New York Dolls on Rock Concert - Video

by Dick Mac

In 1972, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert began airing on ABC-TV. It was on late every Friday night, and since this was the era of my introduction to recreational drug use, I was often looking for something to do late at night if I was in the house.

Rock Concert was a godsend! Each week the lineup included yet another remarkable choice of performers. And it wasn't like Hullabaloo or Action or American Bandstand. Rock Concert aired actual live performances by the world's most-popular artists.

A few years later I stopped watching television, but Don Kirshner decided to continue airing the series until 1981. Without me.

I remember watching this New York Dolls concert, but I thought they had performed "Great Big Kiss," the Shangri-Las song that was so often on their set list. Assuming (and I do) that this is the entire set, then they did not perform "Great Big Kiss" on this show. There are three covers in the show: "Stranded In The Jungle" (originally released by The Jayhawks in 1955, and also covered by the cadets in 1956), "Showdown" (originally by Archie Bell & The Drells in 1969), and Sonny Boy Williamson's "Don't You Start Me Talking" (also from 1955).

The other three songs were Dolls' originals: "Chatterbox" from their newly released "In Too Much Too Soon" album, and "Trash," along with the only song of theirs to ever resemble a hit: "Personality Crisis" from their self-titled debut album.

Their entire set is now on the web, for your viewing enjoyment; and there is going to be a box set of the television series.



I found this alphabetical list of performers who appeared on the show at the Don Kirshner site:

10CC
ABBA
AC/DC
Adam & The Ants
Alabama
Peter Allen
Allman Brothers Band
Mark Almond
Amazing Rhythm Aces
Ambrosia
America
Angel
Angel City
Adam Ant
Argent
Joan Armatrading
Arrows
Ashford & Simpson
Atlanta Rhythm Section
Average White Band (w/ Ben E. King)
Hoyt Axton
The Babys (w/ John Waite)
Bad Company
The Bar Kays
The Bay City Rollers
Be-Bop Deluxe
Pat Benatar
George Benson
Chuck Berry (w/ Dau Ingrid)
Frankie Beverly & Maze
Elvin Bishop Group
Stephen Bishop
Black Oak Arkansas
Black Sabbath
Blondie
Bloodstone
Blue Oyster Cult
Blue Suede
Debbie Boone
David Bowie
Boyce and Hart
Brass Construction
Brick
Alicia Bridges
Brooklyn Dreams
The Brothers Johnson
Jackson Browne
Brownsville Station
BT Express
Roy Buchanan
Lindsey Buckingham
Cindy Bullens
Eric Burdon
Billy Burnette
Rocky Burnette
Kate Bush
Cameo
Glen Campbell
Captain & The Tennille
Irene Cara
Kim Carnes
The Cars
Shaun Cassidy
Felix Cavaliere
The Chambers Brothers
Harry, Steve, & Tom Chapin
The Charlie Daniels Band
Cheap Trick
Chic
City Boy
Jimmy Cliff
Linda Clifford
Climax Blues Band
Coke & Vida
Natalie Cole
Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
The Commodores
Con Funk Shun
Alice Cooper
Chick Corea & Return To Forever
Elvis Costello
Randy Crawford
Jim Croce
Dash Crofts
Cross Country Band
Crown Heights Affair
Pablo Cruise
The Crusaders (w/ Randy Crawford/ Robert Guillaume)
Burton Cummings
Roger Daltrey
Sarah Dash
David & Allen Frizzell
David Frizzell & Shelly West
Derringer
Rick Derringer
Desmond Child and Rouge
Devo
Dion
Dirt Band (aka Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
Dixie Dregs
Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart
Donovan
The Doobie Brothers
The Doors
Carol Douglas
Dr. Hook
Dr. John
The Dudek-Finnigan-Krueger Band
The Eagles (w/ Jackson Brown & Linda Ronstadt)
Earth, Wind and Fire
Electric Flag
Electric Light Orchestra
Yvonne Elliman
Emotions
England Dan & John Ford Coley
David Essex
Exile
Fania All Stars
Fanny
Bryan Ferry
Fleetwood Mac
The Floaters
The Flying Burrito Brothers
Focus
Foghat (w/ Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, Eddie Kirkland, John Lee Hooker)
Steve Forbert
Frankie Valli
Fresh Flavor with Richie Havens
Rory Gallagher
Gloria Gaynor Revue (Big Al)
Genesis
Gentle Giant
Andy Gibb
Nick Gilder
Roger Glover
Andrew Gold
Golden Earring
Dale Gonyea
Robert Gordon (w/ Link Wray)
Graham Central Station
Larry Graham
The Grateful Dead
Dobie Gray
Rob Grill
The Group With No Name
Jay Gruska
The Guess Who
Jo Jo Gunne
Hall & Oates
Herbie Hancock
EmmyLou Harris w/ Rodney Crowell & James Burton
John Hartford
Dan & Lisa Hartman
Heart
Heatwave
Dan Hill
Honk
Hot Tuna
Steve Howe (from Yes)
The Hudson Brothers
The Hues Corporation
Ian Hunter
Janis Ian
The Impressions
Isis
The Isley Brothers
Michael Jackson
Millie Jackson
The Jacksons
The James Gang
Rick James & The Stone City Band
Jan & Dean
Waylon Jennings
Jethro Tull
The Jimmy Castor Bunch
Joe Walsh, Don Felder, Glen Frey, Don Henley
Billy Joel
David Johansen
Elton John (w/ KiKi Dee)
Davy Jones
Journey
Judas Priest
Kansas
KC & The Sunshine Band
Eddie Kendricks
Doug Kershaw & Slidin’ Jake
Greg Kihn
Evelyn “Champagne” King
Kiss
Robert Klein
John Klemmer
Gladys Knight & The Pips
Kool & The Gang (w/ J.T.Taylor)
Leo Kottke
LA Jets
Patti LaBelle
Cheryl Ladd
Lake
Nicolette Larson
Le Roux
Led Zeppelin
Ramsey Lewis
Huey Lewis & The News
Little River Band
Loggins and Messina
Lovich, Lene
LTD
Bryon MacGregor
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Melissa Manchester
Mandrill
Chuck Mangione Quartet & (w/ His Big Band)
The Manhattans
Barry Manilow
Barry Mann
Herbie Mann
Manfred Mann
Bob Marley & The Wailers
Marshall Tucker Band
Ricci Martin
Dave Mason
Curtis Mayfield
Maze
C W McCall
Paul McCartney & Wings
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr
John McEuen (w/ Al Garth)
Maureen McGovern
Roger McGuinn
Meat Loaf
John (Cougar) Mellencamp
Sergio Mendes & The New Brazil 77
Michael Stanley’s Super Session
Buddy Miles & The Earth Rockers
Steve Miller Band
Stephanie Mills
Mirabai
Molly Hatchet
Moody Blues
Dorothy Moore
Van Morrison
Mother’s Finest
Mott The Hoople
Maria Muldaur
Michael Martin Murphey
Walter Murphy
Johnny Nash
Natural Four
Natural Gas
Rick Nelson
New Birth
New England
New Riders Of The Purple Sage
Randy Newman
Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta
Maxine Nightingale
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band & Vassar Clements
Gary Numan
The O’Jays
Oak Ridge Boys
The Ohio Players
Mike Oldfield
Tony Orlando
Osibisa
The Outlaws
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Robert Palmer
Graham Parker
The Alan Parsons Project
Peaches & Herb
Al Alan Peterson
Tom Petty & Heartbreakers
Pink Floyd
Player
Poco
Bonnie Pointer
The Police
Jean-Luc Ponty
Billy Preston (w/ Syreeta Preston)
The Pretenders
Alan Price
Prince
Pure Prairie League (w/ Vince Gill)
Queen
Ram Jam
The Ramones
Rare Earth
The Raspberries
Larry Raspberry
Lou Rawls
Chris Rea
Redbone
Lou Reed
Martha Reeves
Renaissance
REO Speedwagon
Johnny Rivers
Smokey Robinson
Vicki Sue Robinson
Johnny Rodriguez
D.J. Rogers
The Rolling Stones
Linda Ronstadt (w/ The Nitty Gritty Dirt)
Rose Royce
Ross
Roxy Music
Rufus with Chaka Khan
Todd Rundgren
Rush
Carol Bayer Sager
Santana
Esther Satterfield & Chuck Mangione
Leo Sayer
Jim Seals (w/ brothers Eddie, England Dan)
Jim Seals&Crofts, Glen Campbell, Doug Kershaw
John Sebastian
The Sex Pistols
Sha Na Na
Silver Convention
Carly Simon
Slade
Sly & The Family Stone
Phoebe Snow
Tom Snow
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
Spanky and Our Gang
Sparks
The Specials
Jimmie Spheeris
The Spinners
Split Enz
Sports
Bruce Springsteen
Squeeze
Chris Squire (from Yes)
Jim Stafford
Stampeders
The Staple Singers
Starbuck
Ruby Starr & Grey Ghost
STARZ
Candi Staton
Span Steeleye
Steppenwolf
Rod Stewart
Stories
Stormin’ Norman And Suzy
The Stylistics
Styx
Donna Summer
Switch
The Sylvers
Sylvester
Syreeta
T. Rex
A Taste Of Honey
Tavares
Livingston Taylor
Bram Tchaikovsky
Ted Nugent
The Temptations
Thin Lizzy
Third World
Three Untouchables
Toto
Tower Of Power
Pete Townsend
The Trammps
John Travolta
The Tremblers (w/Peter Noone)
Tubes
Tanya Tucker
Ike Turner & Tina Revue
Dwight Twilley
U.K.
UFO
Ultravox
The Undisputed Truth
Uriah Heep
Frankie Valli
Van Halen
Van McCoy
Gino Vanelli
Village Idiots (Sketch Comedy Troupe)
The Village People
Joe Walsh
War
Grover Washington Jr.
Weather Report
Tim Weisberg
Bob Welch
Leslie West
Tommy West and Terry Cashman
Wet Willie Band
Wild Cherry
Lenny Williams
Al Wilson
Joey Wilson
Edgar Winter
Johnny Winter
Wishbone Ash
Roy Wood & Wizzard
Link Wray
Betty Wright
Gary Wright
Bill Wyman
Atley Yeager
Jesse Colin Young