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{{short description|American rock band}}
{{Infobox_band |
{{about||the album|New York Dolls (album){{!}}''New York Dolls'' (album)|the professional wrestling tag team|Rick McGraw|and|Troy Graham}}
band_name = The New York Dolls |
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
image = [[image:NewYorkDollspm.jpg|thumb|''New York Dolls'', 1973]] |
{{Infobox musical artist
years_active = [[1971]]&ndash;[[1977]];<br />[[2004]]&ndash;present |
| name = New York Dolls
status = Reunited/Active |
origin = [[New York City, New York]] |
| image = New York Dolls - TopPop 1973 11.png
| caption = New York Dolls on ''[[TopPop]]'' in 1973. From left to right: [[Johnny Thunders]], [[Sylvain Sylvain]], [[Jerry Nolan]], [[Arthur Kane]], and [[David Johansen]].
music_genre = [[Glam Rock]], [[Protopunk]] |
| origin = New York City, U.S.
record_label = [[Mercury Records]] |
| genre = {{hlist|[[Hard rock]]|[[proto-punk]]|{{nowrap|[[glam rock]]}}|[[glam punk]]}}
current_members = [[David Johansen]] (1971 - 1977, 2004-present)<br />[[Sylvain Sylvain]] (1971-1977, 2004-present)<br />[[Steve Conte]] (2004-present)<br />[[Sami Yaffa]] (2004-present)<br />[[Brian Delaney]] (2004-present)<br />[[Brian Koonin]] (2004-Present)|
| years_active = {{hlist|1971–1976<ref name="Erlewine"/>|2004–2011<ref name="getintothis.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.getintothis.co.uk/2016/03/bowie-guitarist-earl-slick-on-his-years-with-the-thin-white-duke-working-with-lennon-and-the-making-of-station-to-station/|title=Bowie guitarist Earl Slick on his years with The Thin White Duke, working with Lennon and the making of Station To Station – Getintothis|date=March 25, 2016}}</ref>}}
past_members = [[Johnny Thunders]] (1971-1975)<br />[[Jerry Nolan]] (1972-1975)<br />[[Arthur Kane]] (1971-1975, 2004)<br />[[Billy Murcia]] (1971-1972)<br />[[Gary Powell]] (2004)|
| label = {{hlist|[[Mercury Records|Mercury]]|[[Roadrunner Records|Roadrunner]]|[[Atco Records|Atco]]|[[Cleopatra Records|Cleopatra]]<ref>Stephen Thomas Erlewine [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/new-york-dolls-mn0000866786/discography/compilations "New York Dolls – Discography (Compilations)"] "AllMusic.com" Retrieved October 30, 2017</ref>|[[429 Records|429]]}}
| current_members =
| past_members = <!--DO NOT add "(deceased)" next to any of the names in the infobox. This is contrary to Wikipedia guidelines, which state only names should be featured here. Thank you.-->[[David Johansen]]<br />[[Sylvain Sylvain]]<br />[[Johnny Thunders]]<br />[[Arthur Kane]]<br />[[Billy Murcia]]<br />[[Rick Rivets]]<br />[[Jerry Nolan]]<br />Peter Jordan<br />[[Blackie Lawless]]<br />[[Chris Robison]]<br />Tony Machine<br />Bobby Blaine<br />[[Steve Conte]]<br />[[Gary Powell (musician)|Gary Powell]]<br />[[Sami Yaffa]]<br />Brian Koonin<br />[[Frank Infante]]<br />[[Jason Hill (singer)|Jason Hill]]<br />[[Jason Sutter]]<br />[[Aaron Lee Tasjan]]<br />John Conte<br />[[Kenny Aaronson]]<br />[[Earl Slick]] <br />Brian Delaney<br />Claton Pitcher
}}
}}
'''New York Dolls''' were an American [[rock music|rock]] band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with [[the Velvet Underground]] and [[the Stooges]], they were one of the first bands of the early [[punk rock]] scenes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ferris|first=William R.|author-link=William R. Ferris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nsye_8Ewk0oC&pg=PA349|access-date=June 24, 2013|page=349|title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures: The Mid-Atlantic Region|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-313-32954-8}}</ref> Although the band never achieved much commercial success and their original line-up fell apart quickly, the band's first two albums—''[[New York Dolls (album)|New York Dolls]]'' (1973) and ''[[Too Much Too Soon (album)|Too Much Too Soon]]'' (1974)—became among the most popular [[cult following|cult]] records in rock.<ref name="Erlewine"/> The line-up at this time consisted of 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.<ref name="Larkin"/> On stage, they donned an androgynous wardrobe, wearing high heels, eccentric hats, satin,<ref name="beaver"/> makeup, spandex, and dresses.{{sfn|Ward|Stokes|Tucker|1986|p=549}}<ref name="Tucker"/> Nolan described the group in 1974 as "the [[Dead End Kids]] of today".<ref name="beaver">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2002&dat=19740220&id=hIEkAAAAIBAJ&pg=3629,893498|title=The New York Dolls: 'More Than a Band'|newspaper=[[The Beaver County Times]]|date=February 20, 1974|page=C-14}}</ref>
The '''New York Dolls''' are a [[rock music]] group formed in [[New York City]] in [[1971]].


After reuniting, they recruited new musicians to tour and record. They released three more albums—''[[One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This]]'' (2006), ''[[Cause I Sez So]]'' (2009) and ''[[Dancing Backward in High Heels]]'' (2011).<ref name="Erlewine"/> Following a 2011 British tour with [[Alice Cooper]], the band once again disbanded.<ref name="getintothis.co.uk"/>
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===
==History==
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2024}}
[[image:NewYorkDollspmbd.jpg|thumb|left|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 Rivetts (who was replaced by [[Sylvain Sylvain]] after a few months), bass guitarist [[Arthur "Killer" Kane]] and drummer Billy Murcia.


=== Formation ===
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 passing 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 [[the Ramones|Ramones]] drummer Marc Bell (Marky Ramone) later claimed he auditioned to take Murcia's place. The original lineup's first performance was on [[Christmas Eve]] 1971 at a homeless shelter, the infamous [[Endicott Hotel]].
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,<ref>{{cite book |title=Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood |last=Antonia |first=Nina |year=2000 |publisher=Cherry Red Books |isbn=978-1-901447-15-6 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/johnnythundersin00anto/page/8 8,257] |url=https://archive.org/details/johnnythundersin00anto/page/8 }}</ref> a men's boutique that was across the street from the [[Irving D. Chais|New York Doll Hospital]], a doll repair shop. Sylvain said that the 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 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 line-up's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the [[Endicott Hotel]]. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the New York Dolls got a break when [[Rod Stewart]] invited them to open for him at a London concert.
The Dolls were 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 [[campy|camp]] and [[kitsch]] that retains a menacing, malevolent edge."[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5jdjvwmva9xk].


While on a brief tour of England in 1972, Murcia was invited to a party, where he passed out from an overdose. He was put in a bathtub and force-fed coffee in an attempt to revive him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1299&dat=19721228&id=MtpHAAAAIBAJ&pg=6321,6218523|title=The Dolls: Get It While You Can|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|date=December 28, 1972|page=28}}</ref> Instead, it resulted in asphyxiation. He was found dead on the morning of November 6, 1972, at the age of 21.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1299&dat=19721116&id=LNpHAAAAIBAJ&pg=4946,3284427|author=Richard Nusser|date=November 16, 1972|title=Once More, Death in Threes|newspaper=Village Voice|page=52}}</ref>
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---mostly written by Johansen (he spelt his name Jo Hansen at the time) and Thunders, occasionally by Johansen and Sylvain---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.


=== Record deal: 1972–1975 ===
Those and six others (including a speedballing cover of [[Bo Diddley]]'s "Pills") turned up on their eponymous debut album, [[1973]]'s ''[[The New York Dolls (album)|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.
[[File:New York Dolls - TopPop 1973 04.png|thumb|left|New York Dolls, 1973]]{{main|New York Dolls (album)|Too Much Too Soon (album)}}
Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who was to go on to play with [[Richard Hell]], and with the [[Ramones]] under the stage name "[[Marky Ramone]]"), Peter Criscuola (better known as [[Peter Criss]], the original and former drummer of [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]]), and [[Jerry Nolan]], a friend of the band. They selected Nolan, and after US [[Mercury Records]]' A&R man [[Paul Nelson (critic)|Paul Nelson]] signed them, they began sessions for their debut album. In 1972, the band took on [[Marty Thau]] as manager.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/arts/music/marty-thau-manager-in-early-new-york-punk-scene-dies-at-75.html "Marty Thau, Manager in Early New York Punk Scene, Dies at 75"]. ''New York Times'', February 23, 2014. Ben Sisario</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Antonia|first=Nina|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AuoWbWvY3hkC&dq=I+dont+know+if+it+would+have+worked+out+without+Mike+Gormleys+input...&pg=PT78|title=Too Much, Too Soon The Makeup Breakup of The New York Dolls: Too Much Too Soon|publisher=Omnibus Press; 3rd Revised edition|year=2011|pages=73|isbn=9780857126733 }}</ref>


''[[New York Dolls (album)|New York Dolls]]'' was produced by singer-songwriter, musician and solo artist [[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 the middle US, and a ''[[Stereo Review]]'' magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of [[lawnmowers]]. America's mass rock audience's reaction to the Dolls was mixed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19740930&id=EoY0AAAAIBAJ&pg=760,4423153|author=Bill Mann|date=September 30, 1974|title=New York Dolls Music a Blast|newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]}}</ref> In a ''Creem'' magazine poll, they were elected both best and worst new group of 1973. The Dolls also toured Europe, and, while appearing on UK television, host [[Bob Harris (radio presenter)|Bob Harris]] of the [[BBC]]'s ''[[The Old Grey Whistle Test|Old Grey Whistle Test]]'' derided the group as "[[mock rock]]", comparing them unfavorably to the [[Rolling Stones]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/14/new-york-dolls-mock-rock|author=Stevie Chick|date=June 13, 2011|title=The New York Dolls play 'mock rock' on British TV|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>
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 (album)|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 (one magazine poll landed them wins as the best ''and'' the worst new group of 1973).


For their next album, ''[[Too Much Too Soon (album)|Too Much Too Soon]]'', the quintet hired producer [[Shadow Morton|George "Shadow" Morton]], whose productions for the [[Shangri-Las]] and other [[girl-groups]] in the mid-1960s had been among the band's favorites.
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 Union|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.
{{clear}}


=== Dissolution: 1975–1976 ===
===Break-up===
Thunders and Nolan left in 1975 to form [[The Heartbreakers]] with guitarist Walter Lure and former [[Television (band)|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 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. Nolan died a few months later in [[1992]], following a [[stroke]], brought about by [[bacterial meningitis]].
[[image:NewYorkDollspmcb.jpg|thumb|''New York Dolls'', 2004]]


By 1975, the Dolls were playing smaller venues than they had been previously. Drug and alcohol abuse by Thunders, Nolan, and Kane, as well as artistic differences added to the tensions among members. In late February or early March, [[Malcolm McLaren]] became their informal manager. He got the band red leather outfits to wear on stage and a communist flag as backdrop ([[communist chic]]). The Dolls did a five-concert tour of New York's five boroughs, supported by [[Television (band)|Television]] and [[Pure Hell]]. The [[New York Hippodrome|Little Hippodrome]] ([[Manhattan]]) show was recorded and released by New Rose Records subsidiary Fan Club in 1984 as ''[[Red Patent Leather]]'', which was previously a bootleg album later remixed by Sylvain for official release, with former manager [[Marty Thau]] credited as executive producer. Due to Kane being unable to play that night, roadie Peter Jordan played bass, though he was credited as having played "second bass". Jordan filled in for Kane when he was unable to play numerous times, such as following a thumb injury sustained prior to the band's 1973 [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] dates.
Johansen had a moderately successful solo career in commercial terms once the Dolls finally called it a career; his voice had matured dramatically, he returned to his original passion for rhythm and blues (with Syl Sylvain, his former Dolls bandmate, as his partner, mostly), and cut several solo albums showing him---almost surprisingly, considering his Dolls past---as one of the great unheralded white soul singers of his time. His fourth solo album, a concert set called ''Live it Up'', sold well and yielded at least one album-radio staple, a clever and seamless medley of [[the Animals]]'s "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "It's My Life." But Johansen tired of the kind of audiences he was playing for (to one television interviewer, he later called them "the heavy mental music that goes over big at Hitler Youth rallies"), and developed an alternative identity and style---lounge lizard/singer [[Buster Poindexter]]), whose kitschy hybrid of soul and tropical pop hoisted up one of the [[1980s]]' biggest dance hits, "Hot Hot Hot." In due course, he shifted direction again, moving on to [[folk music|folk]] and [[blues]] with [[David Johansen and the Harry Smiths]] through the 90's. A third New York Dolls album (comprising a 1972 demo session with the original line-up) was released on cassette only in 1981, finally making it to CD as ''Lipstick Killers'' in 2000.


In March and April, McLaren took the band on a tour of [[South Carolina]] and [[Florida]]. Jordan replaced Kane for most of those shows. Thunders and Nolan left after an argument, forming [[The Heartbreakers]] with [[Richard Hell]] on April 11. Subsequently, [[Blackie Lawless]], then known by his birth name of Steven Duren, who later founded [[W.A.S.P. (band)|W.A.S.P.]], replaced Thunders for the remainder of the tour after which the band broke up.<ref name="fromthearchives.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.fromthearchives.com/nyd/chronology.html |title=New York Dolls -Chronology- |website=FromTheArchives |access-date=September 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fromthearchives.com/nyd/NYD25_Apr_75.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=September 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013140617/http://fromthearchives.com/nyd/NYD25_Apr_75.jpg |archive-date=October 13, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/04059-malcolm-mclaren-obituary-by-new-york-dolls-sylvain-sylvain|title=Malcolm McLaren Obituary By New York Dolls' Sylvain Sylvain|work=The Quietus|access-date=September 30, 2017}}</ref> Following the tour's conclusion and announcement of the band's breakup on April 25, Duren and Kane moved to [[Los Angeles]] to form the short-lived band Killer Kane.<ref name="fromthearchives.com"/>
Syl Sylvain had a go at his own musical career too for a time. He formed his own band, the Criminals, then cut a solo album for [[RCA]], even as he spent a few years as Johansen's sidekick. He later became a cab driver in [[New York]], which he later described as the worst job on earth.


The band reformed in July for an August tour in Japan with [[Jeff Beck]] and [[Felix Pappalardi]]. Johansen, Sylvain and Jordan were joined by former [[Elephant's Memory]] keyboardist [[Chris Robison]] and drummer Tony Machine. One of the shows was documented on the album ''Tokyo Dolls Live'' (Fan Club/New Rose). 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.
===Influence===
The Dolls influenced a whole era of musicians and bands such as [[KISS]], [[Hanoi Rocks]], [[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.


After their return to New York, the Dolls resumed playing shows in the US and Canada. Mercury dropped the Dolls on 7 October 1975, their contract with Mercury having expired on 8 August 1975<ref>''TRASH! The Complete New York Dolls'', [[Kris Needs]] & Dick Porter, [[Information Today|Plexus]] p. 126</ref> - five months after Thunders' and Nolan's departures from the band.
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 (band)|Blondie]], [[Television (band)|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."[http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=new_york_dolls]
Their show at the [[Beacon Theatre (New York City)|Beacon Theatre]], on New Year's Eve, 1975 met with great critical acclaim. After a drunken argument with Sylvain, Robison was fired and replaced by pianist/keyboardist Bobbie Blaine formerly a member of Street Punk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chrisrobison.net/pages/newyorkdolls.html|title=Chris Robison New York Dolls|website=Chrisrobison.net|access-date=September 30, 2017}}</ref><ref name="fromthearchives.com"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://fivebands.com/2016/11/04/i-was-a-teenage-street-punk-peter-rossi-nys-glitter-punk-underground-and-5-bands-you-should-know-about/ | title=I was a teenage Street Punk: Peter Rossi, NY's glitter-punk underground and 5 bands you should know about | date=November 4, 2016 }}</ref> The group toured throughout 1976, performing a set including some songs with lyrics by David Johansen that would later appear on David Johansen's solo albums including "Funky But Chic", "Frenchette" and "Wreckless Crazy". The group played its last show December 30, 1976 at Max's Kansas City; on the same bill as [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]].<ref name="fromthearchives.com"/>


=== Individual endeavors: 1975–2004 ===
===Reunion===
Shortly after returning from Florida, Thunders and Nolan formed [[The Heartbreakers]] with bassist [[Richard Hell]], who had left Television the same week that they quit the Dolls. Thunders later pursued a solo career. He died in [[New Orleans]] on 23 April 1991, allegedly of an overdose of both [[heroin]] and [[methadone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=19910425&id=zAYhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3860,3256026|title=Johnny Thunders Dies of Overdose|newspaper=[[The Hour (newspaper)|The Hour]]|date=April 25, 1991}}</ref> It also came to light that he suffered from t-cell [[leukemia]]. Nolan died on 14 January 1992 following a [[stroke]], brought about by [[bacterial meningitis]]. In 1976, Kane and [[Blackie Lawless]] formed the Killer Kane Band in Los Angeles. Immediately after the New York Dolls' second breakup, Johansen began a solo career. By the late 1980s, he achieved moderate success under the pseudonym, [[Buster Poindexter]]. Sylvain formed The Criminals, a popular band at [[CBGB]].
[[Morrissey]] organised a reunion of the three surviving band members (Johansen, Sylvain, 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]].


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: the "[[Courageous Cat]]" theme, from the original ''Courageous Cat'' cartoon series; 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 independently for what was later to become the Mercer Street/Blue Rock Sessions.
In July 2005, it was announced the two surviving members would tour and produce a new album, possibly titled ''[[One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This]]'', due for release on July 25, 2006 featuring guitarist [[Steve Conte]], ex-[[Hanoi Rocks]] bassist [[Sami Yaffa]], drummer [[Brian Delaney]] and keyboardist [[Brian Koonin]].


Johansen formed the David Johansen Group, and released a self-titled LP in 1978, recorded at the Bottom Line in NYC's Greenwich Village,featuring Sylvain Mizrahi and Johnny Thunders as guest musicians. In May, 1978, he also released "David Johansen", on Blue Sky Records, a label created by Steve Paul, formerly of The Scene. Johansen continued to tour with his solo project and released four more albums, ''In Style,'' 1979; ''Here Comes the Night'', 1981; ''Live it'' ''Up,'' 1982; and ''Sweet Revenge'', 1984. During the later 1980s, Johansen, ever-evolving, decided to try to liberate himself from the expectations of his New York Dolls perceived persona, and, on a whim, created the persona Buster Poindexter. The success of this act led him to be invited to appear in multiple films: ''Scrooged'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/03lrqw&hl=en-US&q=Scrooged|title=Scrooged - Google Search|website=Google.com|access-date=June 20, 2021}}</ref> ''[[Freejack]]'', and ''Let it Ride'', among others. He also formed a band called [[David Johansen and the Harry Smiths]], named after the eccentric ethnomusicologist, performing jump blues, Delta blues, and some original songs.
==Discography==
===Albums===
* 1973 - ''[[New York Dolls (album)|New York Dolls]]''
* 1974 - ''[[Too Much Too Soon (album)|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]]''


Sylvain formed his own band, the Criminals, then cut a solo album for [[RCA Records|RCA]], while also working with Johansen. He later became a taxicab driver in New York. During this period, in the early 1990s, Sylvain moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album ''Sleep Baby Doll,'' on Fishhead Records. His band, for that record, consisted of Brian Keats on drums, [[Dave Vanian]]'s Phantom Chords, Speediejohn Carlucci (who had played with the [[Fuzztones]]), and Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by [[Frank Infante]] of [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]] and Derwood Andrews of [[Generation X (band)|Generation X]] were also included on the record. It has been re-released as ''New York A Go Go,''.
===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''


=== Reunion, return to recording, second dissolution: 2004–2011 ===
[[File:New York Dolls (2006).jpg|thumb|The New York Dolls in 2006]]


[[Morrissey]], having been a longtime fan of the band and head of their 1970s UK fan club, organized a reunion of the three surviving members of the band's classic line-up (Johansen, Sylvain and Kane) for the [[Meltdown Festival]] in London on June 16, 2004. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, as well as a documentary film, ''[[New York Doll]]'', on the life of Arthur Kane. However, future plans for the Dolls were affected by Kane's sudden death from leukemia just weeks later on July 13, 2004. Yet the following month the band appeared at [[Little Steven]]'s Underground Garage Festival on August 14 in New York City before returning to the UK to play several more festivals through the remainder of 2004.<ref name="Erlewine"/>


In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album entitled ''[[One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (album)|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.
==References==
*[http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/15/music.newyorkdolls.reut/index.html New York Dolls recording new album]
* [http://www.shanatinglipton.com/punk1.html Rekindling the Punk Flame, article]


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".<ref>[http://www.stv.tv/out/showArticle.jsp?source=opencms&articleId=/out/music/latestnews/Interview_x_New_York_Dolls] {{dead link|date=September 2019}}</ref> In November 2006, the Dolls began headlining "[[Underground Garage|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 (Australia)|V Festival]] with [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]], [[Pet Shop Boys]], [[Gnarls Barkley]], [[Beck]], [[Jarvis Cocker]] and [[Phoenix (band)|Phoenix]].


On September 22, 2007, the 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 would be followed by a world tour. The finishing touches on the album were made in Rundgren's studio on the island of Kauai.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/BLABBERMOUTH.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=113040 |title=Roadrunnerrecords.com |publisher=Roadrunnerrecords.com |access-date=July 15, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224102733/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=113040 |archive-date=February 24, 2009 }}</ref> The album, ''[[Cause I Sez So]]'', was released on May 5, 2009 on [[Atco Records]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nydolls.org/news.php?ID=64|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613101409/http://www.nydolls.org/news.php?ID=64|url-status=dead|title=Nydolls.org|archive-date=June 13, 2010}}</ref>
==Links==
*[http://www.punk77.co.uk/punkhistory/newyorkdolls.htm Punk 77: New York Dolls]


[[Image:New York Dolls.jpg|thumb|right|The New York Dolls, performing at the [[Burlington Sound of Music]] festival in 2010]]
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 [[Koko (venue)|KOKO]] in Camden, London and the Academy in Dublin on April 20. In December 2010, it was announced the band would release their fifth album which had been recorded in Newcastle upon Tyne.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shakenstir.co.uk/index.php/interviews/new-york-dolls-interview/interviews/22679/ |title=New York Dolls Interview |publisher=Shakenstir |access-date=January 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020014307/http://www.shakenstir.co.uk/index.php/interviews/new-york-dolls-interview/interviews/22679/ |archive-date=October 20, 2013 }}</ref> The album, ''[[Dancing Backward in High Heels]]'', featuring new guitarist Frank Infante (formerly of Blondie) was released on March 15, 2011.<ref name="consequence.net">{{cite web |author=mitchopolis |url=http://consequence.net/2010/12/10/new-york-dolls-prep-release-of-fifth-album-dancing-backward-in-high-heels/ |title=New York Dolls announce new album, Dancing Backward in High Heels " Consequence of Sound |publisher=Consequence.net |date=December 10, 2010 |access-date=July 15, 2011 |archive-date=December 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213202526/http://consequence.net/2010/12/10/new-york-dolls-prep-release-of-fifth-album-dancing-backward-in-high-heels/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>


On March 1, 2011, it was announced the New York Dolls would be the opening act for a summer tour featuring [[Mötley Crüe]] and [[Poison (American band)|Poison]]. They announced a new lineup for the tour, featuring guitarist [[Earl Slick]], who held previous stints with [[David Bowie]] and [[John Lennon]], bassist [[Kenny Aaronson]], who had toured with [[Bob Dylan]], and drummer [[Jason Sutter]], formerly of [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]].
==Samples==

*[[Media:Trash.ogg|Download sample]] of "Trash" from ''[[New York Dolls (album)|New York Dolls]]''
Between late March and October 2011, the band undertook the "Dancing Backward in High Heels World Tour". This included dates in England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and Australia. In the last week of October four additional gigs – billed as "Halloween Night Of Fear – were played in the UK, concluding at the [[Clyde Auditorium]], Glasgow on October 31.

In a 2016 interview, Earl Slick confirmed that the New York Dolls had again split. "Oh, yeah, it's long gone. There was no point in doing it anymore and it was kinda spent. You know, David really does enjoy the Buster thing. He's so good at it. I've seen him do it a couple of times this last year, and man! He's got it down, you know."<ref name="getintothis.co.uk"/>

Sylvain Sylvain died on January 13, 2021, at age 69, leaving David Johansen as the last surviving original member of the band.

== Musical style ==
{{Quote box
|quote = Certainly neither ''great'' nor ''[[punk rock|punk]]'' in any of its variations were words applied to the Dolls when they began performing late in 1971{{snd}} ''awful'' and ''ugly'' were more like it. Moreover, at the time, the Dolls were associated with [[glam rock|glam-rock]] and [[David Bowie]] in his most flamboyantly gay period, an understandable mistake.
|source = — [[Ken Tucker]]<ref name="Tucker"/>
|quoted=1
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According to [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]], the New York Dolls developed an original style of [[hard rock]] that presaged both [[punk rock]] and [[heavy metal music]], and drew on elements such as the "dirty [[rock & roll]]" of [[the Rolling Stones]], the "anarchic noise" of [[the Stooges]], the [[glam rock]] of [[David Bowie]] and [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]], and [[girl group]] pop music.<ref name="Erlewine"/> Erlewine credited the band for creating punk rock "before there was a term for it".<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/new-york-dolls-mn0000866786/biography |title=New York Dolls |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=June 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910091914/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/new-york-dolls-mn0000866786/biography |archive-date=September 10, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ken Tucker]], who referred to them as a [[proto-punk]] band, wrote that they were strongly influenced by the "New York sensibility" of [[Lou Reed]]: "The mean wisecracks and impassioned cynicism that informed the Dolls' songs represented an attitude that Reed's work with [[the Velvet Underground]] embodied, as did the Dolls' distinct lack of musicianship."<ref name="Tucker">{{cite book|last1=Ward|first1=Ed|author-link1=Ed Ward (writer)|last2=Stokes|first2=Geoffrey|last3=Tucker|first3=Ken|author-link3=Ken Tucker|year=1986|page=549|title=Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll|publisher=[[Rolling Stone|Rolling Stone Press]], [[Fireside Books]]|isbn=978-0-671-54438-6}}</ref>

When they began performing, four of the band's five members wore [[Spandex]] and [[platform boots]],{{sfn|Ward|Stokes|Tucker|1986|p=549}} while Johansen—the band's lyricist and "conceptmaster"—<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=1998|title=Grown Up All Wrong: 75 Great Rock and Pop Artists from Vaudeville to Techno|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=978-0-674-44318-1|page=194}}</ref> often preferred high heels and a dress occasionally.<ref name="Tucker"/> Fashion historian [[Valerie Steele]] said that, while the majority of the punk scene pursued an understated "street look", the New York Dolls followed an English glam rock "look of [[androgyny]]—leather and knee-length boots, chest hair, and bleach".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hemsvn9ZbRkC&pg=PA583|access-date=June 24, 2013|page=583|title=The Berg Companion to Fashion|year=2010|publisher=[[Berg Publishers]]|isbn=978-1-84788-592-0|editor-last=Steele|editor-first=Valerie|editor-link=Valerie Steele}}</ref> According to James McNair of ''[[The Independent]]'', "when they began pedalling their trashy [[glam punk|glam-punk]] around lower Manhattan in 1971, they were more burlesque act than band; a bunch of lipsticked, gutter chic-endorsing cross-dressers".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/new-york-dolls-anarchy-from-the-usa-1830913.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/new-york-dolls-anarchy-from-the-usa-1830913.html |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=New York Dolls: Anarchy from the USA |access-date=December 3, 2018 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] }}</ref> Music journalist [[Nick Kent]] argued that the New York Dolls were "quintessential glam rockers" because of their flamboyant fashion, while their technical shortcomings as musicians and Johnny Thunders' "trouble-prone presence" gave them a punk-rock reputation.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kent, Nick|page=[https://archive.org/details/punkwholestory00blak/page/14 14]|title=Punk: The Whole Story|editor-last=Blake|editor-first=Mark|editor-link=Mark Blake (writer)|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7566-2359-3|display-authors=etal|url=https://archive.org/details/punkwholestory00blak/page/14|author-link=Nick Kent}}</ref>

By contrast, [[Robert Christgau]] preferred for them to not be categorized as a glam rock band, but instead as "the best hard-rock band since the Rolling Stones".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xauNk09IVKAC&pg=PA158|access-date=June 24, 2013|page=158|title=Rock Criticism from the Beginning: Amusers, Bruisers And Cool-Headed Cruisers|editor-last=Lindberg|editor-first=Ulf|publisher=[[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang]]|isbn=978-0-8204-7490-8|year=2005}}</ref> [[Robert Hilburn]], writing for the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', said that the band exhibited a strong influence from the Rolling Stones, but had distinguished themselves by ''[[Too Much Too Soon (album)|Too Much Too Soon]]'' (1974) as "a much more independent, original force" because of their "definite touch of the humor and carefreeness of early (ie. mid-1950s) rock".<ref>{{cite news|last=Hilburn|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Hilburn|date=May 7, 1974|page=C12|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/603093642.html?dids=603093642:603093642&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+07%2C+1974&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Touch+of+Stones+in+Dolls%27+Album&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130624231120/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/603093642.html?dids=603093642:603093642&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+07,+1974&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Touch+of+Stones+in+Dolls'+Album&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 24, 2013|title=Touch of Stones in Dolls' Album|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=June 23, 2013}} {{subscription required}}</ref> [[Simon Reynolds]] felt that, by their 2009 album ''[[Cause I Sez So]]'', the band exhibited the sound "not of the sloppy, rambunctious Dolls of punk mythology but of a tight, lean hard-rock band."<ref>{{cite book|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|author-link=Simon Reynolds|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FI3dVT9t34C&pg=PA42|access-date=June 24, 2013|page=42|title=Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]]|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4299-6858-4}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{multiple image
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| footer = [[Aerosmith]] ''(top)'', the [[Sex Pistols]] ''(middle)'' and [[Mötley Crüe]] ''(bottom)'' are three bands influenced by the New York Dolls
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According to the ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]'' (1995), the New York Dolls were "one of the most influential [[rock music|rock]] bands of the last 20 years".<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|editor-last=Larkin|editor-first=Colin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=1995|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessencyclop06lark/page/3022 3022]|volume=4|series=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music|edition=2nd|isbn=978-1-56159-176-3|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref> Writer Sean Sennett credited the band as a part of a legacy of raunchy, influential rock bands predated by the Rolling Stones, and succeeded by [[Aerosmith]] and [[Hanoi Rocks]] and eventually [[Guns N' Roses]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sennett |first1=Sean |title=Off the Record: 25 Years of Music Street Press |date=2010 |publisher=University of Queensland Press |page=158 |quote=It's pretty much an accepted fact that Guns N' Roses are the next step in a lineage that began with the Stones and moved on to Aerosmith, the New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks. You know, the almost graceful look of human demolition with a raunch and roll' factor on tilt.}}</ref> By the time the band's debut album was released, they had already spawned a number of derivative bands in New York including [[the Stilettos]], [[the Brats (band)|the Brats]], Teenage Lust and the Harlots. Two of the earliest groups that they inspired were [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] and Aerosmith,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Antonia |first1=Nina |title=The New York Dolls Too Much Too Soon |date=2003 |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |isbn=0711996032 |page=70 |quote=The rise of The New York Dolls spawned dozens of local bands. Elda Gentile got The Stilettos together with former Max's waitress, Debbie Harry, and Rick Rivets started gigging with The Brats, while a rash of Dolls copyists like Teenage Lust and The Harlots of 42nd Street threw themselves on the bandwagon and fell belly-up. Aside from Aerosmith, the most significant group of that time to be influenced by The New York Dolls was Kiss. Sure, Kiss wore make-up but by painting their faces like comic book characters or goofy animals, they defused any sexual threat.}}</ref> which would in turn become two of the most influential bands in rock music, especially [[hard rock]] and [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]].<ref name="Bukszpan 2003">{{Cite book|first=Daniel|last=Bukszpan|title=''The Encyclöpedia öf Heavy Metal''|publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]]|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7607-4218-1}}</ref> [[Hanoi Rocks]]' music and aesthetic too were heavily inspired by the New York Dolls and would go on to have a significant influence themselves.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kaz |first1=Jim |title=RETRO ACTION 49: THE TRUE KINGS OF CROSSOVER — HANOI ROCKS |url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/column/retro-action-49-the-true-kings-of-crossover-hanoi-rocks/ |website=[[New Noise Magazine]] |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref>

The New York Dolls were the catalyst for New York's early punk rock scene, which included [[Television (band)|Television]], [[Talking Heads]], [[Patti Smith]], [[the Ramones]], [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]] and [[Richard Hell and the Voidoids]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Tom |title=From Link Wray to New York Dolls: Who really invented punk? |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-invented-punk-new-york-dolls-link-wray/ |website=[[Far Out (magazine)|Far Out]] |date=July 28, 2021 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> in addition to being one of the most influential bands to the development of British punk rock, particularly [[the Sex Pistols]], [[the Clash]] and [[the Damned (band)|the Damned]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sylvain Sylvain, guitarist with the New York Dolls, kings of trash rock – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/01/18/sylvain-sylvain-guitarist-new-york-dolls-kings-trash-rock/ |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=January 18, 2021 |access-date=9 July 2023 |last1=Obituaries |first1=Telegraph }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Banerji |first1=Atreyi |title=Six definitive songs: The ultimate beginner's to New York Dolls |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/new-york-dolls-six-best-songs/ |website=[[Far Out (magazine)|Far Out]] |date=January 26, 2021 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> In ''Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol'', guitarist [[Steve Jones (musician)|Steve Jones]] cited the New York Dolls as one of the most influential bands on the Sex Pistols style,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Steve |title=Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol |date=17 November 2016 |publisher=[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] |quote=They'd [the New York Dolls] end up as one of my four biggest influences alongside Bowie, Roxy Music and that night's headliners [the Faces]. If you'd told me that in a couple of years' time I'd be playing Sylvain Sylvain's guitar in a band managed by the Dolls' ex-manager, that would've gone beyond even the most unrealistic fantasies.}}</ref> and in a 2023 interview with ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'', [[Dave Vanian]] of the Damned listed the New York Dolls' self-titled album as one of his five albums "I Can't Live Without".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lentini |first1=Liza |title=5 Albums I Can't Live Without: Dave Vanian Of The Damned |url=https://www.spin.com/2023/03/5-albums-i-cant-live-without-dave-vanian-of-the-damned/ |website=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |date=March 24, 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' writer Ian Gittins called the album "the Year Zero of punk rock".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gittins |first1=Ian |title='Before us, there was nothing' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jul/14/popandrock.shopping8 |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=July 14, 2006 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> The band continued to inspire punk bands as the genre progressed, with the [[Misfits (band)|Misfits]], [[Social Distortion]] and [[Green Day]] all recalling their influence.<ref name="Stegall, 2022" />

In the 1980s, the influence of the New York Dolls helped to form the [[glam metal]] genre.<ref>{{cite web |last1=WIEDERHORN |first1=JON |last2=TURMAN |first2=KATHERINE |title=Welcome to the jungle: The definitive oral history of '80s metal |date=May 22, 2013 |url=https://www.salon.com/2013/05/22/welcome_to_the_jungle_the_definitive_oral_history_of_80s_metal/ |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="NBC, 2021">{{cite web |title=Sylvain Sylvain, New York Dolls guitarist, dies at 69 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/obituaries/sylvain-sylvain-new-york-dolls-guitarist-dies-69-n1254389 |website=[[NBC News]] |date=January 15, 2021 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> In particular, the band's androgynous aesthetic and wearing of spandex, dresses, high heels and teased hair were widely imitated amongst bands in the genre.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schaffner |first1=Lauryn |title=14 Rock Bands + Artists Who Pioneered Hair Metal |url=https://loudwire.com/glam-rock-artists-pioneered-hair-metal/ |website=[[Loudwire]] |date=March 13, 2020 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> ''[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]]'' writer Tim Stegall even credited the band as having invented the look of glam metal,<ref name="Stegall, 2022" /> and in ''[[Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians]]'', Hank Bordowitz called the band the progenitors of hair metal and "the most important band that most people never heard".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bordowitz |first1=Hank |title=[[Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians]] |publisher=[[G. Schirmer, Inc.]] |quote=New York Dolls, progenitors of punk and 'hair metal' the most important band that most people never heard}}</ref> Prominent glam metal bands to take influence from the New York Dolls included [[Mötley Crüe]], [[Poison (band)|Poison]],<ref name="NBC, 2021" /> [[Ratt]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Parker |first1=James |title=The Hair-Metal Diaries |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/05/bad-hair-days/309289/ |website=[[The Atlantic]] |date=April 25, 2013 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> [[Skid Row (American band)|Skid Row]]<ref>{{cite web |title=SKID ROW BASSIST RACHEL BOLAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO NEW YORK DOLLS GUITARIST SYLVAIN SYLVAIN - "THANK YOU FOR THE INSPIRATION" |url=https://bravewords.com/news/skid-row-bassist-rachel-bolan-pays-tribute-to-new-york-dolls-guitarist-sylvain-sylvain-thank-you-for-the-inspiration |website=[[Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles]] |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> and [[Twisted Sister]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rettman |first1=Tony |title=Why Twisted Sister Actually Matters |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/gqkpdj/why-twisted-sister-actually-matters |website=[[Noisey]] |date=June 20, 2016 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> With the increasing commercialisation of glam metal as the 1980s progressed, a number of bands from within its scene formed a new sound with a greater emphasis on the influence of the New York Dolls, namely Guns N' Roses,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Epstein |first1=Dan |title=10 WAYS GUNS N' ROSES' 'APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION' CHANGED THE WORLD |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/10-ways-guns-n-roses-appetite-destruction-changed-world |website=[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]] |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> [[L.A. Guns]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rolli |first1=Bryan |title=How L.A. Guns' Raw, Sleazy Debut Album Set Them Apart How L.A. Guns' Raw, Sleazy Debut Album Set Them Apart How L.A. Guns' Raw, Sleazy Debut Album Set Them Apart |date=January 4, 2023 |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/la-guns-debt-album/ |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> and [[Faster Pussycat]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wake |first1=Matt |title=An '80s glam-metal survivor tells all |url=https://www.al.com/life/2019/07/an-80s-glam-metal-survivor-tells-all.html |website=[[The Birmingham News]] |date=July 9, 2019 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref>

Other musicians to cite the New York Dolls as an influence include [[the Smiths]] and their vocalist [[Morrissey]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G4mP7u6mPdkC&pg=PA106|access-date=June 24, 2013|last=Smith|first=Chris|page=106|title=101 Albums That Changed Popular Music|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-537371-4}}</ref> [[the Undertones]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Houghton |first1=Mick |title=Fried & Justified Hits, Myths, Break-Ups and Breakdowns in the Record Business 1978-98 |date=July 2, 2019 |publisher=Faber & Faber |quote=The only blip was that their second single, 'Get Over You', flopped. It was one of their best, a New York Dolls-influenced song that I much preferred to the irritating 'Jimmy Jimmy', which saw them break through into the Top 20 in April. The following month The Undertones reached no. 13.}}</ref> [[Joan Jett & the Blackhearts]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Troy L. |title=Do the New York Dolls belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? |date=April 19, 2022 |url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/04/do-the-new-york-dolls-belong-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame.html |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> [[David Bowie]], [[Japan (band)|Japan]], [[D Generation]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Antonia |first1=Nina |title=The New York Dolls Too Much Too Soon |date=2003 |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |isbn=0711996032 |page=181 |quote=A legion of bands and artists have been influenced by the Dolls in terms of style, attitude and in their approach to music. They include Aerosmith, Kiss, David Bowie, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Japan, The Cramps, Hanoi Rocks, Guns N' Roses, The Smiths and D-Generation.}}</ref> [[Billy Idol]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Leas |first1=Ryan |title=We've Got A File On You: Billy Idol |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2160096/billy-idol-strokes-generation-x-miley-cyrus-wedding-singer/interviews/weve-got-a-file-on-you/ |website=[[Stereogum]] |date=September 16, 2021 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> [[Terry Chambers]] of [[XTC]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Original XTC Drummer Celebrates Beloved Band's Legacy at Yoshi's in Oakland |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/xtc-drummer-terry-chambers-extc-yoshis-oakland/ |website=[[KPIX-TV]] |date=March 7, 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> [[Def Leppard]], [[R.E.M.]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=BENITEZ-EVES |first1=TINA |title=The Toy Hospital That Inspired the Band Name of the New York Dolls |url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-toy-hospital-that-inspired-the-band-name-of-the-new-york-dolls/#:~:text=Within%20their%20time%2C%20the%20New,Green%20Day%2C%20among%20many%20others. |website=[[American Songwriter]] |date=April 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> [[The Replacements (band)|the Replacements]], [[Soul Asylum]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Weidman |first1=Rich |title=Punk The Definitive Guide to the Blank Generation and Beyond |date=2023 |publisher=Backbeat |page=25 |quote=The New York Dolls influenced a host of rock bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Damned, KISS, Hanoi Rocks, the Replacements, the Smiths, and Guns N' Roses, among others. In Satisfaction: 10 Albums That Changed My Life, Soul Asylum singer- songwriter Dave Pirner called the Dolls "fearless, full of energy and rock 'n' roll madness in all the right ways. Set aside the lipstick, eye shadow and platform boots, and they just rocked out without a bunch of bullshit."}}</ref> [[Alice in Chains]], [[Soundgarden]], [[Bruce Fairweather]] and [[Stone Gossard]] of [[Green River (band)|Green River]] and [[Mother Love Bone]] (the latter also of [[Pearl Jam]]),<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Grow |first1=Kory |title=Green River and the Birth of Seattle Grunge: The Oral History |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/green-river-seattle-grunge-oral-history-pearl-jam-mudhoney-783878/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=February 2019 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Prato |first1=Greg |title=Grunge Is Dead The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music |date=2010 |publisher=ECW Press |quote=That whole thing was starting then - people wanted to have bands that were the New York Dolls meets Pere Ubu meets Def Leppard [laughs]. Stone was listening to Pyromania, KISS, and the New York Dolls. They started to put it all together, and it didn't work very well [laughs]. Green River is an example of that - "Hey, let's mash all this stuff together and see if it works!" People figured out how to make it work [later]. Alice in Chains and Soundgarden figured out how to make it be something that was new that sounded good.}}</ref> [[Ruby and the Rednecks]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/downtownpopunderground/story/ruby-and-the-rednecks-at-the-mercer-arts-center/|title=Ruby and the Rednecks at the Mercer Arts Center|website=Dsps.lib.uiowa.edu|date=September 3, 2018|access-date=June 20, 2021}}</ref> [[Hollywood Brats]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Duerden |first1=Nick |title=Andrew Matheson interview: the Hollywood Brat who punched Freddie Mercury, stole from Cliff Richard and formed the UK's first punk band |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/andrew-matheson-interview-the-hollywood-brat-who-punched-freddie-mercury-stole-from-cliff-richard-and-formed-the-uk-s-first-punk-band-10332161.html |website=[[The Independent]] |access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref> [[Hoodoo Gurus]], [[the Scientists]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Next Thing |date=1984 |publisher=Kangaroo Press |page=138 |quote=It's really funny, because the Scientists, all those guys, who were now also the Hoodoo Gurus, they were all part of this heavy New York Dolls-influenced thing.}}</ref> [[Palaye Royale]],<ref name="Leivers, 2020">{{cite web |last1=Leivers |first1=Dannii |title=Palaye Royale: Six things you need to know |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/six-things-you-needto-know-about-palaye-royale |website=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |date=October 15, 2020 |access-date=6 July 2023}}</ref> [[Marilyn Manson]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Long Hard Road Out of Hell |first1=Marilyn|last1=Manson|author-link=Marilyn Manson |first2=Neil|last2=Strauss|author2-link=Neil Strauss |year=1998 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0-06-098746-6|title-link=The Long Hard Road Out of Hell |page=93}}</ref> [[Jetboy (band)|Jetboy]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Capone |first1=John |title=The New York Dolls: A Fix And A Kiss |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/local/a-fix-and-a-kiss/2111957/ |website=[[WNBC]] |date=June 23, 2009 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> [[Rock City Angels]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Rock City Angels: the self-destructive story of Johnny Depp's old band |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/rock-city-angels |website=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |date=June 9, 2023 |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref> [[the Cramps]], [[the Libertines]] and the [[Manic Street Preachers]].<ref name="Stegall, 2022">{{cite web |last1=Stegall |first1=Tim |title=11 bands influenced by New York Dolls, from Social Distortion to Guns N' Roses |url=https://www.altpress.com/new-york-dolls-influences-social-distortion-guns-n-roses/ |website=[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]] |access-date=9 July 2023}}</ref>

== Band members ==
{{col-begin}}
;Former members
{{col-2}}
*[[David Johansen]] – vocals, harmonica <small>(1971–1976, 2004–2011)</small>
*[[Sylvain Sylvain]] – guitar, bass, piano, vocals <small>(1971–1976, 2004–2011; died 2021)</small>
*[[Arthur Kane]] – bass guitar <small>(1971–1975, 2004; died 2004)</small>
*[[Johnny Thunders]] – guitar, vocals <small>(1971–1975; died 1991)</small>
*[[Billy Murcia]] – drums <small>(1971–1972; died 1972)</small>
*[[Rick Rivets]] – guitar <small>(1971; died 2019)</small>
*[[Jerry Nolan]] – drums <small>(1972–1975; died 1992)</small>
*Peter Jordan – bass <small>(1975–1976)</small>
*Tony Machine – drums <small>(1975–1976)</small>
*[[Blackie Lawless]] – guitar <small>(1976)</small>
*[[Chris Robison]] – keyboard <small>(1975; died 2021)</small>
*Bobby Blaine – keyboard <small>(1976)</small>
{{col-2}}
*[[Steve Conte]] – guitar, vocals <small>(2004–2010)</small>
*John Conte – bass <small>(2004)</small>
*[[Gary Powell (musician)|Gary Powell]] – drums <small>(2004)</small>
*Brian Koonin – keyboard <small>(2004–2006)</small>
*Brian Delaney– drums <small>(2005–2011)</small>
*[[Sami Yaffa]] – bass <small>(2005–2010)</small>
*[[Aaron Lee Tasjan]] – guitar <small>(2008–2009)</small>
*[[Frank Infante]] – guitar <small>(2010–2011)</small>
*[[Jason Hill (singer)|Jason Hill]] – bass, backing vocals <small>(2010–2011)</small>
*[[Jason Sutter]] – drums <small>(2011)</small>
*[[Kenny Aaronson]] – bass <small>(2011)</small>
*[[Earl Slick]] – guitar <small>(2011)</small>
*Claton Pitcher – guitar <small>(2011)</small>
{{col-end}}

===Timeline===
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
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Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:10/01/1971 till:12/31/2011
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1972
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1973
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3

Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals
id:Backing value:pink legend:Backing_vocals
id:Harm value:tan2 legend:Harmonica
id:LGuitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar
id:RGuitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar
id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:Studio value:black legend:Studio_album
id:bars value:gray(0.95)

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LineData =
at:07/27/1973 color:black layer:back
at:05/10/1974 color:black layer:back
at:07/25/2006 color:black layer:back
at:05/05/2009 color:black layer:back
at:03/15/2011 color:black layer:back

BarData =
bar:dj text:"David Johansen"
bar:jt text:"Johnny Thunders"
bar:bl text:"Blackie Lawless"
bar:sc text:"Steve Conte"
bar:at text:"Aaron Lee Tasjan"
bar:fi text:"Frank Infante"
bar:es text:"Earl Slick"
bar:cp text:"Claton Pitcher"
bar:rr text:"Rick Rivets"
bar:ss text:"Sylvain Sylvain"
bar:cr text:"Chris Robison"
bar:bb text:"Bobby Blaine"
bar:bk text:"Brian Koonin"
bar:ak text:"Arthur Kane"
bar:pj text:"Peter Jordan"
bar:jc text:"John Conte"
bar:sy text:"Sami Yaffa"
bar:jh text:"Jason Hill"
bar:ka text:"Kenny Aaronson"
bar:bm text:"Billy Murcia"
bar:jn text:"Jerry Nolan"
bar:tm text:"Tony Machine"
bar:gp text:"Gary Powell"
bar:bd text:"Brian Delaney"
bar:js text:"Jason Sutter"

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bar:dj from:10/01/1971 till:03/01/1977 color:Vocals
bar:dj from:10/01/1971 till:03/01/1977 color:Harm width:3
bar:dj from:10/01/1971 till:03/01/1972 color:Keys width:7
bar:dj from:06/01/2004 till:end color:Vocals
bar:dj from:06/01/2004 till:end color:Harm width:3
bar:jt from:10/01/1971 till:04/11/1975 color:LGuitar
bar:jt from:10/01/1971 till:01/28/1974 color:Backing width:3
bar:jt from:01/28/1974 till:04/11/1975 color:Vocals width:3
bar:ak from:10/01/1971 till:08/27/1973 color:Bass
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bar:ak from:10/05/1973 till:04/25/1975 color:Bass
bar:ak from:06/01/2004 till:07/14/2004 color:Bass
bar:bm from:10/01/1971 till:11/07/1972 color:Drums
bar:rr from:10/01/1971 till:03/01/1972 color:RGuitar
bar:ss from:03/01/1972 till:02/28/1975 color:Backing width:3
bar:ss from:03/01/1972 till:08/01/1975 color:RGuitar
bar:ss from:04/25/1975 till:03/01/1977 color:LGuitar
bar:ss from:03/01/1972 till:08/01/1975 color:Keys width:7
bar:ss from:02/28/1975 till:04/25/1975 color:Vocals width:3
bar:ss from:04/25/1975 till:03/01/1977 color:Backing width:3
bar:ss from:04/25/1975 till:03/01/1977 color:RGuitar width:7
bar:ss from:06/01/2004 till:end color:Backing width:3
bar:ss from:06/01/2004 till:07/01/2011 color:RGuitar
bar:ss from:07/01/2011 till:end color:Bass
bar:ss from:06/01/2004 till:07/01/2005 color:Keys width:7
bar:ss from:12/01/2006 till:07/01/2011 color:Keys width:7
bar:ss from:07/01/2011 till:end color:RGuitar width:9
bar:ss from:07/01/2011 till:end color:Keys width:7
bar:jn from:12/14/1972 till:04/25/1975 color:Drums
bar:ak from:08/27/1973 till:10/05/1973 color:Bass width:3
bar:pj from:08/27/1973 till:10/05/1973 color:Bass
bar:pj from:09/01/1974 till:09/09/1974 color:Bass
bar:pj from:09/27/1974 till:09/27/1974 color:Bass
bar:pj from:11/01/1975 till:11/02/1975 color:Bass
bar:pj from:03/07/1975 till:03/09/1975 color:Bass
bar:pj from:11/01/1975 till:11/02/1975 color:Bass
bar:pj from:03/27/1975 till:04/01/1975 color:Bass
bar:pj from:05/01/1975 till:03/01/1977 color:Bass
bar:bl from:04/11/1975 till:04/25/1975 color:LGuitar
bar:cr from:08/01/1975 till:08/01/1976 color:Keys
bar:tm from:05/01/1975 till:03/01/1977 color:Drums
bar:bb from:08/01/1976 till:03/01/1977 color:Keys
bar:sc from:06/01/2004 till:12/01/2010 color:LGuitar
bar:sc from:06/01/2004 till:12/01/2010 color:Backing width:3
bar:gp from:06/01/2004 till:07/01/2005 color:Drums
bar:jc from:07/14/2004 till:08/01/2004 color:Bass
bar:sy from:08/01/2004 till:12/01/2010 color:Bass
bar:bd from:07/01/2005 till:05/01/2011 color:Drums
bar:bd from:10/01/2011 till:end color:Drums
bar:bk from:07/01/2005 till:12/01/2006 color:Keys
bar:at from:07/01/2008 till:12/01/2009 color:LGuitar
bar:fi from:12/01/2010 till:05/01/2011 color:LGuitar
bar:jh from:12/01/2010 till:05/01/2011 color:Bass
bar:jh from:12/01/2010 till:05/01/2011 color:Backing width:3
bar:es from:05/01/2011 till:07/01/2011 color:LGuitar
bar:ka from:05/01/2011 till:07/01/2011 color:Bass
bar:js from:05/01/2011 till:10/01/2011 color:Drums
bar:cp from:07/01/2011 till:end color:LGuitar
}}

==Discography==
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"| Details
! colspan="6" |Peak chart positions
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Billboard 200|US]]<br /><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=New York Dolls Chart History (Billboard 200) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/new-york-dolls/chart-history/tlp/ |access-date=June 29, 2024 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Independent Albums|US<br />Ind.]]<br /><ref>{{Cite magazine |title=New York Dolls Chart History (Independent Albums) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/new-york-dolls/chart-history/ind/ |access-date=June 29, 2024 |magazine=Billboard}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Official Finnish Charts|FIN]]<br /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=New York Dolls – One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This |url=https://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=New+York+Dolls&titel=One+Day+It+Will+Please+Us+To+Remember+Even+This&cat=a |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=lescharts.com}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[SNEP|FRA]]<br /><ref name=":0" />
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[Scottish Singles and Albums Charts|SCO]]<br /><ref>{{Cite web |title=NEW YORK DOLLS songs and albums {{!}} full Official Chart history |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/30797/new-york-dolls/ |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=[[Official Charts Company]]}}</ref>
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| [[UK Albums Chart|UK]]<br /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chart Log UK 1994–2010: Nadanuf – Michael Nyman |url=http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_N.HTM |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=zobbel.de}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[New York Dolls (album)|New York Dolls]]''
|
* Released: July 27, 1973
* Label: [[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
* Format: LP, cassette
|116
|—
|—
|—
|91
|—
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[Too Much Too Soon (album)|Too Much Too Soon]]''
|
* Released: May 10, 1974
* Label: Mercury
* Format: LP, cassette
|167
|—
|—
|—
|—
|165
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This]]''
|
* Released: July 25, 2006
* Label: [[Roadrunner Records|Roadrunner]]
* Format: LP, CD, streaming
|129
|8
|23
|124
|—
|130
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[Cause I Sez So]]''
|
* Released: May 5, 2009
* Label: [[Atco Records|Atco]]
* Format: LP, CD, streaming
|159
|—
|—
|—
|—
|188
|-
! scope="row"| ''[[Dancing Backward in High Heels]]''
|
* Released: March 15, 2011
* Label: [[429 Records|429]]
* Format: LP, CD, streaming
|—
|37
|—
|—
|—
|—
|}

===Demo albums===
*''[[Lipstick Killers – The Mercer Street Sessions 1972]]'' (1981)
*''[[Seven Day Weekend (New York Dolls Album)|Seven Day Weekend]]'' (1992)
*''Actress – "Birth of the New York Dolls"'' (2000)
*''Endless Party'' (2000)
*''Private World - The Complete Early Studio Demos 1972–1973'' (2006)

===Live albums===
*''[[Red Patent Leather]]'' (1984)
*''Paris Le Trash'' (1993)
*''Live In Concert, Paris 1974'' (1998)
*''The Glamorous Life Live'' (1999)
*''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)
*''Viva Le Trash '74'' (2009)
*''French Kiss '74'' (2013)

===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)
*''Super Best Collection'' (1990)
*''[[Rock'n Roll (New York Dolls album)|Rock'n Roll]]'' (1994)
*''Hootchie Kootchie Dolls'' (1998)
*''The Glam Rock Hits'' (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)

===Singles===
*"[[Personality Crisis (song)|Personality Crisis]]" / "Looking for a Kiss" (1973)
*"[[Trash (New York Dolls song)|Trash]]" / "Personality Crisis" (1973)
*"[[Jet Boy (song)|Jet Boy]]" / "Vietnamese Baby" (1973)
*"[[Stranded in the Jungle]]" / "[[Don't Start Me Talkin']]" (1974)
*"(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown" / "Puss 'n' Boots" (1974)
*"Jet Boy" // "Babylon" / "Who Are the Mystery Girls" (1977, UK)
*"Bad Girl" / "Subway Train" (1978, Germany)
*"Gimme Luv and Turn On the Light" (2006)
*"Fool for You Baby" (2011)
*"Dolled UP" (2014)

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
[[Category:The New York Dolls|*]]
* {{allMusic}}
[[Category:American musical groups]]
* {{Discogs artist}}
[[Category:Rock music groups]]
* {{IMDb name|1784373}}
[[Category:Pre-punk groups]]
* [http://www.rockerzine.com/2012/05/private-world-new-york-dolls-manager-marty-thau-on-his-days-with-the-band/ "Private World: New York Dolls Manager Marty Thau on His Days with the Band"] - Interview in ''Rocker Magazine'' 2012


[[de:New York Dolls]]
{{New York Dolls}}
{{Authority control}}
[[es:The New York Dolls]]
[[fr:The New York Dolls]]
[[he:ניו יורק דולס]]
[[nl:The New York Dolls]]
[[nn:New York Dolls]]
[[pt:The New York Dolls]]
[[fi:New York Dolls]]
[[sv:New York Dolls]]


[[Category:1971 establishments in New York City]]
==See also==
*[[List of bands from New York]]
[[Category:2011 disestablishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Hard rock musical groups from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American glam rock musical groups]]
[[Category:Protopunk groups]]
[[Category:Punk rock groups from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Musical groups from New York City]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1971]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1976]]
[[Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2004]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2011]]
[[Category:Atco Records artists]]

Latest revision as of 15:54, 10 January 2025

For the album, see New York Dolls (album). For the professional wrestling tag team, see Rick McGraw and Troy Graham.

New York Dolls
New York Dolls on TopPop in 1973. From left to right: Johnny Thunders, Sylvain Sylvain, Jerry Nolan, Arthur Kane, and David Johansen.
New York Dolls on TopPop in 1973. From left to right: Johnny Thunders, Sylvain Sylvain, Jerry Nolan, Arthur Kane, and David Johansen.
Background information
OriginNew York City, U.S.
Genres
Years active
Labels
Past membersDavid Johansen
Sylvain Sylvain
Johnny Thunders
Arthur Kane
Billy Murcia
Rick Rivets
Jerry Nolan
Peter Jordan
Blackie Lawless
Chris Robison
Tony Machine
Bobby Blaine
Steve Conte
Gary Powell
Sami Yaffa
Brian Koonin
Frank Infante
Jason Hill
Jason Sutter
Aaron Lee Tasjan
John Conte
Kenny Aaronson
Earl Slick
Brian Delaney
Claton Pitcher

New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes.[4] Although the band never achieved much commercial success and their original line-up fell apart quickly, the band's first two albums—New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974)—became among the most popular cult records in rock.[1] The line-up at this time consisted of 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.[5] On stage, they donned an androgynous wardrobe, wearing high heels, eccentric hats, satin,[6] makeup, spandex, and dresses.[7][8] Nolan described the group in 1974 as "the Dead End Kids of today".[6]

After reuniting, they recruited new musicians to tour and record. They released three more albums—One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006), Cause I Sez So (2009) and Dancing Backward in High Heels (2011).[1] Following a 2011 British tour with Alice Cooper, the band once again disbanded.[2]

History

[edit]

Formation

[edit]

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,[9] a men's boutique that was across the street from the New York Doll Hospital, a doll repair shop. Sylvain said that the 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 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 line-up's first performance was on Christmas Eve 1971 at a homeless shelter, the Endicott Hotel. After getting a manager and attracting some music industry interest, the New York Dolls got a break when Rod Stewart invited them to open for him at a London concert.

While on a brief tour of England in 1972, Murcia was invited to a party, where he passed out from an overdose. He was put in a bathtub and force-fed coffee in an attempt to revive him.[10] Instead, it resulted in asphyxiation. He was found dead on the morning of November 6, 1972, at the age of 21.[11]

Record deal: 1972–1975

[edit]
New York Dolls, 1973
Main articles: New York Dolls (album) and Too Much Too Soon (album)

Once back in New York, the Dolls auditioned drummers, including Marc Bell (who was to go on to play with Richard Hell, and with the Ramones under the stage name "Marky Ramone"), Peter Criscuola (better known as Peter Criss, the original and former drummer of Kiss), 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. In 1972, the band took on Marty Thau as manager.[12][13]

New York Dolls was produced by singer-songwriter, musician and solo artist 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 the middle US, and a Stereo Review magazine reviewer in 1973 compared the Dolls' guitar playing to the sound of lawnmowers. America's mass rock audience's reaction to the Dolls was mixed.[14] In a Creem magazine poll, they were elected both best and worst new group of 1973. 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 to the Rolling Stones.[15]

For their next album, Too Much Too Soon, the quintet hired 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.

Dissolution: 1975–1976

[edit]

By 1975, the Dolls were playing smaller venues than they had been previously. Drug and alcohol abuse by Thunders, Nolan, and Kane, as well as artistic differences added to the tensions among members. In late February or early March, Malcolm McLaren became their informal manager. He got the band red leather outfits to wear on stage and a communist flag as backdrop (communist chic). The Dolls did a five-concert tour of New York's five boroughs, supported by Television and Pure Hell. The Little Hippodrome (Manhattan) show was recorded and released by New Rose Records subsidiary Fan Club in 1984 as Red Patent Leather, which was previously a bootleg album later remixed by Sylvain for official release, with former manager Marty Thau credited as executive producer. Due to Kane being unable to play that night, roadie Peter Jordan played bass, though he was credited as having played "second bass". Jordan filled in for Kane when he was unable to play numerous times, such as following a thumb injury sustained prior to the band's 1973 West Coast dates.

In March and April, McLaren took the band on a tour of South Carolina and Florida. Jordan replaced Kane for most of those shows. Thunders and Nolan left after an argument, forming The Heartbreakers with Richard Hell on April 11. Subsequently, Blackie Lawless, then known by his birth name of Steven Duren, who later founded W.A.S.P., replaced Thunders for the remainder of the tour after which the band broke up.[16][17][18] Following the tour's conclusion and announcement of the band's breakup on April 25, Duren and Kane moved to Los Angeles to form the short-lived band Killer Kane.[16]

The band reformed in July for an August tour in Japan with Jeff Beck and Felix Pappalardi. Johansen, Sylvain and Jordan were joined by former Elephant's Memory keyboardist Chris Robison and drummer Tony Machine. One of the shows was documented on the album Tokyo Dolls Live (Fan Club/New Rose). 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.

After their return to New York, the Dolls resumed playing shows in the US and Canada. Mercury dropped the Dolls on 7 October 1975, their contract with Mercury having expired on 8 August 1975[19] - five months after Thunders' and Nolan's departures from the band. Their show at the Beacon Theatre, on New Year's Eve, 1975 met with great critical acclaim. After a drunken argument with Sylvain, Robison was fired and replaced by pianist/keyboardist Bobbie Blaine formerly a member of Street Punk.[20][16][21] The group toured throughout 1976, performing a set including some songs with lyrics by David Johansen that would later appear on David Johansen's solo albums including "Funky But Chic", "Frenchette" and "Wreckless Crazy". The group played its last show December 30, 1976 at Max's Kansas City; on the same bill as Blondie.[16]

Individual endeavors: 1975–2004

[edit]

Shortly after returning from Florida, Thunders and Nolan formed The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell, who had left Television the same week that they quit the Dolls. Thunders later pursued a solo career. He died in New Orleans on 23 April 1991, allegedly of an overdose of both heroin and methadone.[22] It also came to light that he suffered from t-cell leukemia. Nolan died on 14 January 1992 following a stroke, brought about by bacterial meningitis. In 1976, Kane and Blackie Lawless formed the Killer Kane Band in Los Angeles. Immediately after the New York Dolls' second breakup, Johansen began a solo career. By the late 1980s, he achieved moderate success under the pseudonym, Buster Poindexter. Sylvain formed The Criminals, a popular band at CBGB.

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: the "Courageous Cat" theme, from the original Courageous Cat cartoon series; 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 independently for what was later to become the Mercer Street/Blue Rock Sessions.

Johansen formed the David Johansen Group, and released a self-titled LP in 1978, recorded at the Bottom Line in NYC's Greenwich Village,featuring Sylvain Mizrahi and Johnny Thunders as guest musicians. In May, 1978, he also released "David Johansen", on Blue Sky Records, a label created by Steve Paul, formerly of The Scene. Johansen continued to tour with his solo project and released four more albums, In Style, 1979; Here Comes the Night, 1981; Live it Up, 1982; and Sweet Revenge, 1984. During the later 1980s, Johansen, ever-evolving, decided to try to liberate himself from the expectations of his New York Dolls perceived persona, and, on a whim, created the persona Buster Poindexter. The success of this act led him to be invited to appear in multiple films: Scrooged,[23] Freejack, and Let it Ride, among others. He also formed a band called David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, named after the eccentric ethnomusicologist, performing jump blues, Delta blues, and some original songs.

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. During this period, in the early 1990s, Sylvain moved to Los Angeles and recorded one album Sleep Baby Doll, on Fishhead Records. His band, for that record, consisted of Brian Keats on drums, Dave Vanian's Phantom Chords, Speediejohn Carlucci (who had played with the Fuzztones), and Olivier Le Baron on lead guitar. Guest appearances by Frank 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,.

Reunion, return to recording, second dissolution: 2004–2011

[edit]
The New York Dolls in 2006

Morrissey, having been a longtime fan of the band and head of their 1970s UK fan club, organized a reunion of the three surviving members of the band's classic line-up (Johansen, Sylvain and Kane) for the Meltdown Festival in London on June 16, 2004. The reunion led to a live LP and DVD on Morrissey's Attack label, as well as a documentary film, New York Doll, on the life of Arthur Kane. However, future plans for the Dolls were affected by Kane's sudden death from leukemia just weeks later on July 13, 2004. Yet the following month the band appeared at Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival on August 14 in New York City before returning to the UK to play several more festivals through the remainder of 2004.[1]

In July 2005, the two surviving members announced a tour and a new album entitled 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".[24] 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, the 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 would be followed by a world tour. The finishing touches on the album were made in Rundgren's studio on the island of Kauai.[25] The album, Cause I Sez So, was released on May 5, 2009 on Atco Records.[26]

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

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 KOKO in Camden, London and the Academy in Dublin on April 20. In December 2010, it was announced the band would release their fifth album which had been recorded in Newcastle upon Tyne.[27] The album, Dancing Backward in High Heels, featuring new guitarist Frank Infante (formerly of Blondie) was released on March 15, 2011.[28]

On March 1, 2011, it was announced the New York Dolls would be the opening act for a summer tour featuring Mötley Crüe and Poison. They announced a new lineup for the tour, featuring guitarist Earl Slick, who held previous stints with David Bowie and John Lennon, bassist Kenny Aaronson, who had toured with Bob Dylan, and drummer Jason Sutter, formerly of Foreigner.

Between late March and October 2011, the band undertook the "Dancing Backward in High Heels World Tour". This included dates in England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain and Australia. In the last week of October four additional gigs – billed as "Halloween Night Of Fear – were played in the UK, concluding at the Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow on October 31.

In a 2016 interview, Earl Slick confirmed that the New York Dolls had again split. "Oh, yeah, it's long gone. There was no point in doing it anymore and it was kinda spent. You know, David really does enjoy the Buster thing. He's so good at it. I've seen him do it a couple of times this last year, and man! He's got it down, you know."[2]

Sylvain Sylvain died on January 13, 2021, at age 69, leaving David Johansen as the last surviving original member of the band.

Musical style

[edit]

Certainly neither great nor punk in any of its variations were words applied to the Dolls when they began performing late in 1971 – awful and ugly were more like it. Moreover, at the time, the Dolls were associated with glam-rock and David Bowie in his most flamboyantly gay period, an understandable mistake.

According to AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the New York Dolls developed an original style of hard rock that presaged both punk rock and heavy metal music, and drew on elements such as the "dirty rock & roll" of the Rolling Stones, the "anarchic noise" of the Stooges, the glam rock of David Bowie and T. Rex, and girl group pop music.[1] Erlewine credited the band for creating punk rock "before there was a term for it".[1] Ken Tucker, who referred to them as a proto-punk band, wrote that they were strongly influenced by the "New York sensibility" of Lou Reed: "The mean wisecracks and impassioned cynicism that informed the Dolls' songs represented an attitude that Reed's work with the Velvet Underground embodied, as did the Dolls' distinct lack of musicianship."[8]

When they began performing, four of the band's five members wore Spandex and platform boots,[7] while Johansen—the band's lyricist and "conceptmaster"—[29] often preferred high heels and a dress occasionally.[8] Fashion historian Valerie Steele said that, while the majority of the punk scene pursued an understated "street look", the New York Dolls followed an English glam rock "look of androgyny—leather and knee-length boots, chest hair, and bleach".[30] According to James McNair of The Independent, "when they began pedalling their trashy glam-punk around lower Manhattan in 1971, they were more burlesque act than band; a bunch of lipsticked, gutter chic-endorsing cross-dressers".[31] Music journalist Nick Kent argued that the New York Dolls were "quintessential glam rockers" because of their flamboyant fashion, while their technical shortcomings as musicians and Johnny Thunders' "trouble-prone presence" gave them a punk-rock reputation.[32]

By contrast, Robert Christgau preferred for them to not be categorized as a glam rock band, but instead as "the best hard-rock band since the Rolling Stones".[33] Robert Hilburn, writing for the Los Angeles Times, said that the band exhibited a strong influence from the Rolling Stones, but had distinguished themselves by Too Much Too Soon (1974) as "a much more independent, original force" because of their "definite touch of the humor and carefreeness of early (ie. mid-1950s) rock".[34] Simon Reynolds felt that, by their 2009 album Cause I Sez So, the band exhibited the sound "not of the sloppy, rambunctious Dolls of punk mythology but of a tight, lean hard-rock band."[35]

Legacy

[edit]
Aerosmith (top), the Sex Pistols (middle) and Mötley Crüe (bottom) are three bands influenced by the New York Dolls

According to the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1995), the New York Dolls were "one of the most influential rock bands of the last 20 years".[5] Writer Sean Sennett credited the band as a part of a legacy of raunchy, influential rock bands predated by the Rolling Stones, and succeeded by Aerosmith and Hanoi Rocks and eventually Guns N' Roses.[36] By the time the band's debut album was released, they had already spawned a number of derivative bands in New York including the Stilettos, the Brats, Teenage Lust and the Harlots. Two of the earliest groups that they inspired were Kiss and Aerosmith,[37] which would in turn become two of the most influential bands in rock music, especially hard rock and heavy metal.[38] Hanoi Rocks' music and aesthetic too were heavily inspired by the New York Dolls and would go on to have a significant influence themselves.[39]

The New York Dolls were the catalyst for New York's early punk rock scene, which included Television, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, the Ramones, Blondie and Richard Hell and the Voidoids,[40] in addition to being one of the most influential bands to the development of British punk rock, particularly the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Damned.[41][42] In Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, guitarist Steve Jones cited the New York Dolls as one of the most influential bands on the Sex Pistols style,[43] and in a 2023 interview with Spin, Dave Vanian of the Damned listed the New York Dolls' self-titled album as one of his five albums "I Can't Live Without".[44] The Guardian writer Ian Gittins called the album "the Year Zero of punk rock".[45] The band continued to inspire punk bands as the genre progressed, with the Misfits, Social Distortion and Green Day all recalling their influence.[46]

In the 1980s, the influence of the New York Dolls helped to form the glam metal genre.[47][48] In particular, the band's androgynous aesthetic and wearing of spandex, dresses, high heels and teased hair were widely imitated amongst bands in the genre.[49] Alternative Press writer Tim Stegall even credited the band as having invented the look of glam metal,[46] and in Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Hank Bordowitz called the band the progenitors of hair metal and "the most important band that most people never heard".[50] Prominent glam metal bands to take influence from the New York Dolls included Mötley Crüe, Poison,[48] Ratt,[51] Skid Row[52] and Twisted Sister.[53] With the increasing commercialisation of glam metal as the 1980s progressed, a number of bands from within its scene formed a new sound with a greater emphasis on the influence of the New York Dolls, namely Guns N' Roses,[54] L.A. Guns[55] and Faster Pussycat.[56]

Other musicians to cite the New York Dolls as an influence include the Smiths and their vocalist Morrissey,[57] the Undertones,[58] Joan Jett & the Blackhearts,[59] David Bowie, Japan, D Generation,[60] Billy Idol,[61] Terry Chambers of XTC,[62] Def Leppard, R.E.M.,[63] the Replacements, Soul Asylum,[64] Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Bruce Fairweather and Stone Gossard of Green River and Mother Love Bone (the latter also of Pearl Jam),[65][66] Ruby and the Rednecks,[67] Hollywood Brats,[68] Hoodoo Gurus, the Scientists,[69] Palaye Royale,[70] Marilyn Manson,[71] Jetboy,[72] Rock City Angels,[73] the Cramps, the Libertines and the Manic Street Preachers.[46]

Band members

[edit]
Former members

Timeline

[edit]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Title Details Peak chart positions
US
[74] 		US
Ind.
[75] 		FIN
[76] 		FRA
[76] 		SCO
[77] 		UK
[78]
New York Dolls
  • Released: July 27, 1973
  • Label: Mercury
  • Format: LP, cassette
 116 — — — 91 —
Too Much Too Soon
  • Released: May 10, 1974
  • Label: Mercury
  • Format: LP, cassette
 167 — — — — 165
One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This
  • Released: July 25, 2006
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming
 129 8 23 124 — 130
Cause I Sez So
  • Released: May 5, 2009
  • Label: Atco
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming
 159 — — — — 188
Dancing Backward in High Heels
  • Released: March 15, 2011
  • Label: 429
  • Format: LP, CD, streaming
 — 37 — — — —

Demo albums

[edit]

Live albums

[edit]
  • Red Patent Leather (1984)
  • Paris Le Trash (1993)
  • Live In Concert, Paris 1974 (1998)
  • The Glamorous Life Live (1999)
  • 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)
  • Viva Le Trash '74 (2009)
  • French Kiss '74 (2013)

Compilation albums

[edit]
  • 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)
  • Super Best Collection (1990)
  • Rock'n Roll (1994)
  • Hootchie Kootchie Dolls (1998)
  • The Glam Rock Hits (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)

Singles

[edit]
  • "Personality Crisis" / "Looking for a Kiss" (1973)
  • "Trash" / "Personality Crisis" (1973)
  • "Jet Boy" / "Vietnamese Baby" (1973)
  • "Stranded in the Jungle" / "Don't Start Me Talkin'" (1974)
  • "(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown" / "Puss 'n' Boots" (1974)
  • "Jet Boy" // "Babylon" / "Who Are the Mystery Girls" (1977, UK)
  • "Bad Girl" / "Subway Train" (1978, Germany)
  • "Gimme Luv and Turn On the Light" (2006)
  • "Fool for You Baby" (2011)
  • "Dolled UP" (2014)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "New York Dolls". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 10, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Bowie guitarist Earl Slick on his years with The Thin White Duke, working with Lennon and the making of Station To Station – Getintothis". March 25, 2016.
  3. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine "New York Dolls – Discography (Compilations)" "AllMusic.com" Retrieved October 30, 2017
  4. ^ Ferris, William R. (2004). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures: The Mid-Atlantic Region. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 349. ISBN 978-0-313-32954-8. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Larkin, Colin, ed. (1995). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 3022. ISBN 978-1-56159-176-3.
  6. ^ a b "The New York Dolls: 'More Than a Band'". The Beaver County Times. February 20, 1974. p. C-14.
  7. ^ a b Ward, Stokes & Tucker 1986, p. 549.
  8. ^ a b c d Ward, Ed; Stokes, Geoffrey; Tucker, Ken (1986). Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll. Rolling Stone Press, Fireside Books. p. 549. ISBN 978-0-671-54438-6.
  9. ^ Antonia, Nina (2000). Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood. Cherry Red Books. pp. 8, 257. ISBN 978-1-901447-15-6.
  10. ^ "The Dolls: Get It While You Can". The Village Voice. December 28, 1972. p. 28.
  11. ^ Richard Nusser (November 16, 1972). "Once More, Death in Threes". Village Voice. p. 52.
  12. ^ "Marty Thau, Manager in Early New York Punk Scene, Dies at 75". New York Times, February 23, 2014. Ben Sisario
  13. ^ Antonia, Nina (2011). Too Much, Too Soon The Makeup Breakup of The New York Dolls: Too Much Too Soon. Omnibus Press; 3rd Revised edition. p. 73. ISBN 9780857126733.
  14. ^ Bill Mann (September 30, 1974). "New York Dolls Music a Blast". Montreal Gazette.
  15. ^ Stevie Chick (June 13, 2011). "The New York Dolls play 'mock rock' on British TV". The Guardian.
  16. ^ a b c d "New York Dolls -Chronology-". FromTheArchives. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Malcolm McLaren Obituary By New York Dolls' Sylvain Sylvain". The Quietus. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  19. ^ TRASH! The Complete New York Dolls, Kris Needs & Dick Porter, Plexus p. 126
  20. ^ "Chris Robison New York Dolls". Chrisrobison.net. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  21. ^ "I was a teenage Street Punk: Peter Rossi, NY's glitter-punk underground and 5 bands you should know about". November 4, 2016.
  22. ^ "Johnny Thunders Dies of Overdose". The Hour. April 25, 1991.
  23. ^ "Scrooged - Google Search". Google.com. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
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  25. ^ "Roadrunnerrecords.com". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  26. ^ "Nydolls.org". Archived from the original on June 13, 2010.
  27. ^ "New York Dolls Interview". Shakenstir. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  28. ^ mitchopolis (December 10, 2010). "New York Dolls announce new album, Dancing Backward in High Heels " Consequence of Sound". Consequence.net. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  29. ^ Christgau, Robert (1998). Grown Up All Wrong: 75 Great Rock and Pop Artists from Vaudeville to Techno. Harvard University Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-674-44318-1.
  30. ^ Steele, Valerie, ed. (2010). The Berg Companion to Fashion. Berg Publishers. p. 583. ISBN 978-1-84788-592-0. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  31. ^ "New York Dolls: Anarchy from the USA". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  32. ^ Kent, Nick; et al. (2006). Blake, Mark (ed.). Punk: The Whole Story. Dorling Kindersley. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7566-2359-3.
  33. ^ Lindberg, Ulf, ed. (2005). Rock Criticism from the Beginning: Amusers, Bruisers And Cool-Headed Cruisers. Peter Lang. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8204-7490-8. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  34. ^ Hilburn, Robert (May 7, 1974). "Touch of Stones in Dolls' Album". Los Angeles Times. p. C12. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013. (subscription required)
  35. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2011). Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past. Macmillan. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4299-6858-4. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  36. ^ Sennett, Sean (2010). Off the Record: 25 Years of Music Street Press. University of Queensland Press. p. 158. It's pretty much an accepted fact that Guns N' Roses are the next step in a lineage that began with the Stones and moved on to Aerosmith, the New York Dolls and Hanoi Rocks. You know, the almost graceful look of human demolition with a raunch and roll' factor on tilt.
  37. ^ Antonia, Nina (2003). The New York Dolls Too Much Too Soon. Omnibus Press. p. 70. ISBN 0711996032. The rise of The New York Dolls spawned dozens of local bands. Elda Gentile got The Stilettos together with former Max's waitress, Debbie Harry, and Rick Rivets started gigging with The Brats, while a rash of Dolls copyists like Teenage Lust and The Harlots of 42nd Street threw themselves on the bandwagon and fell belly-up. Aside from Aerosmith, the most significant group of that time to be influenced by The New York Dolls was Kiss. Sure, Kiss wore make-up but by painting their faces like comic book characters or goofy animals, they defused any sexual threat.
  38. ^ Bukszpan, Daniel (2003). The Encyclöpedia öf Heavy Metal. Sterling Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7607-4218-1.
  39. ^ Kaz, Jim. "RETRO ACTION 49: THE TRUE KINGS OF CROSSOVER — HANOI ROCKS". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  40. ^ Taylor, Tom (July 28, 2021). "From Link Wray to New York Dolls: Who really invented punk?". Far Out. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  41. ^ Obituaries, Telegraph (January 18, 2021). "Sylvain Sylvain, guitarist with the New York Dolls, kings of trash rock – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  42. ^ Banerji, Atreyi (January 26, 2021). "Six definitive songs: The ultimate beginner's to New York Dolls". Far Out. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  43. ^ Jones, Steve (November 17, 2016). Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol. Heinemann. They'd [the New York Dolls] end up as one of my four biggest influences alongside Bowie, Roxy Music and that night's headliners [the Faces]. If you'd told me that in a couple of years' time I'd be playing Sylvain Sylvain's guitar in a band managed by the Dolls' ex-manager, that would've gone beyond even the most unrealistic fantasies.
  44. ^ Lentini, Liza (March 24, 2023). "5 Albums I Can't Live Without: Dave Vanian Of The Damned". Spin. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  45. ^ Gittins, Ian (July 14, 2006). "'Before us, there was nothing'". The Guardian. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  46. ^ a b c Stegall, Tim. "11 bands influenced by New York Dolls, from Social Distortion to Guns N' Roses". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  47. ^ WIEDERHORN, JON; TURMAN, KATHERINE (May 22, 2013). "Welcome to the jungle: The definitive oral history of '80s metal". Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  48. ^ a b "Sylvain Sylvain, New York Dolls guitarist, dies at 69". NBC News. January 15, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  49. ^ Schaffner, Lauryn (March 13, 2020). "14 Rock Bands + Artists Who Pioneered Hair Metal". Loudwire. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  50. ^ Bordowitz, Hank. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. G. Schirmer, Inc. New York Dolls, progenitors of punk and 'hair metal' the most important band that most people never heard
  51. ^ Parker, James (April 25, 2013). "The Hair-Metal Diaries". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  52. ^ "SKID ROW BASSIST RACHEL BOLAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO NEW YORK DOLLS GUITARIST SYLVAIN SYLVAIN - "THANK YOU FOR THE INSPIRATION"". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  53. ^ Rettman, Tony (June 20, 2016). "Why Twisted Sister Actually Matters". Noisey. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  54. ^ Epstein, Dan. "10 WAYS GUNS N' ROSES' 'APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION' CHANGED THE WORLD". Revolver. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  55. ^ Rolli, Bryan (January 4, 2023). "How L.A. Guns' Raw, Sleazy Debut Album Set Them Apart How L.A. Guns' Raw, Sleazy Debut Album Set Them Apart How L.A. Guns' Raw, Sleazy Debut Album Set Them Apart". Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  56. ^ Wake, Matt (July 9, 2019). "An '80s glam-metal survivor tells all". The Birmingham News. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  57. ^ Smith, Chris (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-19-537371-4. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
  58. ^ Houghton, Mick (July 2, 2019). Fried & Justified Hits, Myths, Break-Ups and Breakdowns in the Record Business 1978-98. Faber & Faber. The only blip was that their second single, 'Get Over You', flopped. It was one of their best, a New York Dolls-influenced song that I much preferred to the irritating 'Jimmy Jimmy', which saw them break through into the Top 20 in April. The following month The Undertones reached no. 13.
  59. ^ Smith, Troy L. (April 19, 2022). "Do the New York Dolls belong in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?". Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  60. ^ Antonia, Nina (2003). The New York Dolls Too Much Too Soon. Omnibus Press. p. 181. ISBN 0711996032. A legion of bands and artists have been influenced by the Dolls in terms of style, attitude and in their approach to music. They include Aerosmith, Kiss, David Bowie, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Japan, The Cramps, Hanoi Rocks, Guns N' Roses, The Smiths and D-Generation.
  61. ^ Leas, Ryan (September 16, 2021). "We've Got A File On You: Billy Idol". Stereogum. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  62. ^ "Original XTC Drummer Celebrates Beloved Band's Legacy at Yoshi's in Oakland". KPIX-TV. March 7, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  63. ^ BENITEZ-EVES, TINA (April 2023). "The Toy Hospital That Inspired the Band Name of the New York Dolls". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  64. ^ Weidman, Rich (2023). Punk The Definitive Guide to the Blank Generation and Beyond. Backbeat. p. 25. The New York Dolls influenced a host of rock bands such as the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Damned, KISS, Hanoi Rocks, the Replacements, the Smiths, and Guns N' Roses, among others. In Satisfaction: 10 Albums That Changed My Life, Soul Asylum singer- songwriter Dave Pirner called the Dolls "fearless, full of energy and rock 'n' roll madness in all the right ways. Set aside the lipstick, eye shadow and platform boots, and they just rocked out without a bunch of bullshit."
  65. ^ Grow, Kory (February 2019). "Green River and the Birth of Seattle Grunge: The Oral History". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  66. ^ Prato, Greg (2010). Grunge Is Dead The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music. ECW Press. That whole thing was starting then - people wanted to have bands that were the New York Dolls meets Pere Ubu meets Def Leppard [laughs]. Stone was listening to Pyromania, KISS, and the New York Dolls. They started to put it all together, and it didn't work very well [laughs]. Green River is an example of that - "Hey, let's mash all this stuff together and see if it works!" People figured out how to make it work [later]. Alice in Chains and Soundgarden figured out how to make it be something that was new that sounded good.
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  68. ^ Duerden, Nick. "Andrew Matheson interview: the Hollywood Brat who punched Freddie Mercury, stole from Cliff Richard and formed the UK's first punk band". The Independent. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  69. ^ The Next Thing. Kangaroo Press. 1984. p. 138. It's really funny, because the Scientists, all those guys, who were now also the Hoodoo Gurus, they were all part of this heavy New York Dolls-influenced thing.
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  71. ^ Manson, Marilyn; Strauss, Neil (1998). The Long Hard Road Out of Hell. HarperCollins. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-06-098746-6.
  72. ^ Capone, John (June 23, 2009). "The New York Dolls: A Fix And A Kiss". WNBC. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
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  74. ^ "New York Dolls Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  75. ^ "New York Dolls Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
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  77. ^ "NEW YORK DOLLS songs and albums | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  78. ^ "Chart Log UK 1994–2010: Nadanuf – Michael Nyman". zobbel.de. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
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