New York Dolls
The New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971, who released two albums, New York Dolls and Too Much Too Soon, before disbanding in 1976. Its classic lineup consisted of vocalist David Johansen, guitarist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur Kane, guitarist and pianist Sylvain Sylvain, and drummer Jerry Nolan; the latter two had replaced Rick Rivets and Billy Murcia, respectively, in 1972. In their appearance, they drew from drag fashion, wearing high heels, hats, satin, makeup, spandex, and dresses.
In 2004, the New York Dolls reunited with a new lineup and later released three more albums. After a British tour with Alice Cooper in 2011, the Dolls disbanded again. By 2025, all original members of the New York Dolls had died: drummer Billy Murcia, guitarist Johnny Thunders, drummer Jerry Nolan, bassist Arthur Kane, guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, and lead singer David Johansen.
Their music and stage presence played a key role in the development of punk rock and later glam punk, with their look inspiring the androgynous appearances of several glam metal bands in the 1980s. They influenced notable artists such as Morrissey, the Sex Pistols, Kiss, the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Undertones, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, David Bowie, Japan, Billy Idol, Terry Chambers, Def Leppard, R.E.M., the Replacements, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Marilyn Manson, the Cramps, the Libertines, and Manic Street Preachers.
History
Formation
and Billy Murcia, who went to junior high school and high school together, started playing in a band called "the Pox" in 1967. After the frontman quit, Murcia and Sylvain started a clothing business called Truth and Soul and Sylvain took a job at A Different Drummer, a men's boutique that was across the street from the New York Doll Hospital, a doll repair shop. Sylvain said that the shop inspired the name for their future band. In 1970 they formed a band again and recruited Johnny Thunders to join on bass, though Sylvain ended up teaching him to play guitar. Although there was no official name, Thunders and Murcia had informally suggested calling themselves The Dolls. When Sylvain left the band to spend a few months in London, Thunders and Murcia went their separate ways. Thunders was eventually recruited into a band by Kane and Rick Rivets, who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. The nameless band was eventually retconned Actress. Although they played no live shows, a surfaced 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by the group was later released. By autumn, Thunders had decided that he no longer desired to be the frontman, with David Johansen, a local blues harmonicist who had came to know the band through sharing a mutual friend with Murcia, joining the band. Rick Rivets was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months who would suggest the name New York Dolls. Their first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, they got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London concert.While on a brief tour of England in 1972, Murcia was invited to a party, where he passed out from an overdose. He was put in a bathtub and force-fed coffee in an attempt to revive him. Instead, it resulted in asphyxiation. He was found dead on the morning of November 6, 1972, at the age of 21.
Record deal: 1972–1975
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell, Peter Criscuola, and Jerry Nolan, a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US Mercury Records' A&R man Paul Nelson signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. In 1972, the band took on Marty Thau as manager.New York Dolls was produced by singer-songwriter, musician and solo artist Todd Rundgren. In an interview in Creem magazine, Rundgren says he barely touched the recording; everybody was debating how to do the mix. Sales were sluggish, especially in the middle US, and a Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers. America's mass rock audience's reaction to the Dolls was mixed. In a Creem magazine poll, they were elected both best and worst new group of 1973. The Dolls also toured Europe, and, while appearing on UK television, host Bob Harris of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test derided the group as "mock rock", comparing them unfavorably to the Rolling Stones.
For their next album, Too Much Too Soon, the quintet hired producer George "Shadow" Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl-groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites.
Dissolution: 1975–1976
By 1975, the Dolls were playing smaller venues than they had been previously. Drug and alcohol abuse by Thunders, Nolan, and Kane, as well as artistic differences added to the tensions among members. In late February or early March, Malcolm McLaren became their informal manager. He got the band red leather outfits to wear on stage and a communist flag as backdrop. The Dolls did a five-concert tour of New York's five boroughs, supported by Television and Pure Hell. The Little Hippodrome show was recorded and released by New Rose Records subsidiary Fan Club in 1984 as Red Patent Leather, which was previously a bootleg album later remixed by Sylvain for official release, with former manager Marty Thau credited as executive producer. Due to Kane being unable to play that night, roadie Peter Jordan played bass, though he was credited as having played "second bass". Jordan filled in for Kane when he was unable to play numerous times, such as following a thumb injury sustained prior to the band's 1973 West Coast dates.In March and April, McLaren took the band on a tour of South Carolina and Florida. Jordan replaced Kane for most of those shows. Thunders and Nolan left after an argument, forming The Heartbreakers with Richard Hell on April 11. Subsequently, Blackie Lawless, then known by his birth name of Steven Duren, who later founded W.A.S.P., replaced Thunders for the remainder of the tour after which the band broke up. Following the tour's conclusion and announcement of the band's breakup on April 25, Duren and Kane moved to Los Angeles to form the short-lived band Killer Kane.
The band reformed in July for an August tour in Japan with Jeff Beck and Felix Pappalardi. Johansen, Sylvain and Jordan were joined by former Elephant's Memory keyboardist Chris Robison and drummer Tony Machine. One of the shows was documented on the album Tokyo Dolls Live. The material is similar to that on Red Patent Leather, but notable for a radically re-arranged "Frankenstein" and a cover of Big Joe Turner's "Flip Flop Fly". The album is undated and has no production credit, but was issued circa 1986.
After their return to New York, the Dolls resumed playing shows in the US and Canada. Mercury dropped the Dolls on 7 October 1975, their contract with Mercury having expired on 8 August 1975 - five months after Thunders' and Nolan's departures from the band.
Their show at the Beacon Theatre, on New Year's Eve, 1975 met with great critical acclaim. After a drunken argument with Sylvain, Robison was fired and replaced by pianist/keyboardist Bobbie Blaine formerly a member of Street Punk. The group toured throughout 1976, performing a set including some songs with lyrics by David Johansen that would later appear on David Johansen's solo albums including "Funky But Chic", "Frenchette" and "Wreckless Crazy". The group played its last show December 30, 1976 at Max's Kansas City; on the same bill as Blondie.
Individual endeavors: 1975–2004
Shortly after returning from Florida, Thunders and Nolan formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell, who had left Television the same week that they quit the Dolls. Thunders later pursued a solo career. He died in New Orleans on 23 April 1991, reported to be an overdose of both cocaine and methadone. An article in the Orlando Sentinel states: " died of an overdose of cocaine and methadone, according to the coroner's office in New Orleans. Chief investigator John Gagliano said tests completed last week found substantial amounts of both drugs." It also came to light that he suffered from t-cell leukemia. Nolan died on 14 January 1992 following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis. In 1976, Kane and Blackie Lawless formed the Killer Kane Band in Los Angeles. Immediately after the New York Dolls' second breakup, Johansen began a solo career. By the late 1980s, he had achieved greater commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter. Sylvain formed The Criminals, a popular band at CBGB.A posthumous New York Dolls album, Lipstick Killers, made up of early demo tapes of the original Dolls, was released in a cassette-only edition on ROIR Records in 1981, and subsequently re-released on CD, and then on vinyl in early 2006. All the tracks from this title – sometimes referred to as The Mercer Street Sessions – are included on the CD Private World, along with other tracks recorded elsewhere, including a previously unreleased Dolls original, "Endless Party". Three more unreleased studio tracks, including another previously unreleased Dolls original, "Lone Star Queen", are included on the Rock 'n' Roll album. The other two are covers: the "Courageous Cat" theme, from the original Courageous Cat cartoon series; and a second attempt at "Don't Mess with Cupid", a song written by Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd for Otis Redding, and first recorded independently for what was later to become the Mercer Street/Blue Rock Sessions.
Johansen formed the David Johansen Group, and released a self-titled LP in May 1978, recorded at the Bottom Line in NYC's Greenwich Village, on Blue Sky Records, a label created by Steve Paul, formerly of The Scene. The album featured Sylvain as a guest on the track "Cool Metro", and the pair frequently collaborated on subsequent albums. Johansen continued to tour with his solo project and released four more albums, In Style, 1979; Here Comes the Night, 1981; Live it ''Up, 1982; and Sweet Revenge, 1984. During the later 1980s, Johansen, ever-evolving, decided to try to liberate himself from the expectations of his New York Dolls perceived persona, and, on a whim, created the persona Buster Poindexter. The success of this act led him to be invited to appear in multiple films: Scrooged, Freejack, and Let it Ride, among others. He also formed a band called David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, named after the eccentric ethnomusicologist, performing jump blues, Delta blues, and some original songs.
Sylvain signed to RCA and released his self-titled debut solo album, Sylvain Sylvain, to minor success, peaking at number 123 on the Billboard 200 during an eight-week chart run, and a second album under the name of Syl Sylvain and the Teardrops, while also working with Johansen. Following this, he became a taxicab driver in New York, and formed the band The Criminals, releasing a third album, 78 Criminals, in 1985 on Fan Club Records. In the early 1990s, Sylvain moved to Los Angeles and recorded the album Baby Doll on Fishhead Records. His band for that record consisted of Brian Keats on drums, Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords, Speediejohn Carlucci, and Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frank Infante of Blondie and Derwood Andrews of Generation X were also included on the record. It has been re-released as New York A Go Go,''.