 U2 references the club in the song "Angel of Harlem" with the lyrics "...Birdland on 53, the streets sounds like a symphony..." However, the club was on Broadway near 52nd street, not 53rd.In the play "Send Me No Flowers", George Kimball relates a story concerning a female friend who ran off with a "bongo player from Birdland" after her husband died.The bongo player subsequently "took her for every cent".