Rolling Stone New York Dolls Guitarist Sylvain Sylvain Dead at 69
“His role in the band was as lynchpin, keeping the revolving satellites of his bandmates in precision,” Lenny Kaye writes of pioneering musician who had been battling cancer
By Matt Kent/WireImage
Sylvain Sylvain, the punk icon and guitarist for New York Dolls whose riffs bridged the gap between punk and glam, died Wednesday. He was 69. His wife, Wanda O’Kelley Mizrahi, confirmed the musician’s death to
Rolling Stone.
“As most of you know, Sylvain battled cancer for the past two and half years,” O’Kelley Mizrahi wrote in a statement on his Facebook page. “Though he fought it valiantly, yesterday he passed away from this disease. 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.”
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.”