Asbury Park, N.J. ? The Boss played here. Jon Bon Jovi, too. Count Basie was born nearby. And Southside Johnny hails from nearby Ocean Grove.

Year after year, their old haunts dilapidated houses, gritty nightclubs and boarded-up amusement rides draw fans from all over the world who are looking for the real-life people and places immortalized in song.

A group of music buffs want to establish a music

Now, a group of music buffs and Bruce Springsteen fans wants to establish a “music heritage trail” program that would help shore communities cash in on the lure of The Stone Pony, Madam Marie’s fortune-telling booth and other quasi-historic sites.

The group had an inaugural meeting Friday in hopes of attracting would-be partners. They believe Asbury Park and Monmouth County could follow the lead of Liverpool, England, which has forged a multimillion dollar trade catering to Beatles fans.

Admittedly, most of the attractions center on Springsteen lore.

There’s the decaying Palace Amusements building he sang of in “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),” the Paramount Theatre, where the E Street Band warmed up for its 1978 tour, and the Sea Bright clubs where he occasionally has an impromptu jam.

But there’s also Convention Hall, where The Doors, The Who and other greats played and the Fast Lane nightclub, where Bon Jovi cut his teeth. Up the road in Red Bank is the Count Basie Theater, named for the jazz great.

And don’t forget St. Rose of Lima School over in Freehold, where Springsteen went to grammar school.

“Despite its worldwide reputation for shaping the music culture of the 20th century, eastern New Jersey has no strategy for using this asset as an economic magnet,” said organizer Maggie Powell. “As a result, music fans who travel here in search of music landmarks often leave disappointed because of the lack of recognition these places received.”

About 50 people turned out for the three-hour meeting at the Asbury Park Public Library, which included calls for a music heritage trail and suggestions on how to make it happen.

Among the speakers was Kate Mellina, a city councilwoman and former art gallery owner whose Cookman Avenue storefront got regular visits from curiosity seekers.

“They’d have three questions. ‘Can I use the bathroom?’ ‘Have you ever met Bruce Springsteen?’ And ‘Do you have anything that says “Asbury Park” on it?”‘ Mellina said.

Jane McCreery, a Pittsburgh-based events planner who helped stage last year’s “Jukestock” a three-day salute to Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes said the event sold out all 300 tickets at $140 per seat, in one day.

The fans were baby boomers with money in their pocket and nostalgia on their minds, she said.

Increasingly, cities are establishing music tourism offices to cash in on their claims to fame, she said. Among them: New Orleans; Austin, Tex.; and Nashville, Tenn.

Simon Osbourne, who manages four Beatles-related historic sites for The National Trust in Liverpool, said more than 600,000 fans flock to the riverside city annually to pay homage to the roots of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Tourism there is an $830 million a year industry, and most of it centers on the Beatles. There’s a Beatles museum, the childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon and The Cavern, a replica of the basement club where the Fab Four got their start.

“All sorts of things have happened on the backs of musical heritage tourism. It’s not a panacea, but it’s certainly very significant,” Osbourne said.

The key is finding private entrepreneurs who would benefit from the increased business and persuading them to underwrite the effort, he said.