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The New York Dolls, during and after their all-too brief existence, were a huge influence on David Bowie and Mott the Hoople, KISS and Aerosmith, Guns n’ Roses and M?tley Cr?e; when they toured England under the supervision of punk impresario Malcolm McLaren, they indirectly caused the formation of the Sex Pistols. Their bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane died suddenly at age 55 in 2004, but he left behind not only the Dolls’ timeless music--and their many thousands of fans and friends--but this memoir of the Dolls’ early years. Arthur Kane was playing bass for the New York Dolls before there even was a New York Dolls. Along with guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Billy Murcia, he founded the band in 1971. The next year they added guitarist Sylvain Sylvain and singer David Johansen--at which point they became famous at Max’s Kansas City, rubbed elbows with Andy Warhol and Lou Reed, recorded two landmark albums, unwittingly invented the thing we now call punk rock, and generally lived up to their slogan “Too Much, Too Soon.” I, Doll covers in detail the first sixteen months of the Dolls’ time on earth, from Kane’s first meeting with Thunders to Murcia’s tragic death in London. To read it is to revisit a glorious, glamorous era of high drama (drug busts and brawls with bouncers) and low comedy (how Kane locked himself out of his studio one winter night while in full Dolls drag and tripping on LSD). This distinctive and extroverted memoir of an undisciplined showman is supplemented with a foreword and epilogue by Kane’s widow, Barbara, bringing his full story to light. Never has there been a rock’n’roll memoir like this one--a book that captures the music, the style, and the life in all its foolhardy glory.
E-Book Content
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I, Doll
I, Doll eath D d n a e f i L w i t h t h e l ls Do New York arthur “killer” k
foreword and ep
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An A Cappella Book
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kane, Arthur, 1949–2004. I, doll : life and death with the New York Dolls / Arthur Killer Kane ; foreword and epilogue by Barbara Kane. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-55652-941-2 (hardcover) 1. Kane, Arthur, 1949-2004. 2. New York Dolls (Musical group) 3. Rock musicians—United States—Biography. I. Title. ML421.N52K36 2006 782.42166092—dc22 [B] 2009002805
Interior design: Sarah Olson © 2009 by Arthur Kane Foreword and Epilogue © 2009 by Barbara Kane All rights reserved Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated 814 North Franklin Street Chicago, Illinois 60610 ISBN 978-1-55652-941-2 Printed in the United States of America 5 4 3 2 1
Contents Publisher’s Note · vii Foreword by Barbara Kane · ix acknowledgments · xi
1 13 · Rusty Beanie’s Bicycle Shop 3 27 · The Dana Beal Yippie Benefit 5 41 · Costume Factory Flap 7 61 · Max’s First Happy Hour 9 71 · Fiasco Fourteen 11 85 · Suicide in the Blue Room 13 93 · Martians in Manhattan? 15 107 · Hail Britannia! 17
1 · Sunday in the Park
2
Nobody’s from Nowhere · 9
4
Hotel Ozone · 21
6
Trouser Splitting with Diplomacy · 33
8
Chaos on Chrystie · 53
10 Death Contract · 67 12 New York Doll Museum · 77 14 Man’s Country · 89 16 Dancin’ with Mr. D. · 99 18 Escape from New York · 115
19 127 · Speakeasy While Smashed 21 139 · Liverpool or Bust! 23 149 · Let It Rock! 25 159 · Floating in Wembley Pool 27 173 · Who’s Guy Fawkes Bash 29 187 · Some Gave All 31 121 · Escape from Escape Studios
20 Escape to London · 123 22 To Hull and Back · 135 24 Good Morning, Leeds · 145 26 Coals to Newcastle · 153 28 Lord Montagu’s Party · 167 30 His Majesty’s Request · 181
Epilogue by Barbara Kane · 193 Editor’s Notes · 229 Index · 233
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