» Edit Band Information
» Edit Albums
» Add a Review
» Add an Album
» Add News | New York Dolls
The New York Dolls created punk rock before there was a term for it. Building on the Rolling Stones' dirty rock & roll,
MickJagger's androgyny, girl group pop, the Stooges' anarchic noise, and the glam rock of David Bowie and T. Rex, The New
YorkDolls created a new form of hard rock that presaged both punk rock and heavy metal. Their drug-fueled,
shambolicperformances influenced a generation of musicians in New York and London, who all went on to form punk bands. And
althoughthey self-destructed quickly, the band's first two albums remain among the most popular cult records in rock & r ...read more
The New York Dolls created punk rock before there was a term for it. Building on the Rolling Stones' dirty rock & roll,
MickJagger's androgyny, girl group pop, the Stooges' anarchic noise, and the glam rock of David Bowie and T. Rex, The New
YorkDolls created a new form of hard rock that presaged both punk rock and heavy metal. Their drug-fueled,
shambolicperformances influenced a generation of musicians in New York and London, who all went on to form punk bands. And
althoughthey self-destructed quickly, the band's first two albums remain among the most popular cult records in rock & roll
history.
All of the members of The New York Dolls played in New York bands before the band formed in late 1971. Guitarists
JohnnyThunders and Rick Rivets, bassist Arthur Kane, and drummer Billy Murcia were joined by vocalist David Johansen. Early
in1972,Rivets was replaced by Syl Sylvain and the group began playing regularly in Lower Manhattan, particularly at the Mercer
ArtsCenter. Within a few months, they had earned a dedicated cult following, but record companies were afraid of signing the
Dollsbecause of their cross-dressing and blatant vulgarity.
Late in 1972, the Dolls embarked on their first tour of England. During the tour, drummer Murcia died after mixing drugs
andalcohol. He was replaced by Jerry Nolan. After Nolan joined the band, the Dolls finally secured a record contract with
MercuryRecords. Todd Rundgren -- whose sophisticated pop seemed at odds with the band's crash-and-burn rock & roll --
produced theband's debut New York Dolls, which appeared in the summer of 1973. The record received overwhelmingly positive
reviews, butit didn't stir the interest of the general public; the album peaked at number 116 on the U.S. charts. The band's
follow-up, TooMuch Too Soon, was produced by the legendary girl group producer George "Shadow" Morton. Although the sound
of the recordwas relatively streamlined, the album was another commercial failure, only reaching number 167 upon its early
summer 1974release.
Following the disappointing sales of the Dolls' two albums, Mercury Records dropped the band. No other record labels
wereinterested in the group, so the Dolls decided to hire a new manager, the British Malcolm McLaren, who would soon
becomefamous for managing the Sex Pistols. With the Dolls, McLaren began developing his skill for turning shock into
invaluablepublicity. Although he made it work for the Pistols just a year later, all of his strategies backfired for the Dolls. McLaren
madetheband dress completely in red leather and perform in front of the U.S.S.R.'s flag, all of which meant to symbolize the
Dolls'alleged communist allegiance. The new approach only made record labels more reluctant to sign the band and members
soonbegan leaving the group.
By the middle of 1975, Thunders and Nolan left the Dolls. The remaining members, Johansen and Sylvain, fired McLaren
andassembled a new lineup of the band. For the next two years, the duo led a variety of different incarnations of the band,
tonosuccess. In 1977, Johansen and Sylvain decided to break up the band permanently. Over the next two decades, various
outtakescollections, live albums, and compilations were released by a variety of labels and The New York Dolls' two original
studio albumsnever went out of print.
Upon the Dolls' breakup, David Johansen began a solo career that would eventually metamorphose into his lounge-singing
alterego, Buster Poindexter, in the mid-'80s. Syl Sylvain played with Johansen for two years before he left to pursue his own
solocareer. Johnny Thunders formed the Heartbreakers with Jerry Nolan after they left the group in 1975. Over the next decade,
theHeartbreakers would perform sporadically and Thunders would record an occasional solo album. On April 23, 1991,Thunders
wasfound dead in his room at the St. Peter House in New Orleans, Louisiana. Nolan performed at a tribute concertfor Thunders
laterin 1991; a few months later, he died of a stroke at the age of 40.
In 2004, former Smiths vocalist Morrissey -- who was once the president of a British New York Dolls fan club -- invited
thesurviving members of The New York Dolls to perform at the 2004 Meltown Festival, a music and cultural festival that was
beingcurated that year by the singer. To the surprise of many, David Johansen, Syl Sylvain, and Arthur Kane agreed to the gig,
withSteve Conte (from Johansen's solo band) standing in for Thunders and Gary Powell from the Libertines sitting in on drums.
Thegroup's set was well received by critics and fans (and was recorded for release on DVD and compact disc), which led to offers
forother festival appearances, but only a few weeks after the Meltdown show, Kane checked himself into a LosAngeles hospital
withwhat he thought was a severe case of the flu. Kane's ailment was soon diagnosed as leukemia, and hedied only a few hours
later,on July 13, 2004, at age 55.
With Sam Yaffa (of Hanoi Rocks) on bass, the remaining Dolls played a hometown tribute to their fallen brothers at LittleSteven's
International Underground Garage Festival in New York City on August 14, 2004, reuniting again (this time with BrianDelaney on
drums) in 2006 for the all-new CD/DVD One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. The Todd Rundgren-produced 'Cause
I Sez So appeared on Rhino in 2009. A fifth studio album, Dancing Backward in High Heels, featuring bothJohansen and Sylvain
and produced and mixed by Jason Hill, appeared from 429 Records early in 2011.
« hide |
Similar Bands: Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, The Runaways, Ramones, Richard Hell and The Voidoids, The Stooges Contributors: nylonhair, discovolante, ladyevil, Britch2tiger, BMDrummer, aaronrkc, rockandmetaljunkie, bAdMaRk, tom79, Dave de Sylvia, Jacaranda, HenchmanOfSanta, Alex101, ToSmokMuzyki, TheDangerman, Sowing, rockandmetaljunkie, BMDrummer,
|
