Dec 14

New York Dolls

NEW YORK DOLLS

 
The New York Dolls  are an American hard rock band formed in New York City in 1971.  Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands in the early punk rock scene.  The line-up at this time comprised 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.  On stage, the New York Dolls donned an androgynous wardrobe, wearing high heels, eccentric hats, and satin.  Nolan described the group at the time as “the Dead End Kids of today”.   (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
A more critically acclaimed medley of songs by Eric Burdon and the Animals, simply called “Animals Medley” was tackled by David Johansen.  David Johansen had been the lead singer in the cross-dressing, proto-punk band called New York Dolls and came up with an entirely different persona as Buster Poindexter, where he had numerous hits like “Hot Hot Hot” and “Zat You, Santa Claus?”. 
 
(September 2012)
 
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Norris Easterbrook recalls that, after one gig, two New York kids enthusiastically approached him backstage while he was still in his make-up and girlfriend’s dress.  He didn’t give the encounter much thought until several years later, when he saw the proto-punk band that had been formed by these two fans, New York Dolls in their first British television appearance.  He immediately recognized the band’s guitarist from that meeting many years earlier:  future punk stalwart Johnny Thunders who was all decked out in full drag-queen regalia.   

 

(July 2013)

 
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The Richmond Sluts were founded by Chris B (Chris Beltran, on bass guitar) and Shea Roberts (guitar and vocals) in 1998; they shared similar tastes in music, such as the Clash, the Rolling Stones, New York Dolls, and the Stooges.  After adding Justin Lynn (keyboards), the Richmond Sluts developed a distinctive sound and began performing with the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.  

 

Allmusic gives The Richmond Sluts 4 stars and says of the Richmond Sluts that “they explored the glam-slam-thank-you-ma’am side of punk”.  Jo-Ann Greene comments about their inventiveness on the album in ways that are a little beyond my capacity to figure out:  “Since categorization is a necessity in this age of overspecification, punk rock will do nicely, but doesn’t begin to encompass just how cleverly the group churns other genres through its blender.  The Sluts connect the dots between ’60s garage punk and old school ’70s style, then toss just a dash of new school into the mix.  Variations on this recipe reverberate across the album, and answer a slew of niggling questions along the way.  Ever wonder what the [New York] Dolls would sound like covered by a psychedelic band?  Kept up at night trying to imagine a cross between the Cramps and the Velvet Underground?  Curious what the result would be if a time warp sent Richard Hell circa 1978 a decade into the past?  And what if Eddie & the Hotrods were really the Ramones with English accents?  The Richmond Sluts answer all these brain teasers and more you’ve yet to even imagine, and they do it without an ounce of pretentiousness or braggadocio.” 

 

(June 2014)
 
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The reissue of the album by the Klubs was named Album of the Year by Record Collector magazine.  Their penchant for dressing up in their girlfriends’ and sisters’ clothes during concerts inspired several members of the cross-dressing, proto-punk band New York Dolls, whose members included future punk legend Johnny Thunders and David Johansen, who later became known as Buster Poindexter.  Their story well illustrates how a relatively prominent rock band from a legendary musical center like Liverpool, England could nevertheless drop almost completely out of sight. 

 

(July 2015)

 

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In an interview for SugarbuzzMagazine.com, Jeff Drake mentions that Brian Walsh was also a sometime drummer for Amanda Jones; he was previously in teen heart-throb Leif Garrett’s band and was also in Slow Motorcade, who recorded a cover of one of my favorite New York Dolls songs, “Vietnamese Baby”.  The Slow Motorcade version of “Vietnamese Baby” was included on a New York Dolls tribute album called Jetboys of Babylon (2005).    
 
(December 2015)
 
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I have written already of several of the first-wave punk rock bands that were formed in the wake of the proto-punk bands that I wrote about in my last post:  the Stooges, the Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, the Modern Lovers, MC5, and others.  In fact, one of my early UARB’s was the Eyes; they were one of the first punk bands in Los Angeles and included in their line-up future stars Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go’s and DJ Bonebrake of X. 
 
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I recently picked up a 2007 retrospective album called Destroy All Music by the Weirdos, one of the earliest Southern California punk bands, having formed in late 1975.  Cliff Roman (guitar and bass) recalls:  “I saw the [New York] Dolls at the Whisky and got their autographs.  I saw the Stooges at the Whisky, and Iggy [Pop] got on my shoulders.  When he was lying on the floor, I drew a red ‘X’ on his chest, and we watched his sweat melt it as the band finished their set.  Walking out of the show, I told my friend David Trout (guitar) that we should start our own band.” 
 
(March 2017)
 
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While the other members of the Sloths moved on after the band broke up, Mike Rummans stuck with it. As reported in the AARP The Magazine article: “His musical résumé is a kind of pocket history of American pop. There he is on bass in the bubblegummy Yellow Payges [I just ordered an album, finally, by this band], the glam-tastic Hollywood Stars, the neo-rockabilly Kingbees. His Beatle bangs blossomed into a magnificent ’70s shag, then retreated as the ’80s arrived. Often, his bands flirted with success — the Stars were hyped as the West Coast’s New York Dolls, and the Kingbees charted two singles.”  
(June 2017)
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Anyway, here is what and who I talked about last year:
December 2016 – 1960’s garage rock band THE IGUANAS; Story of the Month on the Muddy Waters song “Rollin’ Stone”; also, 1970’s music and proto-punk music, Ramones, Nuggets, Pebbles Series, the Sonics, New York Dolls, the Modern Lovers, MC5, the Stooges, Iggy Pop.
 
(Year 8 Review)
Last edited: April 3, 2021