New York Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain died of cancer on Wednesday. The news was confirmed on his official Facebook page with a tribute written by Lenny Kaye. He was 69.
In April 2019, Sylvain revealed that he had been battling cancer for the past year. He launched a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of covering medical costs associated with his treatment.
Sylvain Sylvain was born Sylvain Mizrahi in Cairo. Sylvain’s family fled Egypt after dealing with anti-Semitism and ended up in New York after a short stay in Paris. He joined the New York Dolls in 1972 after befriending the band’s original drummer, Billy Murcia at his Queens school. Sylvain contributed guitar, piano and vocals on The Dolls’ first two albums, 1973’s New York dolls and 1974’s Too much too soon.
Sylvain embarked on a solo career after joining New York Dolls, and released his eponymous debut album in 1979. He recorded numerous albums as a solo artist through the late 1990s. When the New York Dolls got back together, Sylvain appeared on their latest albums One day it will please us to remember even this (2006), Cause I Sez So (2009), ed Dance backwards in high heels (2011).