Who Were In The New York Dolls?

The New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in the early seventies; though the group enjoyed moderate success they are supposed to be the forerunners of the punk rock era that was going to dominate most of the late seventies.  

The band was formed in New York City in 1971 and the original line up comprised of David Johansen, the lead singer, Johnny Thunders and Rick Rivets, the guitarists, Arthur 'Killer' Kane, the bassist and Billy Murcia, the drummer; Rivets was replaced by Sylvain Sylvain within a few months of the band's formation; Murcia died tragically from a drug overdose in 1972 and was succeeded by Jerry Nolan.

In 1975 the group was on the verge of being disbanded when Nolan and Thunders left the group followed by Kane; the band officially disbanded in 1977. The New York Dolls came together again in 2004 and the current line up comprises Johansen and Sylvain, Steve Conte (guitarist), Sammi Yaffa (bassist), Brian Delaney (drummer) and Brian Koonin (keyboardist).