New York Dolls

For the self-titled debut album, see New York Dolls (album)

New York Dolls
The New York Dolls in 2006.
Background information
Origin	New York, United States
Genres	Protopunk, Rock and Roll, punk, glam rock
Years active	1971–76, 2004–present
Labels	Mercury Records, Roadrunner Records, Atco Records
Members
David Johansen Sylvain Sylvain Steve Conte Sami Yaffa Brian Delaney
Past members
Johnny Thunders Jerry Nolan Arthur Kane Billy Murcia Peter Jordan Chris Robison Bobby Blaine Tony Machine Gary Powell Rick Rivets Blackie Lawless Brian Koonin

The New York Dolls are an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971^[1]. In 2004 the band reformed with three of their original members, two of whom, David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, continue on today and have released two records of new material. The original bassist, Arthur Kane, died shortly after their first reunion concert.

The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later spawned the Ramones, Blondie, Television and Talking Heads.

History

Sylvain Sylvain 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"^[2], a men's boutique that was across the street from the New York Doll Hospital, a doll repair shop. Sylvain claimed that 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. They called 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 by Kane and Rick Rivets, who had been playing together in the Bronx. At Thunders' suggestion, Murcia replaced the original drummer. Thunders played lead guitar and sang for the band known as "Actress". An October 1971 rehearsal tape recorded by Rivets was released as Dawn of the Dolls. When Thunders decided that he no longer wanted to be the front man, David Johansen joined the band.

Initially, the group was composed 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 Endicott Hotel.

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. 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."^[3] Despite their impeccable rock/punk/glam credentials, the band's sound was also formed by blues and soul influences, as evidenced by Johansen's bluesy harmonica and their choice of cover versions – their two Mercury albums contain their covers of songs originally performed by Bo Diddley, The Drells, Sonny Boy Williamson, The Coasters and the Jay Hawks (though, in the case of The Jay Hawks' song "Stranded in the Jungle", the Dolls may have been more familiar with a cover version by The Cadets). The CD "Private World: The Complete Early Studio Demos 1972/3" includes their versions of songs by Otis Redding, Gary US Bonds, Chuck Berry, The Shangri-Las and Muddy Waters. The jazz music influence was particularly important for Johansen, whose subsequent career included work with jazz man Big Jay McNeely and blues man Hubert Sumlin.

After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the band got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London concert. Shortly thereafter, Murcia died of accidental drowning, at age 21, after he passed out from drugs and alcohol.

Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who would go on to play with Richard Hell and Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone") 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. New York Dolls was produced by former Nazz guitarist 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 middle US, and a Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers.

The Dolls still polarised America's mass rock audience (a Creem magazine poll landed them wins as the best and the worst new group of 1973), but they toured the US to some satisfaction. 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 with the Rolling Stones in the same way The Monkees had been with the Beatles, as their unoriginal, upstart clones.

For their next album the quintet opted for 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, for 1974's Too Much Too Soon. Mercury dropped the Dolls not long after the second album. In 1975, foundering in drug abuse and interpersonal spats as the opportunities dried up, the band split up.

The McLaren-era Dolls were captured in a live set released by Fan Club records in 1986, Red Patent Leather. Production is credited to Sylvain Sylvain, with former manager Marty Thau credited as executive producer. In addition to the expected line-up, Kane's replacement Peter Jordan was credited with 'second bass'.

Break-up

Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 while on tour in Florida. Blackie Lawless replaced Thunders for the remainder of the Florida tour. A taste of The Dolls without Thunders and Nolan can be found on the album Tokyo Dolls Live (Fan Club/New Rose), from a Japanese show in August 1975, for which Johansen, Sylvain and Jordan were joined by keyboardist Chris Robison and drummer Tony Machine. 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.

Johansen and Sylvain continued on as the New York Dolls for a few years, with the band rounded out by Jordan, Machine and Robison. The group played its final shows for 28 years in late 1976, with Bobby Blaine on keyboards.

Thunders and Nolan formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell, who had left Television the same week. After a few shows they added guitarist Walter Lure and a few months later replaced Hell with Billy Rath. They participated in the "Anarchy Tour" with the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned in Britain in 1976. The Heartbreakers recorded one British-only studio album and a few live sets (including one from a Max's Kansas City show) before splintering.

Thunders continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s, releasing one solo album So Alone (on which Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook guested) consisting of several sets of cover songs and a few originals. During this period he briefly teamed up with ex-MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer in the group Gang War, which later altered its name. Thunders died in New Orleans in 1991 of an alleged heroin and methadone overdose. It also came to light that he suffered from leukemia. Nolan died a few months later in 1992, following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis.

Immediately after the group's breakup, Johansen started a solo career. Several Johansen and Sylvain songs never made it to vinyl until the first two Johansen solo albums: e.g., "Funky But Chic," "Girls," and "Frenchette." His fourth solo album, a concert set called Live it Up, contained a 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, then moved on to folk and blues with David Johansen and the Harry Smiths through the 1990s. A posthumous New York Dolls album, Lipstick Killers (made up of early demo tapes of the original Dolls with Billy Murcia on drums), 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 (though actually recorded at Blue Rock Studio, New York) – 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 – Johnny Holiday's "Courageous Cat" theme 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 by the Dolls for the Mercer Street/Blue Rock Sessions.

Sylvain formed his own band, The Criminals, then cut a solo album for RCA, while also working with Johansen. He later became a taxicab driver in New York. In the early 1990s he moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album Sleep Baby Doll, on Fishhead Records. His bandmates on that record were: Brian Keats on drums (Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords), Speediejohn Carlucci on bass (ex- Fuzztones), and Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frankie 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, along with tracks by The Criminals.

Influence

The band influenced a whole era of musicians and bands, such as KISS, Hanoi Rocks, Blondie, The Clash, Ramones, Dead Boys, Mötley Crüe, Faster Pussycat, Guns N' Roses, The Damned, The Smiths, and Japan. They also influenced various members of the Sex Pistols, especially guitarist Steve Jones, who later said that looking back at his movements on stage, he was embarrassed by how much he copied Johnny Thunders' style.^[4] The Sex Pistols' manager, Malcolm McLaren, worked with the New York Dolls towards the end of their career, though he never officially managed them.^[5]

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 wrote 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."^[6]

It should be noted that their influence was not confined to the legions of punk rock and new wave bands: The Smiths' Morrissey and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Peter Buck – whose music is notably different from that of the New York Dolls – are noted for their Dolls enthusiasms. Stipe was a special guest on One Day..., and Morrissey (as "Steven Morrissey") wrote a book about them in his pre-Smiths days.

Reunion

The New York Dolls, performing at the Burlington Sound of Music festival in 2010

Morrissey, having been a long-time fan of the band, and head of the UK fanclub (in the 1970s), would go on to organize a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in 2004. The reunion led to 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 affected when the news came of Arthur Kane's death on July 13, 2004, from leukemia. They played several festivals in the UK during 2004.

In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album, titled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This. Released on July 25, 2006, the album featured guitarist Steve Conte, bassist Sami Yaffa (ex-Hanoi Rocks), drummer Brian Delaney and keyboardist Brian Koonin, formerly a member of David Johansen and the Harry Smiths. On July 20, 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 22, 2006, a taped appearance on The Henry Rollins Show. On August 18, 2006, the band performed in a free concert at New York's Seaport Music.

In October 2006, the band embarked on a UK tour, with Sylvain taking time while in Glasgow to speak to John Kilbride of STV. The discussion covered the band's history and the current state of their live show and songwriting, with Sylvain commenting that "even if you come to our show thinking 'how can it be like it was before,' we turn that around 'cos we've got such a great live rock 'n roll show".^[7]

In November 2006, the Dolls began headlining "Little Steven's Underground Garage Presents the Rolling Rock and Roll Show," about 20 live gigs with numerous other bands. In April 2007, the band played in Australia and New Zealand, appearing at the V Festival with Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, Gnarls Barkley, Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Phoenix.

On September 22, 2007, New York Dolls were removed from the current artists section of Roadrunner Records' website, signifying the group's split with the label. The band played the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London on July 4, 2008, with Morrissey and Beck and the Lounge On The Farm Festival on July 12, 2008. On November 14, 2008, it was announced that the producer of their first album, Todd Rundgren, would be producing a new album, which will be followed by a world tour. The finishing touches on the album were made in Rundgren's studio on the island of Kauai.^[8] The album, Cause I Sez So, was released on May 5, 2009 on Atco Records.^[9]

The band played at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas on March 21, 2009, and a show at London's 100 Club on May 14, 2009 supported by Spizzenergi. On March 18, 2010, the band announced another two concert dates at the KOKO club in Camden, London and the Academy in Dublin on April 20.

Members

Discography

^[1]

Demo albums

• Actress – "Birth of the New York Dolls" (1972)
• Lipstick Killers - The Mercer Street Sessions 1972 (1981)
• Seven Day Weekend (1992)

Studio albums

• New York Dolls (1973)
• Too Much Too Soon (1974)
• One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006)
• Cause I Sez So (2009)

Live albums

• Red Patent Leather (1984)
• Paris Le Trash (1993)
• Live In Concert, Paris 1974 (1998)
• From Paris With Love (L.U.V.) (2002)
• Morrissey Presents: The Return Of New York Dolls Live From Royal Festival Hall (2004)
• Live At the Filmore East (2008)

Compilation albums

• New York Dolls / Too Much Too Soon (1977)
• Very Best of New York Dolls (1977)
• Night of the Living Dolls (1985)
• The Best of the New York Dolls (1985)
• New York Dolls + Too Much Too Soon (1987)
• Super Best Collection (1990)
• Rock'n Roll (1994)
• Hootchie Kootchie Dolls (1998)
• The Glam Rock Hits (1999)
• The Glamorous Life Live (1999)
• Actress: Birth of The New York Dolls (2000)
• Endless Party (2000)
• New York Tapes 72/73 (2000)
• Great Big Kiss (reissue of Seven Day Weekend and Red Patent Leather, 2002)
• Looking For A Kiss (2003)
• Manhattan Mayhem (2003)
• 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of New York Dolls (2003)
• The Return of the New York Dolls – live from Royal Festival Hall 2004 (2004)

Singles

• "Bad Girl" / "Subway Train" (1973)
• "Jet Boy" / "Babylon" / "Who Are the Mystery Girls" (1973)
• "Personality Crisis" / "Looking for a Kiss" (1973)
• "Trash" / "Personality Crisis" (1973)
• "Stranded in the Jungle" / "Don't Start Me Talkin'" (1974)
• "(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown" / "Puss 'n' Boots" (1974)
• "Gimme Luv and Turn On the Light" (2006)

References

External links

• www.fromthearchives.org, which has a complete concert chronology for the period 1971–1976.
• Johnny Thunders/New York Dolls web forum
• Official Website
• Official MySpace
• Punk 77: New York Dolls
• MTV Overdrive: MTV Raw Interview With the New York Dolls (May 25, 2006)
• "New York Dolls: Old Dolls, New Tricks," July 11, 2007 at Crawdaddy!.
• http://goto.glocalnet.net/newyorkdolls/
• – Review of the Doll's Manchester Academy gig, July 08
• New York Dolls recording new album
• Rekindling the Punk Flame, article