The New York Doll Museum

Future Superstars Wicked Lester

In previous posts I explored the glam/glitter rock scenes in England and in Los Angeles, but of course everybody knows glam rock was big in New York too.  As the capital of American urban decadence, it would have actually been surprising had glam NOT been huge in the Big Apple. 

Obviously the biggest glam rock success in New York was the New York Dolls.  In fact, its hard to over-emphasize how important the Dolls were to the eventual NY and London punk scenes.  As mentioned in a previous post, it was his experience managing the Dolls during their final days, along with his admiration of Richard Hell, that prompted Malcolm McLaren to manage the nascent Sex Pistols (the Pistols, in typical form, eventually wrote a scathing song, “New York”, which denigrated their predecessors). 

The Dolls formed from the ashes of a previous band, Actress, which was formed in 1971 by Arthur Kane and Rick Rivets.  They asked Johnny Thunders to join as guitarist and singer, and he soon recommended Billy Murcia as their drummer.  Two Actress demos are available on iTunes on the New York Dolls Manhattan Mayhem compilation.  “That’s Poison” was eventually reworked by the Dolls into “Subway Train” and it shows that even from the start the Dolls were fascinated/obsessed with the simple, straightforward sounds of the 60’s, such as girl groups and R&B.  Johnny’s guitar sounds in fine fettle but his vocals leave a little to be desired; its not difficult to see why they soon asked David Johansen to join as lead singer.  “I Am Confronted” has a similar girl group sound, which just shows that for all their androgyny and roar the Dolls were at heart really just a reactionary 60’s throwback.  But as has been mentioned here in prior posts, a big part of punk rock music was a desire to return rock and roll to its more basic roots, and this was a big part of the Dolls’ appeal at the time.

After leaving/being kicked out of the Dolls, Rick Rivets went on to form the Brats (also known as the NY Brats).  Not surprisingly, their sound hovers very close to that of the Dolls themselves, a mix of 60's garage rock a la the Human Beinz, 70's Stones licks, and girl group/bubblegum harmonies.  "Be A Man" is uploaded on YouTube and showcases this heady combination.

The Dolls famously only recorded two albums, their self-titled debut and Too Much , Too Soon.  I own a lot of songs off both albums, but honestly the regressive,50's/ 60’s worshiping aspect of the Dolls is something I just don’t find that fascinating.  The only Dolls song I really enjoy is “Puss in Boots”, which is the only song where I feel like they cut loose from their retro sound and craft something that sounds truly new.  Johnny’s guitar solo (and blistering blues licks throughout) howl with real fire and energy.  The other thing I like about this song is how you can hear how the Sex Pistols blatantly ripped off the rhythm of the verse section for their song “Liar”.  Another favorite is "Looking For a Kiss", with its sleazy come-on and pouty strut.  But I've also come to love "Chatterbox" (which was covered more recently by the Chelsea Smiles), "Human Being" and its braying guitar and honking sax, the mid-tempo "Subway Train", and "Pills".

By 1975 the Dolls were in a state of near collapse.  Jerry Nolan (who replaced Billy Murcia on drums after Billy OD-ed during the Dolls’ London sojourn in 1973) and Johnny Thunders were heroin addicts and Arthur Kane was an alcoholic.  But Malcolm McLaren came to their rescue, if only briefly, giving the band new outfits, sending them to detox, and getting them to write new material.  All was for naught, as the Dolls broke up while on tour in Florida soon after.  But before their tragic demise they played a series of concerts at the Hippodrome in NY in 1975; amazingly, while the resulting live album (released in 1984 on the label Fan Club) isn’t available in iTunes, film footage exists of one of these shows and its been posted on YouTube.  The footage and sound are a trifle muddy but much better than expected; they show a band that still had incredible blues/rock chops live.  There are two original songs, “Red Patent Leather” and “On Fire” and a cover of “Somethin’ Else” by Eddie Cochran—perhaps this is where Sid Vicious got the idea to cover it himself 3 years later?

After the breakup of the Dolls, the various members went on to different group and solo projects.  Arthur Kane formed the Killer Kane Band with Blackie Lawless (who would eventually form W.A.S.P. after playing in Sister, Circus Circus, and with Nikki Sixx in London).  Blackie had joined the Dolls for a couple Florida gigs after Nolan and Thunders departed.  “Mr. Cool” has an almost dirge-y feel to it and sounds more like the proto-metal ballad Lawless would eventually make it into when he formed W.A.S.P.  “Blackhaired Woman” sounds even more metallic, again demonstrating more the future direction of Lawless than the prior direction of Kane. 

Kane’s second project, the Corpse Grinders, with former Actress compatriot Rick Rivets, was much more in line with the prevailing punk aesthetic of the time.  My favorite song of theirs (which is available on iTunes and is also posted on YouTube) is “Mental Moron”, a sleazy piece of punked up glam.  “Rights, 4 Whites” is faster and punkier and is also good.

Drummer Jerry Nolan joined Johnny Thunders and Richard Hell in the Heartbreakers, who released the seminal NY punk document LAMF in 1977.  “Born To Lose” and “Chinese Rocks” (which was actually written by Dee Dee Ramone) are the best songs, blues-drenched, sloppy punk anthems to failure and drugs that stand up well against anything the Dolls recorded.  Nolan died of complications from years of drug use in 1992.

Johnny Thunders released a seminal solo album, So Alone, in 1978.  “London Boys”, his answer to “New York” by the Sex Pistols, is one of the best songs, the roaring guitars and snotty lyrics propelling it nicely.  Most people like “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory”, but I find it maudlin and old fashioned.  Johnny continued to gig and record but never achieved anything better than these two early post-Dolls releases; he died a few months before Nolan.

Rhythm guitarist Sylvain Sylvain also continued to record and release new material through the 80’s and 90’s.  His 1980 solo album was a respectable addition to the post-Dolls material; “Teenage News” has a rockabilly feel, while “What’s That Got To Do With Rock and Roll” has elements of doo wop and swing.  His 1998 release (Sleep) Baby Doll was highly acclaimed; “Pencil, Paper and Glue” has a chiming guitar sound and soaring harmonies that sounds like a cross between a 50’s ballad and 70’s powerpop. 

David Johansen released a couple of solo albums; 1978’s eponymous release hewed closest to his Dolls work, but cleaned up the sloppiness and added a layer of studio polish.  It sounds like some of the same stuff the Rolling Stones were working on at the same time, having elements of funk and even disco.  “Funky But Chic” has a groovy beat and Johansen’s trademark bratty Jagger-esque vocals.  “Cool Metro” sounds like how the Dolls might have sounded had they been more professional and less sloppy and is my favorite solo song of his.  In the 80’s Johansen created the Buster Poindexter persona and had some minor hits. 

Murcia, Nolan, Thunders, and Kane all passed away, but in 2007 Johansen and Sylvain reunited, recruited some new players, and released two albums under the New York Dolls name.  Obviously hardliners will insist that it isn’t the Dolls without Thunders’ trademark sloppy blues licks, but the music is competent and Dolls-like enough to satisfy older fans still wanting something more.  “’Cause I Said So” is my favorite and is actually an excellent facsimile of the Dolls during their heyday.

One of Johnny Thunders' best friends, and one of the last people to see Nancy Spungen alive, Eliot Kidd had a mid-70's NY rock band the Demons that sounded like a much more polished version of the Dolls, and indeed were signed to the Doll's label, Mercury, but alas had about as much chart success as the Dolls.  Nothing is available for purchase by this band but three songs are up on YouTube, "It'll Be Alright","I Hate You", and "She's So Tuff".  "It'll Be Alright" starts with a snarling, catchy riff and settles into an almost jangly, very melodic song; you could almost see this breaking through and being a hit in the mid-70's.  "She's So Tuff" is a similar catchy rocker, with backing harmonies and hand claps that give it that girl group vibe the Dolls were always striving for.  "I Hate You" almost starts like "Street Fighting Man" and is lyrically pretty harsh, particularly for 1977 when it was released.  The bluesy guitar solo is classic Thunders stuff.


The Dolls weren’t of course the only band to come out of the NY glam scene of the early 70’s.  Another band would take the glam image, strip it of its feminine aspects, add monster movies, comic books and kabuki theater to the mix, and become perhaps the biggest band of the decade.  That band is of course Kiss, but before they formed Kiss they were in a band called Wicked Lester.  Wicked Lester, formed in 1971 by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, recorded an album for Epic Records which was never released, but now several of the tracks from this album are posted on YouTube (Kiss included them in their boxed set from a few years ago and these are available on iTunes).  Several Kiss songs were actually initially developed by Simmons and Stanley in Wicked Lester, including “She” and “Black Diamond”.  “Long Long Road” is a tender ballad, with acoustic guitars and a nifty harmonica solo and even backing horns, and is more mellow than anything Kiss released (except of course “Beth”).  “What Happens In the Darkness” has a funky guitar line and maudlin vocals and sounds a lot like stuff coming out of black and R&B in the early 70’s (kind of like “Papa Was A Rolling Stone” and “Mercy Mercy Me”).  Its hard to believe that from these humble beginnings they would become the biggest band in the entire world within 5 short years.

One almost legendary 70’s NY glam group was Eric Emerson and the Magic Tramps.  Emerson, spectacularly attractive and bisexual, was an important scene maker and actor involved in Andy Warhol’s Factory as well as the Max’s Kansas City scene.  His band, the Magic Tramps, were essentially the Max’s house band.  Nothing is available on iTunes and only one song, a live cut called “S&M Leather Queen”, was available on YouTube for awhile but sadly seems to have been removed now.  The sound is raw but it reminds me of some of the melodic, piano-heavy stuff Iggy did post-Raw Power, with perhaps a dollop of Johnny Thunders.  Not bad, and too bad more isn’t available.

Another band from that era is Teenage Lust, about whom I can find extremely little on the internet right now.  There’s nothing in Wikipedia, and they don’t have an entry on All Music Guide, but I did find a few pages that describe them a little.  Apparently members Harold Black, Bill Lussenden, and Billy Joe White formed Teenage Lust as a side project from their usual gig, the Lower East Side, a band who backed up protopunk pioneer David Peel.  They played a glamified version of MC5 and Alice Cooper protopunk.  Back in the day they frequently opened for Iggy and the Stooges and the New York Dolls.  I’ve managed to find only one song, on YouTube, “Teenage Lust”, which sounds like a blast of Kick Out the Jams era MC5.

The Harlots of 42nd Street are another semi-legendary early NY glam band, who often played Max's and the Mercer.  I've only managed to find one of their songs anywhere; "Spray Paint Bandit" is on YouTube and it doesn't sound especially glam, more like the Dolls if they'd been a boogie woogie bar band instead.  Not bad but it doesn't give any insights into why they were such mainstays on the scene in the 70's.


While doing more research on this topic recently I ran across some links on YouTube connecting me from the Corpse Grinders to the Brats to the Rags.  Not much on them on the internet--nothing on Wikipedia or AMG, but I did find an interesting web site containing an interview with guitarist Joe Valentine and some more info on this band.  The members were  Joe Valentine-Sausa - guitars, Don De LaPena - drums, Joe St John - singer, Ron Blanchard - guitars, Steve Fraser - bass. They played the same club circuit (the Coventry, Max's, the Mercer, Kenny's Castaways, 82 Club, etc.) as the Dolls, Teenage Lust, etc.  A couple songs are uploaded on YouTube, including the very Stonesy "Hold Me Tight"--the singer here sounds like a dead ringer for Jagger a la "Angie".  "Rock and Roll Shoes", also on Youtube, is much closer to the sound of the Dolls and is a higher tempo rocker. 


Jo Jo Gunne were technically from the West Coast but also get mentioned frequently as part of the NY Max's scene.  They grew out of the late 60's/early 70's band Spirit and several of their songs are available on YouTube.  "Run Run Run" again sounds more like boogie/bar band type stuff. 

While they don’t technically belong in a section about NY glam, New York’s Neon Boys deserve mention here if only because, like Actress and Wicked Lester, they have achieved a level of notoriety for having birthed a more well known band, in this case Television.  Formed by Billy Ficca, Richard Hell, and Tom Verlaine in 1972, they played a few gigs around NY before adding Richard Lloyd and changing their name to Television in 1974.  A handful of songs were released by Richard Hell on an EP in the early 80’s and a couple are floating around YouTube.  “Don’t Die” sounds like a mellower, more 60’s-influenced Television; “That’s All I Know” has a heavier, Stooge-y feel with a little taste of 60’s garage rock (like the Seeds or the Count Five). 

(I hate to admit it but I’ve never been a huge Television fan.  Marquee Moon I find boring and over-indulgent.  My favorite Television song is actually “Ain’t That Nothin’” off their second and less critically lauded album, Adventure).

One band I HAVEN’T been able to find anything by is Sniper, who, like the Neon Boys, are remembered mostly because one of their members went on to bigger and better things:  Joey Ramone of the Ramones started his singing career as lead singer of Sniper under the name Jeff Starship.  Sniper played the usual glitter clubs—the Mercer, Max’s, Club 82 and the Coventry—and recorded some demos after Joey left but to my knowledge they didn’t record anything while he was still singing for them.  Nothing seems to be on YouTube presently but my hope is that someone will unearth some footage or tape of them playing, digitize it, and share it with the world.