Forgive me, Slog Out, I’ve obviously been dragging my sweet bottom when it comes to hollerin’ about the release of this Johnny Thunders documentary DVD, Looking for Johnny: The Legend of Johnny Thunders.
There’s such legend surrounding New York Dolls/Heartbreakers guitarist, Johnny Thunders, and this film does do a great job of telling his story; director Danny Garcia keeps it all above the belt, mostly. Y’all need to watch the film for all the dirty details, but, in short, Thunders’ story is a (Chinese) rock(s) and roll life of touch and go till 1991, when he was found dead in a motel room (perhaps of an overdose) from undiagnosed leukemia.
There’s a LOT of cultural impact behind Thunders. I’d say his biggest footprint was admittedly not by design, but rather by accident, as the New York Dolls became the cornerstone ’70s punk archetype. There’s little doubt that without the Dolls, Malcolm McLaren would have never put the Sex Pistols together—and then there’s the Heartbreakers.