Adam Sandler Recalls Singing on N.Y.C. Subways as a College Student After Getting Fired from '3 Different Jobs' Tommy McArdle, Alex CramerFebruary 14, 2026 at 12:51 AM 0 Adam Sandler circa 1991; Adam Sandler on Feb. 12, 2026 Ron Galella Collection/Getty;Lester Cohen/Getty Adam Sandler said he once performed music on the streets of New York City after he was fired from three jobs Sandler, who described playing music as his first real interest as a kid, has frequently incorporated singing and guitar into his comedy The Jay Kelly actor received an award from the American Society of Composers, Aut...
- - Adam Sandler Recalls Singing on N.Y.C. Subways as a College Student After Getting Fired from '3 Different Jobs'
Tommy McArdle, Alex CramerFebruary 14, 2026 at 12:51 AM
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Adam Sandler circa 1991; Adam Sandler on Feb. 12, 2026
Ron Galella Collection/Getty;Lester Cohen/Getty
Adam Sandler said he once performed music on the streets of New York City after he was fired from three jobs
Sandler, who described playing music as his first real interest as a kid, has frequently incorporated singing and guitar into his comedy
The Jay Kelly actor received an award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' annual meeting on Feb. 12
Adam Sandler is reflecting on his first love — music — and his trials and tribulations playing guitar around New York City as a college student.
The actor, 59, accepted an award at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' annual meeting at Los Angeles' Skirball Cultural Center on Thursday, Feb. 12.
"Music's the best. Its always been there for me," Sandler said in his remarks at the event. "When I went to [New York University] my father told me, I said, 'I kind of want to stay in New York this summer between freshman and sophomore year.' And I was doing standup, and he said, 'You've got to get a job.' "
"So I got three different jobs. I got fired. Fired from two restaurants and a pharmacy," the Happy Gilmore star added. "They were all like, 'You're not good working.' So I told my dad, 'I keep getting fired.' And he was like, 'You got to make money, bud.' And so I said, 'Yeah, I was thinking maybe I'll sing in the subway.' So I used to sing in the subways. Anybody else ever sing in the subways? I did that. It was always nerve-racking, right?"
Adam Sandler on Feb. 12, 2026
Lester Cohen/Getty
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Though Sandler is best known for his comedic acting performances, he is a guitarist and songwriter who has incorporated music into his comedy dating back to "The Thanksgiving Song" and "The Chanukah Song" from his run on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s.
"You take your guitar case, open it. This was before they assigned places," he added of his experience busking in New York. "I used to randomly just go to different spots and play guitar, but I used to play 'We've Only Just Begun' [by the Carpenters] on guitar. Sing that all the time. Always a show-stopper. Always changed everybody's mood."
Adam Sandler on Feb. 5, 2026
JB Lacroix/WireImage
Sandler most recently appeared in Jay Kelly and Happy Gilmore 2. He received nominations for his performance in Jay Kelly at the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globe Awards in January.
Sandler admitted at the event that he "wanted to be" a musician first and foremost as a child and reflected on playing in a band with a friend in middle school.
"I was the guitar player, he was the drummer, and we were called Still Young. We were both 12 and all we could play was 'House of the Rising Sun,' " he recalled. "We played that over and over, and music was always deep in me. My father used to jam in the bedroom, he'd play on the guitar all the time and he'd kind of taught me my chords and I always got into it."
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 13, 2026 at 07:09PM on Source: MARIO MAG
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