Rick Rivets News Today

Dressed like street hustling tarts, with painted faces, the New York Dolls invented their own gang-like drag aesthetic

The New York Dolls, American band whose raw brand of glam rock revitalized the New York City underground music scene in the 1970s, foreshadowing punk rock by half a decade. The members were lead singer David Johansen (b. January 9, 1950, New York, New York, U.S.), lead guitarist Johnny Thunders (byname of John Genzale; b. July 15, 1952, New York—d. April 23, 1991, New Orleans, Louisiana), drummer Billy Murcia (b. 1951, New York—d. November 6, 1972, London, England), guitarist Sylvain Sylvai...

Sylvain Sylvain, New York Dolls Guitarist, Dies at 69 Sylvain Sylvain, the guitarist for the proto-punk band New York Dolls, died on Jan. 13 at the age of 69. A message was posted to his personal Facebook page. "As most of you know, Sylvain battled cancer for the past two and 1/2 years," it read. "Though he fought it valiantly, yesterday he passed away from this disease. While we grieve his loss, we know that he is finally at peace and out of pain. Please crank up his music, light a candle, say...