Rear-View Mirror: The New York Dolls

Every week Rich Terfry looks back in our Rear-view Mirror at a great song from the good ol’ days.

Few bands have been as influential as the New York Dolls. When they first emerged, they made an impression on just about everybody, being named the best and the worst new band of 1973.

Before the New York Dolls came along, musicians basically needed one simple thing to find success in show business. Talent. The Dolls changed that. What the members of the band lacked in musicianship, they made up in charisma and ideas. Their sound was almost impossible to describe. It was a mix of almost everything! And their look was downright shocking in the early '70s. They wore makeup and women's clothing. Now they're regarded as the pioneers of hair metal, inspiring big '80s acts like Mötley Crüe and Poison. Their stage theatrics were also a major influence on KISS.

The spectacle created by the New York Dolls attracted the attention of Malcolm McLaren who got involved in the band's management. He felt image and philosophy were most important and that the music was secondary. His meddling had disastrous consequences and the band broke up. MacLaren retreated to the UK, started the Sex Pistols and changed the world.

New York Dolls front man David Johansen re-invented himself as lounge lizard Buster Poindexter and recorded one of the biggest hits of the '80s, "Hot Hot Hot"

Incidentally, the band was also a major influence another huge figure from the '80s:Morrissey, front man for The Smiths. When he was a teenager, he was president of the band's UK fan club and wrote a book about them.

Here's the band that sent the message that anyone can be a rock star. All you need is personality. The best, and worst, new band of 1973, the New York Dolls with "Personality Crisis."

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Here are some other great editions of Rear-view Mirror:

Modern Lovers "Roadrunner"

George Jones "He Stopped Loving Her Today"

Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA"

The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends"

Rolling Stones 'Miss You'

The Coasters 'Run Red Run'

Elvis Costello, 'Alison'

James Brown, 'Hot (I Need to be loved loved loved)'

Inner Circle, 'Tenement Yard'

Ray Charles, 'I Don't Need No Doctor'

Curtis Mayfield, 'Freddy's Dead'

Gang Starr, 'Beyond Comprehension'

Bo Diddley, 'Bo Diddley'

Aretha Franklin, 'Rocksteady'

CCR, 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain'

Howlin' Wolf, 'Smokestack Lightning'

Bobby Womack, 'Across 110th Street'

Roy Orbison, 'In Dreams'

Foggy Hogtown Boys, 'Man of Constant Sorrow'

Pink Floyd, 'Wish You Were Here'

Neil Young, 'Cortez The Killer'

Bob Dylan, 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'

Little Eva, 'Loco-Motion'

Elvis Costello, 'Watching the Detectives'

Jimmy Cliff, 'The Harder They Come'

The Verve, 'Bittersweet Symphony'

Roberta Flack, 'Killing Me Softly with his Song'

R.E.M., 'Radio Free Europe'

Radiohead, 'No Surprises'

Led Zeppelin, 'Ramble On'

Glen Campbell, 'Wichita Lineman'

Rolling Stones, 'Beast of Burden'

John Cougar Mellencamp, 'Pink Houses'