Johnny Thunders

Johnny Thunders, born John Anthony Genzale, Jr (July 15, 1952 - April 23, 1991), was an American rock and roll guitarist and singer, first with the New York Dolls, the proto-punk glam rockers of the early '70s. During the late '70s, he was a familiar figure on the New York punk scene, both with The Heartbreakers and as a solo artist.

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• A lot of people don't think they can count on me, but I've never missed a gig in my life.

• A lot of people take me seriously because of the things they read about me. Maybe they wanted to sell more records.

• A lot of people want to die for a lot of reasons.

• Heroin doesn't affect my musical life at all.

• I always get harassed by the police.

• I don't eat cereal actually... Frosted Flakes... that's as close as I can get.

• I met Sable when she was 15 and I was 18. I sent her home to New York while we carried on the tour. When we got back the police were looking for her at the airport and everywhere!

• I take smack because I enjoy it. I enjoy all it makes me feel. I don't do it to be in with the in crowd. I can rock out with it.

• I was in Sweden for 10 days. They put me on the front page of the daily papers eight days in a row. I did nothing to warrant any of the attention. It was ridiculous!

• I wouldn't change a thing -- except my bank balance.

• I'm gonna try to be cured. I've been on heroin eight years and I want to try a different style of life. It made me split up from my wife. It ruined a lot of things for me.

• I've got three boys. They look like me. They're called Dino, Guido and Little Johnny. They're my whole life. They mean more to me than music.

• I've never been so happy in my life.

• It went out in Paris that I died three times. It was in all the papers. Your guess is as good as mine where it came from.

• It's something I have no regrets about, but it's not something that I'll do forever.

• Many people love me, many people hate me - there's nobody in between. That's the way I prefer it.

• Me and Jerry left because we felt we weren't getting anywhere playing our old songs in tiny clubs. The group was getting stale and staying behind the times.

• No one really knows me. People think they know me.

• The Lower East Side is really heavy nowadays. A lot of murders, people getting ripped off and knifed. It's really dangerous.

• The Dolls were an attitude. If nothing else they were a great attitude.
• We did a TV show and they thought I was too messed up and wouldn't show it. That started the ball rolling with the press. They started following me.

• We get picked up in these Rolls Royces and get three miles down the highway and five cop cars pull us over.

• We'll establish ourselves here, get a reputation, and then go back to the States and see if they've grown up a little.

• What does the industry understand?