Johnny Thunders
| Johnny Thunders | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Anthony Genzale Jr |
| Born |
July 15, 1952 Queens, New York, US |
| Died | April 23, 1991 (aged 38) New Orleans, Louisiana, US |
| Genres | Rock & roll, punk rock, glam rock, glam punk, protopunk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass guitar |
| Associated acts | New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Les Paul Junior, Gibson Les Paul Special | |
John Anthony Genzale Jr. (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), better known by his stage name Johnny Thunders, was an American rock and roll/punk rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with The Heartbreakers and as a solo artist.
Thunders was born John Anthony Genzale, Jr. in Queens, New York, where he first lived in East Elmhurst and then Jackson Heights.
His first musical performance was in the winter of 1967 with The Reign. Shortly thereafter, he played with Johnny and the Jaywalkers, under the name Johnny Volume, at Quintano's School for Young Professionals, around the corner from Carnegie Hall, on 56th Street near 7th Avenue.
In 1968 he began going to the Fillmore East and Bethesda Fountain in Central Park on weekends. His older sister, Mariann, started styling his hair like Keith Richards. In late 1969 he got a job as a sales clerk at D'Naz leather shop, on Bleecker Street in the West Village, and started trying to put a band together. He and his girlfriend, Janis Cafasso, went to see The Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden in November 1969, and they appear in the Maysles' film, Gimme Shelter.
In London, after the Isle of Wight Festival, the following summer, his girlfriend Janis fell sick and they flew home. Back in NYC from the UK, toward the end of 1970, he started hanging out at Nobodys, a club also on Bleecker Street in the West Village. It was near there that he met future Dolls Arthur Kane and Rick Rivets. He joined their band Actress, which later, after firing Rivets and adding David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain and Billy Murcia, became the New York Dolls. It was then that he adopted the stage name "Johnny Thunders", inspired by a comic book hero.
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