary, Indiana. (Source: NASA.)

Gary, IN: Named for a Lawyer, Not a Metal RoadyGoat

1906

Gary, Indiana is one of the great steel cities, a place built on iron, fire, and molten metal pouring out of enormous mills. So you might assume the name comes from some material, some alloy or metal term. It doesn't. Gary is named for a man: Elbert H. Gary. And he wasn't a steelworker or a metallurgist. He was a lawyer, and the founding chairman of U.S. Steel, the corporation that built the city from scratch in nineteen-oh-six to house its workers. So the most steel-soaked city in America carries the name of a man in a suit who ran the company from a boardroom. A person, not a product. A lawyer, not a metal.

RoadyGoat →

Jackson 5 Family Home

1950

The small Gary, Indiana house at 2300 Jackson Street where Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 grew up and rehearsed.

Chicago Pile-1 - Site of First Nuclear Reaction

1942

On December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi achieved the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in a squash court under the football stands at the University of Chicago.

19.0 mi away

Pullman Historic District

1880

America's most famous company town, built by George Pullman for his sleeping car workers, and site of the 1894 Pullman Strike.

15.2 mi away

Indiana Dunes National Park

1899

Fifteen miles of Lake Michigan shoreline with towering sand dunes, the birthplace of modern ecology in America.

15.7 mi away

Barack Obama Kenwood Residence

2005

The Georgian Revival home in the Kenwood neighborhood where Barack and Michelle Obama lived from 2005 until moving to the White House in 2009.

19.2 mi away

Things to Do in Gary

historical 24.5 mi away

Route 66 Starting Point

The beginning (or end) of the Mother Road. A sign on Adams Street in Chicago.

quirky 24.6 mi away

Cloud Gate (The Bean)

A liquid mercury-shaped sculpture that reflects the Chicago skyline. Everyone takes a photo.

historical 24.7 mi away

Willis (Sears) Tower Skydeck

Stand on a glass box 1353 feet above Chicago. Your stomach will drop.

Everything Near Gary

59 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

Jackson 5 Family Home · Historical Marker
The small Gary, Indiana house at 2300 Jackson Street where Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 grew up and rehearsed.
The Magic City Under Martial Law
Boosters called Gary the Magic City, a whole town conjured out of the dunes by U.S. Steel. But the magic was built on brutal work. Inside Gary Works, men commonly pulled twelve-hour shifts, seven days a week, in heat…
The Gary Kid Who Flew Around the Moon First
The first human being ever to fly all the way around the moon was born right here in Gary. Frank Borman came into the world in this steel town in 1928. He grew up to become an Air Force pilot and then a NASA astronaut,…
Gary, IN: Named for a Lawyer, Not a Metal
Gary, Indiana is one of the great steel cities, a place built on iron, fire, and molten metal pouring out of enormous mills. So you might assume the name comes from some material, some alloy or metal term. It doesn't.…
Gary, IN · Local history
Gary, Indiana, owes its very existence to steel. In 1906, U.S. Steel decided to build a massive new plant on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, a location chosen for its access to both iron ore shipped by lake and the…
Koney King: A Century of Chili Dogs · 0.2 mi
Koney King has been slinging chili dogs in Gary since 1920, which makes it one of the oldest surviving restaurants in the whole city. It was started by an immigrant named Mike Petroff, who came over from Bulgaria,…
The Gary Record Shop That Beat Capitol to the Beatles · 0.5 mi
One of the great untold stories in American music starts in a Gary record shop. Vivian Carter was a Gary radio personality who, with her husband James Bracken, ran Vivian's Record Shop. In 1953 they launched their own…
Wilbur Wynant House · 0.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever heard of Frank Lloyd Wright? This unassuming spot in Gary was once home to one of his lost masterpieces. The Wilbur Wynant House, also known as 600 Fillmore, was designed by the legendary architect himself, right…
The Weekend Gary Was the Capital of Black Politics · 0.7 mi
For one weekend in 1972, this struggling steel city became the center of Black political life in America. It started in 1967, when Gary elected Richard G. Hatcher as mayor. He became one of the first Black mayors of a…
American Sheet and Tin Mill Apartment Building · 0.7 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Look to your left at the American Sheet and Tin Mill Apartment Building, and you’re seeing one of Gary’s original “Edison Concept Houses.” These weren’t just buildings; they were a bold vision for affordable worker…
Gary City Center Historic District · 0.7 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Witness the rise and fall of a planned industrial city in this historic downtown district. This isn't just any city center; it's the heart of a dream. Back in 1906, U.S. Steel literally built Gary from the ground up,…
Gary Union Station · 1.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine the bustling crowds of travelers who once passed through this grand, now-abandoned train station. Gary Union Station opened in 1910, serving multiple railway lines including the Baltimore & Ohio. It was designed…

Show all 59 nearby places

Emerson High School (Indiana) · 1.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Once a thriving high school, this historic building now stands as a reminder of Gary's boom and bust. Look out your window at the imposing structure. Emerson High School was a public high school that opened its doors in…
A Trucker's Cure for Truck-Stop Food · 1.3 mi
For one of the most unexpected meals in Gary, you don't go downtown, you go out by the interstate, to a little spot called the Balkan Grill Company, run out of a truck-stop location. It was opened by a Serbian immigrant…
The Squatter Queen Who Fought U.S. Steel for the Dunes · 4.8 mi
Some of the prettiest land in Gary, the dunes and lagoons of Marquette Park and Miller Woods, was once held by a woman the papers called the Squatter Queen. Drusilla arrived on the lonely Miller lakefront in 1872, back…
Flight in the Dunes, Seven Years Before Kitty Hawk · 4.9 mi
Long before the Wright brothers flew, men were already gliding off the sand dunes here on Gary's lakefront. In June 1896, a brilliant railroad engineer named Octave Chanute brought a crew by train out to Miller, a…
Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium · 5.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine Amelia Earhart, a legend in aviation, once graced this very spot! The Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium, originally the Lakefront Park Bathhouse, opened in 1921 as a place for beachgoers to clean up after a day at…
Five Brothers, Four Number Ones, One Mural · 6.3 mi
Over in Gary's Miller neighborhood, on South Lake Street, a big mural celebrates the brothers who turned this steel town into a music legend: the Jackson 5. The full family that came out of one small Gary house is…
Marktown · 7.7 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever imagine stepping back in time to a town built from scratch? That's Marktown. Built in 1917 by the Mark Manufacturing Company, this planned community in East Chicago, Indiana, was designed to house its workers. They…
Henry and Caroline Schrage House · 9.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder what it takes to build a city from scratch? This mansion right here is a monument to that kind of ambition. Henry Schrage, a German immigrant and Civil War veteran, didn't just settle in Whiting's Station;…
Hoosier Theater Building · 9.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Pull over for a sec! This building, the Hoosier Theater, was once the heart of entertainment here, a dazzling beacon in a rapidly changing world. Built in 1924, it hosted everything from hilarious vaudeville acts to the…
Lake County Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Nurses Home and Superintendent's House · 9.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Look out your window! You're approaching a place that once held a terrifying secret, a disease that haunted the nation. This is the Lake County Tuberculosis Sanatorium, built in 1930, a silent witness to a battle…
Nike Missile Site C-47 · 10.0 mi · Scraped Hmdb
This seemingly ordinary field was once a critical line of defense against potential Soviet bombers. Nike Missile Site C-47 was part of a network of anti-aircraft missile sites built around major US cities during the…
Wolf Lake Culvert · 10.3 mi
On May 21, 1924, two wealthy University of Chicago students named Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb picked up a fourteen-year-old boy named Bobby Franks as he walked home from school. They drove him across the state line…
John Wood Old Mill · 10.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Step back in time at this 1830s sawmill and grist mill, a vital part of early Indiana life. You're approaching the John Wood Old Mill. This isn't just an old building; it's a window into the founding of Lake County.…
Meyer's Castle · 10.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Hold on, you're not in Scotland, you're in Indiana, and you're about to see a real castle! This isn't just any castle; it's Meyer's Castle, built between 1927 and 1931 by Joseph Ernest Meyer, a self-made millionaire and…
Joseph Bailly Homestead · 13.2 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine a bustling trading post in the Indiana wilderness, a place where cultures met and fortunes were made. That was the Joseph Bailly Homestead. Joseph Bailly, a fur trader, established this homestead around 1834. It…
Cowles Bog · 13.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Right here, in what seems like a simple bog, groundbreaking ecological work changed the way we understand nature itself. In the late 1890s, Henry Chandler Cowles, a botanist from the University of Chicago, began…
Pullman Historic District · 15.2 mi · Historical Marker
America's most famous company town, built by George Pullman for his sleeping car workers, and site of the 1894 Pullman Strike.
Pullman National Historical Park · 15.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder what it'd be like to live in a town completely designed and run by your employer? Here's your chance to find out. Pullman National Historical Park is a preserved example of just that: a company town built by…
Indiana Dunes National Park · 15.7 mi · Historical Marker
Fifteen miles of Lake Michigan shoreline with towering sand dunes, the birthplace of modern ecology in America.
South Shore Bungalow Historic District · 15.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Feast your eyes on a slice of Chicago history defined by its charming, uniform, yet surprisingly individual homes. You're cruising through the South Shore Bungalow Historic District, a collection of over 200 Chicago…
South Shore Cultural Center · 16.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine Barack and Michelle Obama celebrating their wedding reception right here. This grand building, now the South Shore Cultural Center, was once the exclusive South Shore Country Club. Established in the early…
Jeffery–Cyril Historic District · 16.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Check out these apartment buildings; they're a rare example of how Chicago's South Shore neighborhood was developing in the 1920s. Back then, apartments were becoming super popular with middle-class families. South…
Garden Homes Historic District (Chicago) · 17.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
These aren't your typical Chicago bungalows; they're part of a planned community with a mission. Back in 1919, Chicago was facing a serious housing shortage after World War I. A group of prominent businessmen, including…
Joshua P. Young House · 17.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
This unassuming house holds a key to understanding how Blue Island, Illinois, came to be. It was built for a man named Joshua P. Young. In 1852, Young, a land developer, built this house. He wasn't just developing Blue…
David Garland Rose House · 17.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever seen an eight-sided house? Get ready, because you’re about to! This isn't your typical square or rectangular home. It's a striking octagonal building from the 1860s, a true architectural oddity. This unique Gothic…
Jackson Park (Chicago) · 17.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine a park so grand, it once housed a world's fair! That's Jackson Park. Back in 1893, Chicago hosted the World's Columbian Exposition, a massive event showcasing inventions, cultures, and architecture. Jackson Park…
South Park Manor Historic District · 18.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder what affordable homeownership looked like in Chicago a century ago? You're driving through it! This is the South Park Manor Historic District, a collection of over 250 Chicago bungalows. Between 1915 and…
West Chatham Bungalow Historic District · 18.1 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Take a look around – you're driving through a slice of Chicago history! This is the West Chatham Bungalow Historic District, a testament to Chicago's booming early 1900s. Between 1913 and 1930, hundreds of these brick…
Promontory Apartments · 18.4 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Check out that sleek building! The Promontory Apartments are a major landmark because this skyscraper was the first designed by the influential architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Chicago. The Promontory Apartments, a…
Hotel Windermere (Chicago) · 18.5 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder what it felt like when Chicago showed the world what it could do? You're near the spot where the Hotel Windermere stood, a grand dame built for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. This hotel wasn't just a place…
Frank R. Lillie House · 18.6 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder where groundbreaking science happens? Right here, at the Frank R. Lillie House, a National Historic Landmark! Frank R. Lillie, born in 1870, was a major figure in embryology. He lived in this house on the…
Robie House · 18.7 mi · Scraped Hmdb
You're approaching a landmark that revolutionized American architecture: the Robie House. Built in 1910 by Frank Lloyd Wright for Frederick Robie, this house is a prime example of the Prairie School style. Robie wanted…
Parkway Garden Homes · 18.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
This isn't just another apartment complex; Parkway Gardens, also known as O Block, has a story woven into Chicago's hip-hop culture and the city's ongoing struggle with poverty and violence. Built between 1950 and 1955,…
Lorado Taft Midway Studios · 18.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine some of America's most iconic sculptures being born right here. This is Lorado Taft's Midway Studios. Taft, a prominent sculptor, established his studio here in 1906, transforming existing barns and a Victorian…
Hotel Del Prado · 18.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Step back in time at this historic apartment hotel, a relic of Chicago's booming early 20th century. The Hotel Del Prado was built in 1918. It's the oldest of several apartment hotels constructed in Hyde Park during the…
Arthur H. Compton House · 18.8 mi · Scraped Hmdb
You're passing the former home of a man who helped unlock the secrets of the atom and changed the course of World War II. From 1928 to 1945, this house at 5637 South Woodlawn Avenue was the residence of physicist Arthur…
House of Tomorrow (Indiana) · 18.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Get ready to glimpse a wild vision of the future, right here in Indiana! The House of Tomorrow was a star attraction at Chicago's 1933 World's Fair. Designed as a futuristic home, this glass-walled marvel boasted an…
Armco-Ferro House · 18.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder what the future looked like in the 1930s? You're driving near a house that was literally a vision of the future! The Armco-Ferro House was originally showcased at the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in…
Century of Progress Architectural District · 18.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wondered what the future looked like in 1933? Up ahead, you'll see it – literally. These aren't just old houses; they're a window into a bygone vision of tomorrow. Back in 1933, Chicago hosted the Century of…
Florida Tropical House · 18.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Imagine finding a vibrant Florida beach house on the shores of Lake Michigan, a relic from the 1933 World's Fair. This isn't just any beach house. The Florida Tropical House was built as part of the Homes of Tomorrow…
Wieboldt-Rostone House · 18.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wondered if a house could be built from... garbage? Well, look out your window, because you’re about to see one! This is the Wieboldt-Rostone House, a true marvel from the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition. It…
Snell–Hitchcock · 18.9 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Ever wonder what it's like to live inside a castle? Well, maybe not a *real* castle, but Snell-Hitchcock comes pretty close! These two Gothic-style residence halls at the University of Chicago, Snell built in 1892 and…
Chicago Pile-1 - Site of First Nuclear Reaction · 19.0 mi · Historical Marker
On December 2, 1942, Enrico Fermi achieved the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction in a squash court under the football stands at the University of Chicago.
Barack Obama Kenwood Residence · 19.2 mi · Historical Marker
The Georgian Revival home in the Kenwood neighborhood where Barack and Michelle Obama lived from 2005 until moving to the White House in 2009.
Hyde Park–Kenwood Historic District · 19.2 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Get ready to cruise through a neighborhood that's shaped Chicago's intellectual and political landscape! The Hyde Park–Kenwood Historic District, nestled on the South Side, isn't just pretty architecture; it's a living…
Heller House · 19.3 mi · Scraped Hmdb
Feast your eyes on the Heller House, a striking example of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural genius! It showcases his innovative Prairie School design principles. Commissioned by Isidore H. Heller, a local merchant,…
The Murder Castle Site · 19.9 mi
At the corner of 63rd and Wallace, on Chicago's South Side, there is now a post office. In 1893, during the World's Columbian Exposition, the three-story building on this lot belonged to a man calling himself H. H.…

Explore Gary on the Map

All music from Indiana → Find another town Vote on city songs

Gary, Indiana

Music in Gary

Songs About Gary

Artists From Gary

Rivers & Roads in Song near Gary

Musical Heritage

The Gary Record Shop That Beat Capitol to the Beatles RoadyGoat

Five Brothers, Four Number Ones, One Mural RoadyGoat

History of Gary

The Magic City Under Martial Law RoadyGoat

The Gary Kid Who Flew Around the Moon First RoadyGoat

Gary, IN: Named for a Lawyer, Not a Metal RoadyGoat

Jackson 5 Family Home

Chicago Pile-1 - Site of First Nuclear Reaction

Pullman Historic District

Indiana Dunes National Park

Barack Obama Kenwood Residence

Things to Do in Gary

Everything Near Gary

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