The NY Dolls and the Great Cultural Divide

I first saw the Dolls in 1973 on an NBC music show called "The Midnight Special," hosted that particular night by the progressive soul band War When it came time to bring on the boys War's vocalist seemed at a loss for words.

"This next band is a little...uhhhh... different..."

He didn't know what to make of the five guys who dressed in spandex, wore lipstick but acted macho, and sounded like a cruder version of the Stones. And neither did most of us.

When the New York Dolls got started in 1971 rock and roll was starting to show signs of refinement. Time magazine ran a cover story on James Taylor titled "The New Rock: Bittersweet and Mellow." And singer/songwriters like Elton John were doing stuff even our parents liked. The music needed a good kick, and a bunch of largely mediocre musicians led by Staten Island native David Johansen on vocals and guitarist Johnny Thunders were ready to provide it. They looked "like an  exploding thrift shop," as one critic put it and their music was about as organized and sophisticated as their attire. But it was catchy, and refreshingly honest - real rock and roll in a world where pretentious bands like ELO and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were messing with classical riffs.

When the Dolls put out their first album the critics raved, as did the "art crowd." But most of us just weren't ready for them, and the record bombed. An example of how those outside of Max's Kansas City reacted came from a kid who reviewed the album for my Catholic high school's newspaper. He liked their music, but complained of the Dolls' obvious "homosexuality" - something that was not so acceptable back then. Needless to say, there was a lot of gossip about this guy! But what's really amusing is the very idea that he thought the Dolls were gay in the first place. He obviously didn't listen to their lyrics very well. This just shows that many folks out there didn't understand either homosexuality or the Dolls.

Later Malcolm McLaren, former manager for the Sex Pistols, tried promoting the Dolls, one of his gimmicks being having them perform in front of a communist flag. Why he thought this would sell records in America befuddles me, especially since the never-serious Dolls were apolitical. The band continued to do poorly, and broke up in 1977.