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. 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. 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. 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".
New York Dolls is the debut album by the American hard rock band New York Dolls. It was released on July 27, 1973, by Mercury Records. In the years leading up to the album, the Dolls had developed a local fanbase by playing regularly in lower Manhattan after forming in 1971. However, most music producers and record companies were reluctant to work with them because of their vulgarity and onstage fashion as well as homophobia in New York; the group later appeared in exaggerated drag on the album cover for shock value.
Sylvain Mizrahi, known professionally as Sylvain Sylvain, was an American rock guitarist, most notable for being a member of the New York Dolls.
David Roger Johansen is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter, and for playing the Ghost of Christmas Past in Scrooged.
David Johansen is a 1978 album by the rock musician David Johansen and his first solo album following his tenure as lead singer of the New York Dolls. The album was released on Blue Sky Records, a sub-label of Columbia Records that was associated with Johnny and Edgar Winter. David Johansen also features fellow New York Doll guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, who was a member of the David Johansen Band at that time. Sylvain co-wrote four of the songs with Johansen. The single from the album was Johansen and Sylvain's "Funky But Chic", backed with "The Rope ", which has been included as a bonus track on the CD. David Johansen was voted the tenth best record of 1978 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice.
Too Much Too Soon is the second album by the American hard rock band New York Dolls. It was released by Mercury Records on May 10, 1974, and recorded earlier that year at A&R Studios in New York City. Dissatisfied with the recording of their 1973 self-titled debut album, the Dolls' lead singer David Johansen enlisted veteran producer Shadow Morton to produce the sessions. Morton, who had been disenchanted by the music industry, found renewed motivation in the band's energy and undertook the project as a challenge.
In the Flesh is a posthumous live CD by legendary punk rock guitarist/singer/songwriter Johnny Thunders. It consists of the full live set featuring a reunion of Thunders with fellow ex-New York Dolls and Heartbreakers drummer Jerry Nolan, ex-Dolls bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane, and ex-Idols & London Cowboys guitarist Barry Jones, recorded at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, California on January 4, 1987. Given Thunders' notoriety for performing in a smacked-out or alcoholic haze, this more sober and professional Thunders performance led one reviewer to declare the CD to contain "an ample track selection, generally superb performances, and surprisingly good fidelity all in one package -- a Triple Crown rarely achieved in the world of J.T. live recordings."
Lipstick Killers – The Mercer Street Sessions 1972 is a 1981 album of demos by the New York Dolls. The album's songs were later re-recorded for New York Dolls, except for "Don't Start Me Talking" and "Human Being" which were later re-recorded for Too Much Too Soon and "Don't Mess with Cupid", which was never re-recorded.
Red Patent Leather is a live album by the American rock and roll group New York Dolls, released in 1984. It was recorded in New York a decade earlier, in March 1975, just a month before the group broke up while on tour in Florida.
Rock'n Roll is a 1994 compilation album by the New York Dolls. It features every original song from their first two albums, New York Dolls and Too Much Too Soon, along with four additional tracks. The cover of "Stranded in the Jungle" appeared on the second LP, and the other three tracks had been previously unreleased: "Courageous Cat Theme", recorded for a commercial during the sessions for the second album; and two demos - one of an original titled "Lone Star Queen" and a cover of Otis Redding's "Don't Mess With Cupid."
Sweet Revenge is an album by David Johansen, released in 1984. It is the only Johansen album to be released on Passport Records. It was his first album without any participation by any other former members of the New York Dolls.
Seven Day Weekend is a collection of demos by rock band the New York Dolls. The tracks were recorded at Planet Studios in 1973 but the collection was not released until 1992. In addition to early versions of tracks released on New York Dolls and Too Much Too Soon, there are five tracks that were not released on the studio albums: "Seven Day Weekend", "Back in the USA", "Endless Party", "Great Big Kiss", and "Hoochie Coochie Man". Guitarist Johnny Thunders performed a version of "Great Big Kiss" on his 1978 album So Alone.
In Style is the second solo album released by (then-)former lead singer of the New York Dolls, David Johansen. It was released in 1979 on Blue Sky Records.
Live It Up, released in 1982, was the first live album released by David Johansen as a solo artist. Johansen did release a limited and promotional live album, The David Johansen Group Live in 1978, but the album was not officially released until 1993. Additionally, by the time Live It Up was released, various bootlegs of Johansen's first band, the New York Dolls, were being heavily traded. The impact of the New York Dolls, as both an influential band and as a live act, was becoming a legend in the late-1970s and early-1980s when Johansen was trying to start his solo career. However, his three previous solo albums were not selling as well as expected, therefore, Johansen turned to touring and selling his stage show.
Hurt Me is an album by the American musician Johnny Thunders, released in 1984. It was recorded in Paris, with just an acoustic guitar. Richard Hell wrote the lyrics to the title track.
Dancing Backward in High Heels is the fifth and final studio album by the New York Dolls, and the third since their 2004 reunion. Released on March 15, 2011, on 429 Records, it contains covers of the 1946 Leon René standard "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman," and "Funky But Chic," originally from David Johansen's 1978 self titled album.
Buz Verno is an American bass guitarist, songwriter and singer. After his father encouraged him to start playing music, Verno began to play guitar at seven years old. He switched to bass guitar at 12 years old.
"Trash" is the debut single by American hard rock band the New York Dolls. It was recorded for their 1973 self-titled album and released as a double A-side with the song "Personality Crisis" in July 1973. "Trash" did not chart upon its release, but has since been hailed by music critics as an anthemic glam rock and proto-punk song. In 2009, the band recorded a reggae-styled remake of the song for their album Cause I Sez So.
"Jet Boy" is the closing track and second 7" single from New York Dolls' self titled debut album. It was written by Dolls lead singer David Johansen and guitarist Johnny Thunders.
"Personality Crisis" is the lead track from the New York Dolls' self-titled debut album. It was written by Dolls lead singer David Johansen and guitarist Johnny Thunders. An early demo version of it appears on the 1981 collection Lipstick Killers – The Mercer Street Sessions 1972.
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