Sylvain Sylvain, guitarist for the New York Dolls, dies at 69
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Barney Britton/Redferns Sylvain Sylvain
New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. He was 69.
His wife, Wanda O'Kelley Mizrahi, announced the news in a Facebook post on Thursday.
"As most of you know, Sylvain battled cancer for the past two and 1/2 years. Though he fought it valiantly, yesterday he passed away from this disease," she wrote. "While we grieve his loss, we know that he is finally at peace and out of pain. Please crank up his music, light a candle, say a prayer, and let's send this beautiful doll on his way."
The New York Dolls' self-titled 1973 debut album, as well as their 1974 sophomore effort, Too Much Too Soon, became acclaimed and influential punk rock records. Although short-lived, the band went on to influence groups like Guns N' Roses, the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and the Smiths, whose frontman Morrissey helped reunite the surviving band members for a 2004 festival.
Born Sylvain Mizrahi on Feb. 14, 1951, in Cairo, Egypt, the musician and his family lived in France before settling in New York. He contributed guitar, piano, and vocals to the New York Dolls' first two albums, and after the band's breakup, released his first solo album in 1979, and churned out music into the 1990s. After the Dolls reunited in 2004, Sylvain appeared on the band's final three albums: One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This in 2006, Cause I Sez So in 2009, and Dancing Backward in High Heels in 2011.
In an appreciation shared by Sylvain's wife, musician Lenny Kaye wrote that Sylvain was "the heart and soul of the New York Dolls."
"His role in the band was as lynchpin, keeping the revolving satellites of his bandmates in precision," Kaye wrote. "Though he tried valiantly to keep the band going, in the end the Dolls' moral fable overwhelmed them, not before seeding an influence that would engender many rock generations yet to come.
"In his solo lifeline, he was welcomed all over the world, from England to Japan, but most of all the rock dens of New York City, which is where I caught up with him a couple of years ago at the Bowery Electric," he continued. "Still Syl. His corkscrew curls, tireless bounce, exulting in living his dream, asking the crowd to sing along, and so we will. His twin names, mirrored, becomes us."
He concluded: "Thank you Sylvain x 2, for your heart, belief, and the way you whacked that E chord. Sleep Baby Doll."
Sylvain first revealed his cancer diagnosis in 2019, and his wife organized a GoFundMe to raise money for his treatment.
"My best friend for so many years," the New York Dolls' David Johansen wrote on Instagram. "I can still remember the first time I saw him bop into the rehearsal space/bicycle shop with his carpetbag and guitar straight from the plane after having been deported from Amsterdam, I instantly loved him. I'm gonna miss you old pal. I'll keep the home fires burning. au revoir Syl mon vieux copain."
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