New York Dolls consists of Arthur Kane, David Johansen, Jerry Nolan, Johnny Thunders, Sylvain Sylvain.
The New York Dolls are a rock music group formed in New York City in 1971.
They found little success during their lifetime, 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 hair metal groups, and their shambling, sloppy but highly energetic playing style set the tone for many later rock and roll bands.
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.
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 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.
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 camp and kitsch that retains a menacing, malevolent edge." .