Johnny Thunders - Live in Japan (2017)

John Anthony Genzale was born in Queens, New York City in 1952. His childhood reads like an excerpt from a Martin Scorsese film: the altar boy in catholic church, excelled at baseball and showed as little interest in school as he could get away with. Meanwhile, he listened to his older sister’s pop records and played bass guitar in local bands.
In 1969, he spent three months in Europe immersing himself in the vibrant music scene there. Returning to the States, Johnny learning guitar from Sylvain Sylvain, formed a band Actress with him, Billy Murcia and Arthur Kane. With line-up changes their name also changed to The New York Dolls. Johnny Genzale had also adopted a new guise. Taking inspiration from a comic book, he would now be known as Johnny Thunders.