Editing Johnny Thunders (section)

==Early life and career==
[[File:New York Dolls - TopPop 1973 02.png|thumb|left|Johnny Thunders (front center) with the rest of the [[New York Dolls]] on the [[TopPop]] television program, Netherlands, 1973.]]
Thunders was born John Anthony Genzale in [[Queens]], New York, the second child of Josephine Genzale (née Nicoletti, 1923–1999) and Emil Genzale (1923–1982), both of Italian descent (Neapolitan/Sicilian). Thunders had an older sister, Mariann (1946–2009).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor-first=Colin|editor-last=Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|location=New York City|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=1180}}</ref> He first lived in [[East Elmhurst, Queens|East Elmhurst]] and then [[Jackson Heights, Queens|Jackson Heights]].<ref name=":0">{{citation|url=http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/book_johnnythunders.php |title=Johnny Thunders – In Cold Blood |first=Nina|last=Antonia |publisher=Cherry Red Records |access-date=August 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125064817/http://www.cherryred.co.uk/books/book_johnnythunders.php |archive-date=January 25, 2010 |author-link=Nina Antonia}}</ref>

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,<ref name=":0" /> around the corner from [[Carnegie Hall]], on 56th Street near 7th Avenue.

In 1968, he began going to the [[Fillmore East]] and [[Bethesda Terrace and Fountain|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 brothers]]' film ''[[Gimme Shelter (1970 film)|Gimme Shelter]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rockandrollparadise.com/johnny-thunders-41991/|title=Punker Johnny Thunder Dies from Overdose after Leukemia Diagnosis|date=May 13, 2016|website=Rockandrollparadise.com|access-date=January 13, 2021}}</ref>

Dolls bass guitarist [[Arthur "Killer" Kane]] later wrote about Thunders's guitar sound, as he described arriving outside the rehearsal studio where they were meeting to jam together for the first time: "I heard someone playing a guitar [[riff]] that I myself didn't know how to play. It was raunchy, nasty, rough, raw, and untamed. I thought it was truly inspired&nbsp;...", adding, "His sound was rich and fat and beautiful, like a voice."<ref name="KaneKane2009">{{cite book|first1=Arthur |last1=Kane|authorlink1=Arthur "Killer" Kane|first2=Barbara|last2=Kane|title=I, Doll: Life and Death With the New York Dolls|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8WqcRw9zzwC&pg=PA5|access-date=May 14, 2012|date=August 1, 2009|publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|isbn=978-1-55652-941-2|pages=5–6}}</ref>

The New York Dolls were signed to [[Mercury Records]], with the help of [[A & R]] man [[Paul Nelson (critic)|Paul Nelson]]. Thunders recorded two albums with the band, ''[[New York Dolls (album)|New York Dolls]]'' and'' [[Too Much Too Soon (album)|Too Much Too Soon]]''.<ref name="Larkin"/> They were managed by [[Marty Thau]], and booked by Leber & Krebs. Subsequently, they worked with [[Malcolm McLaren]] for several months, later becoming a prototype for the [[Sex Pistols]].

In 1975, Thunders and drummer [[Jerry Nolan]] left the band;<ref name="Larkin"/> Thunders later blamed McLaren for the band's demise.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rte.ie/archives/2020/0326/1126518-johnny-thunders/|title=New York Doll 1990|date=26 April 1990 |website=RTÉ Archives |access-date=9 September 2020}}</ref> The Dolls' lead singer [[David Johansen]] and guitarist [[Sylvain Sylvain]] continued playing, along with Peter Jordan, Tony Machine (an ex-assistant agent at Leber & Krebs) and [[Chris Robison]], as the New York Dolls until late 1976.