- Date:
- 2004 - 2011
- 1971 - 1977
- Related People:
- David Johansen
the New York Dolls
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Who were the New York Dolls?
The New York Dolls were an American band formed in New York City in 1971. They are known for their raw brand of glam rock, which revitalized the New York City underground music scene in the 1970s and foreshadowed punk rock. The band gained notoriety for outrageous performances in women's makeup and bizarre clothing at the Mercer Arts Center and Max’s Kansas City.
Despite their lack of commercial success and struggles with drug and alcohol addictions, the Dolls had a lasting influence on a generation of bands, most notably the Sex Pistols.
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When and where did the New York Dolls form?
The New York Dolls, an American glam rock band, formed in New York City in 1971. They became known in 1972 for their performances at the Mercer Arts Center and Max’s Kansas City in Lower Manhattan. Their signature look included women’s makeup and unusual clothing. The band combined rhythm and blues influenced by the British Invasion with the guitar distortion of proto-punk bands such as the MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges.
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What kind of music did the New York Dolls play?
The New York Dolls played a raw brand of glam rock that combined rhythm and blues influenced by the British Invasion with the guitar distortion and booming backbeat of proto-punk bands such as the MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges. Their music, delivered with a glam rock androgyny that involved women’s makeup and bizarre clothing, revitalized the New York City underground music scene in the 1970s and foreshadowed punk rock by half a decade. They played live shows at the Mercer Arts Center and Max’s Kansas City.
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Who were some important members of the New York Dolls?
The New York Dolls, an American band whose raw glam rock sound foreshadowed punk rock, was formed in 1971.
Key members included:
* David Johansen: The lead singer, who later found success as Buster Poindexter.
* Johnny Thunders: A guitarist for the band.
* Billy Murcia: The band's drummer, whose death in 1972 contributed to the band's notoriety.
* Sylvain Sylvain: Guitarist who, along with Johansen, spearheaded the band's reunion in the 2000s.
* Arthur Kane: Bassist whose post-Dolls life and the band's reunion are highlighted in the documentary New York Doll.1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How did the New York Dolls influence punk rock and glam rock?
The New York Dolls, an American band, significantly influenced both punk rock and glam rock. Their raw glam rock style revitalized New York City's underground music scene in the 1970s, foreshadowing punk rock by half a decade.
The New York Dolls' androgynous glam rock, complete with women's makeup and bizarre clothing, was coupled with an unpolished musical style. This style combined British Invasion-influenced rhythm and blues with the guitar distortion and booming backbeat of proto-punk bands such as the MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges. Their short, simple, guitar-based songs, delivered in raucous live shows, made a lasting impression on a generation of bands, most notably the Sex Pistols.
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What are some famous songs or albums by the New York Dolls?
The New York Dolls were an American band whose raw glam rock sound helped revitalize the New York City underground music scene in the 1970s, foreshadowing punk rock by half a decade.
Though they did not achieve commercial success, the New York Dolls released two albums, New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974), before their initial dissolution. They were known for their outrageous performances at the Mercer Arts Center and Max’s Kansas City in Lower Manhattan.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
the New York Dolls, American band whose raw brand of glam rock revitalized the New York City underground music scene in the 1970s, foreshadowing punk rock by half a decade.
- David Johansen (born January 9, 1950, New York City, New York, U.S.—died February 28, 2025, New York City)
- Johnny Thunders (byname of John Genzale; born July 15, 1952, New York City—died April 23, 1991, New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Sylvain Sylvain (byname of Sylvain Sylvain Mizrahi; born February 14, 1951, Cairo, Egypt—died January 13, 2021, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.)
- Jerry Nolan (born May 7, 1946, New York City—died January 14, 1992, New York City)
- Arthur Kane (born New York City—died July 13, 2004, Los Angeles, California)
- Rick Rivets (born New York City—died February 19, 2019)
Formed in 1971, the New York Dolls first gained notoriety in 1972 for their outrageous performances at the Mercer Arts Center and Max’s Kansas City in Lower Manhattan, where they appeared in their signature attire—women’s makeup and bizarre clothing. Their glam rock androgyny belied an unpolished musical style that combined British Invasion-influenced rhythm and blues with the guitar distortion and booming backbeat of proto-punk bands such as the MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges. The drug-related death of drummer Billy Murcia during the band’s tour of England in 1972 further fueled their reputation. The following year they signed with Mercury Records and released New York Dolls, produced by Todd Rundgren. Their 1974 follow-up, the aptly named Too Much Too Soon, gave title to the band’s dissolution as its members struggled with drug and alcohol addictions. Notwithstanding their lack of commercial success, the irreverent Dolls had a lasting influence on a generation of bands—most notably the the Sex Pistols, whose founder, Malcolm McLaren, managed the Dolls briefly before their breakup in 1977.
Lead singer David Johansen remained active in the New York music scene, but he enjoyed his greatest commercial success when he reinvented himself as the pompadoured lounge lizard Buster Poindexter. As Poindexter, he crooned pop classics and sipped dry martinis, and his lighthearted tribute to the big band sound anticipated the swing revival of the late 1990s by a full decade. Johansen scored a crossover hit with the party anthem “Hot Hot Hot” in 1987. He also branched into acting, scoring a number of memorable film and television roles throughout the 1980s and ’90s. In 2022 he was the subject of a documentary, Personality Crisis: One Night Only, directed by Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi.
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In 2004 Morrissey, former front man of the Smiths and onetime president of the New York Dolls fan club in the United Kingdom, arranged for the surviving members of the Dolls to reunite for a performance at a New York music festival. The set was well received by fans and critics, and the band was preparing for a full tour when bassist Arthur Kane died of complications from leukemia. Kane’s distinctly unglamorous post-Dolls life and the reunion are at the center of the film documentary New York Doll (2005).
Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, with a collection of accomplished musicians filling in for their departed bandmates, entered the studio to produce One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006), the first collection of new Dolls material to appear since 1974. The tour that followed demonstrated that this second incarnation of the Dolls had the same sort of energy as the first, and the concert album Live at the Fillmore East (2008) captured a band that embraced its place in rock history without succumbing to the nostalgia that characterized so many high-profile reunions. The new lineup of the Dolls showed their range on ’Cause I Sez So (2009), produced by Rundgren, while the well-received Dancing Backward in High Heels (2011) harkened back to 1960s pop. However, after 2011 Johansen and Sylvain went their separate ways again, and the New York Dolls gave no further performances nor recorded.