New York Dolls were an American hard rock band formed in New York City
in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were
one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although their
original line-up fell apart quickly, the band's first two albumsâ€"New
York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974)â€"became among the most
popular cult records in rock. The line-up at this time comprised
vocalist David Johansen, guitarist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur
Kane, guitarist and pianist Sylvain Sylvain and drummer Jerry Nolan;
the latter two had replaced Rick Rivets and Billy Murcia,
respectively, in 1972. On stage, they donned an androgynous wardrobe,
wearing high heels, eccentric hats, satin, makeup, spandex, and
dresses. Nolan described the group in 1974 as "the Dead End Kids of
today".According to the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1995), the New
York Dolls predated the punk and glam metal movements and were "one of
the most influential rock bands of the last 20 years". They influenced
rock groups such as the Sex Pistols, Kiss, the Ramones, Guns N' Roses,
the Damned and the Smiths, whose frontman Morrissey organized a
reunion show for the New York Dolls' surviving members in 2004. After
reuniting, they recorded and released three more albumsâ€"One Day It
Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006), Cause I Sez So (2009) and
Dancing Backward in High Heels (2011). Following a 2011 British tour
with Alice Cooper, the band once again disbanded.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, 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.
in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were
one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although their
original line-up fell apart quickly, the band's first two albumsâ€"New
York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974)â€"became among the most
popular cult records in rock. The line-up at this time comprised
vocalist David Johansen, guitarist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur
Kane, guitarist and pianist Sylvain Sylvain and drummer Jerry Nolan;
the latter two had replaced Rick Rivets and Billy Murcia,
respectively, in 1972. On stage, they donned an androgynous wardrobe,
wearing high heels, eccentric hats, satin, makeup, spandex, and
dresses. Nolan described the group in 1974 as "the Dead End Kids of
today".According to the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1995), the New
York Dolls predated the punk and glam metal movements and were "one of
the most influential rock bands of the last 20 years". They influenced
rock groups such as the Sex Pistols, Kiss, the Ramones, Guns N' Roses,
the Damned and the Smiths, whose frontman Morrissey organized a
reunion show for the New York Dolls' surviving members in 2004. After
reuniting, they recorded and released three more albumsâ€"One Day It
Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006), Cause I Sez So (2009) and
Dancing Backward in High Heels (2011). Following a 2011 British tour
with Alice Cooper, the band once again disbanded.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, 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.
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