New York Dolls

The New York Dolls are a rock band formed in New York City in 1972.

They found little success during their existence, but the New York Dolls prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era and even later; the Dolls' over-the-top crossdressing influenced the look of many glam metal groups, and their shambling, sloppy but highly energetic playing style set the tone for many later rock and roll bands.

History

New York Dolls, (from left) Jerry Nolan, Sylvain Sylvain, Johnny Thunders, David Johansen, Arthur Kane, circa 1974

Initially, the group was comprised of singer David Johansen, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets (who was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain after a few months), bass guitarist Arthur "Killer" Kane and drummer Billy Murcia. The original lineup's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the infamous Endicott Hotel.

They got their big break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London concert. Shortly therafter, Murcia died of accidental suffocation (after he passed out from drugs and alcohol, groupies put him in a cold bath and forced coffee down his throat). He was succeeded by Jerry Nolan, though future Richard Hell and Ramones drummer Marc Bell (Marky Ramone) later claimed he auditioned to take Murcia's place.

The band was influenced by vintage rhythm and blues, the early Rolling Stones, classic American girl group songs, and anarchic post-psychedelic bands such as the MC5 and the Stooges, as well as then-current glam rockers such as Marc Bolan and David Bowie. They did it their own way, creating something which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote "doesn't really sound like anything that came before it. It's hard rock with a self-conscious wit, a celebration of camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge."[1].

Johansen's energy made up for what was then a not-too-strong voice; Thunders's fuzzy guitar sound became a near-instant band trademark, as did Sylvain's minimalistic rhythm guitar and Nolan's tom tom-heavy drumming style. Sartorially, the Dolls looked like a Halloween party gang of transvestites who had broken into the Rolling Stones' and Marc Bolan's wardrobe trunks and made it even more androgynously exaggerated. Musically, their repertoire-was a series of unapologetically high-energy, demimonde expressions of the seamy New York underground from which they emerged, particularly through their legendary shows at the Mercer Arts Center. Songs like "Personality Crisis," "Trash," "Frankenstein," and "Jet Boy" were seminal squalls of guitar abuse, making up in attitude what they lacked in musical ability. But for all their squall the Dolls didn't entirely lack for subtlety; "Subway Train," for one, was as striking a piece of songwriting and even musicianship as the band could execute.

Those and six others (including a speedballing cover of Bo Diddley's "Pills") turned up on their eponymous debut album, 1973's New York Dolls, on the Mercury label. Produced by Todd Rundgren, some critics think he laid too dense a hand on the band's raw thrust while others think he gave them precisely the guidance they needed to let the best of their singular snarl step forth. The album received mostly positive reviews, but sales were sluggish. In any case, a Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to lawnmowers!

For their next album, the quintet opted for another legendary producer, George (Shadow) Morton, whose productions for the Shangri-Las and other girl groups in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favourites. Far from the atmospherics he lent those mini-epics, Morton gave the Dolls a leaner sound for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. The band's songwriting seemed to falter somewhat while their covers of vintage R&B flashed some of the original energy, particularly their cover of Archie Bell and the Drells's "(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown." Critics applauded, mostly, but the public was even less impressed than they'd been with the first album (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973).

Mercury dropped the Dolls not long afterward, and the band recruited British clothier and would-be impresario Malcolm McLaren as their new manager. The kind of provocative stunts he later made work for the Sex Pistols blew up in the Dolls' faces, especially his dressing the band in red leather for performances before a Soviet flag, which alienated record labels that might have pondered taking a chance on the Dolls after Mercury let them go. Except for a few brief periods, the two Dolls albums---considered incontestable classics of raw, protopunk, anything-goes rock and roll, have never been out of print.

Break-up

Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 to form The Heartbreakers with guitarist Walter Lure and former Television co-founder/bassist Richard Hell. They replaced Hell with Billy Rath and toured in support of their heirs the Sex Pistols in England in 1976, while the other Dolls recruited replacements (most notably including Blackie Lawless) and continued until 1977. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few odds-and-ends live sets (including a memorable set from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering into an on-and-off concern. Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 80's, releasing one well-regarded solo album (So Alone, an import-only album, on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook played as well) and several thrown-together sets of covers and a few originals. However, he never really got out of the grip of drugs, and died in New Orleans in 1991, of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose, although there are signs that he may have been murdered, and that the police didn't properly investigate what appeared to just be the death of another junkie.

Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.

New York Dolls, 2004

Johansen went on to a successful solo career after the Dolls broke up. Syl Sylvain was a member of his band for much of this time. Although David (and Syl) covered many Dolls tunes, his solo act was much less outrageous than the Dolls were: he offered energetic but reasonably straightforward renditions of R&B-flavored pop. Several Johansen-Sylvain standards which are now thought of as Dolls classics actually never made it to vinyl until Johansen's solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic", "Girls", and "Frenchette".

His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, sold especially well and yielded at least one album-radio staple, a clever and seamless medley of the Animals' "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life." Johansen had his greatest commercial success portraying the fictional lounge lizard/singer Buster Poindexter, who mixed comedy with a kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop. Under Buster Poindexter's name, Johansen finally made a chart-topping single: one of the 1980s' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." He also hosted a variety show on VH1 as Poindexter. In due course, Johansen shifted direction again, moving on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the 90's.

A posthumous New York Dolls album (made up of early demo tapes of the original line-up) 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.

Syl Sylvain formed his own band, the Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a cab driver in New York, which he later described as the worst job on earth.

Influence

The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as KISS, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Ramones, XTC, Mötley Crüe, Guns N' Roses, The Damned and Morrissey of the Smiths, who was once the head of a New York Dolls fan club. They were a massive influence on various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that on looking back at his movement on stage, felt embarrassed at how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style. The Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, was briefly involved with the Dolls at the end of their career.

They were also a major influence on the rock music scene in New York City, having accumulated a devoted cult following during their career. By the time the New York Dolls had disbanded, Ira Robbins writes that they "singlehandedly began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and others. A classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, the Dolls were much more than just a band. Their devoted original audience became the petri dish of a scene; they emulated their heroes and formed groups in their image."[2]

Reunion

Morrissey organized a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. It was extremely well-received, producing a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, and a film, New York Doll, showing Kane's point of view of the genesis of the reunion contrasted against the backdrop of his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, future plans were impacted when the news came of Arthur Kane's unexpected death on July 13, 2004 from leukemia.

In July 2005, it was announced the two surviving members would tour and produce a new album, recently confirmed to be titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This, released on July 25, 2006 featuring guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (formerly of Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin.

On July 20th 2006, the New York Dolls appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, followed by a live performance in Philadelphia at the WXPN All About The Music Festival, and on July 22nd 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show.

Discography

Albums

* 1973 - New York Dolls
* 1974 - Too Much Too Soon
* 1981 - Lipstick Killers - The Mercer Street Sessions 1972
* 1984 - Red Patent Leather
* 1992 - Seven Day Weekend
* 1993 - Paris Le Trash
* 1998 - Live In Concert, Paris 1974
* 2002 - From Paris With Love (L.U.V.)
* 2003 - Manhattan Mayhem
* 2006 - One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This

Compilations

* 1977 - New York Dolls / Too Much Too Soon
* 1977 - Very Best of New York Dolls
* 1985 - Night of the Living Dolls
* 1985 - The Best of the New York Dolls
* 1987 - New York Dolls + Too Much Too Soon
* 1990 - Super Best Collection
* 1994 - Rock'n Roll
* 1998 - Hootchie Kootchie Dolls
* 1999 - The Glam Rock Hits
* 1999 - The Glamorous Life Live
* 2000 - Actress: Birth of The New York Dolls
* 2000 - Endless Party
* 2000 - New York Tapes 72/73
* 2003 - Looking For A Kiss
* 2003 - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of New York Dolls
* 2004 - The Return of the New York Dolls - live from the royal festival hall 2004

New York Dolls: Encyclopedia BETA

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