Sylvain Sylvain, New York Dolls Cofounder, Dies at 69
Guitarist announced he had cancer in 2019Ross A. Lincoln and Margeaux Sippell | January 14, 2021 @ 7:53 PM
Last Updated: January 14, 2021 @ 8:08 PM
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Sylvain Sylvain, the guitarist who was a founding member of the pioneering rock group New York Dolls, died Wednesday following a battle with cancer. He was 69.
His death was announced Thursday; In a statement, his friend, Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye wrote in part that “Syl loved rock and roll. His onstage joy, his radiant smile as he chopped at his guitar, revealed the sense of wonder he must have felt at the age of 10, emigrating from his native Cairo with his family in 1961, the ship pulling into New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time.”