A member of the New York Dolls in the early 70’s, an almost mythological band in the world of punk and glam rock, Johnny Thunders was born in New York in 1952.
In the twenty-some years between his breakout as the New York Dolls’ guitarist, and his mysterious death in April of 1991, he influenced countless artists and would be immortalized forever in the Guns N’ Roses song, “So Fine”.
Johnny Thunders born as…John Anthony Gonzalay Jr
Prior to becoming Johnny Thunders, he was born with the name John Anthony Gonzalay Jr. Thunders was raised by his mother and sister. It was the absence of a father that helped him channel his anger into rock ‘n’ roll.
By the age of 16, Thunders took up the bass guitar and started attending shows of bands like The Who and Small Faces.
By 17, Thunders latched onto the Detroit Music scene. It was around this time that Thunders quit bass and picked up guitar.
The New York Dolls Emerge in the Early 70’s
The story of the New York Dolls began in the early 70’s in the East Village of New York with the original lineup consisting of vocalist David Johansen, guitarist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur Kane, drummer Billy Murcia and pianist Sylvain Sylvain.
Billy Murcia Dies in Accidental Drowning
Fashion aside, the band quickly got noticed and would find themselves playing at Wembley Stadium in London, England supporting The Faces, a year later. During that trip, tragedy would strike as drummer Billy Murcia died in an accidental drowning during a party.
Johnny Thunder’s friend Gail Higgins would remember, “Johnny was devastated. He was the closest with Billy and it really upset him. Johnny was very sensitive and loving, very needy and very insecure.”
Lee Black Childers introduced the band to a new drummer named Jerry Nolan who contributed to Thunders getting hooked on heroin. Lee Black Childers remembered, “Johnny and Jerry were one of the great unrequited love affairs. They fought like lovers, broke up like lovers, reunited like lovers.”
As the years went on, Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan became less and less reliable. Vocalist David Johansen remembered how the pair bailed on The Dolls while they were in Florida in 1975, “The problem with addiction is that a person is in a condition. They have their medicine available. So it limits one’s mobility, not to mention the myriad other things it limits. So you can’t travel freely, because you have to be looked after in that department.”
Following the drama that unfolded in Florida, Thunders and Nolan were out of The Dolls with new stand-ins brought in to finish their touring commitments.
Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan Form The Heartbreakers
Thunders and Nolan would form the new band The Heartbreakers with bassist Richard Hell. The band struggled to get much attention from labels given Thunders’ and Nolan’s reputation.
Across the pond, The Heartbreakers got the attention they were craving as Malcolm McLaren who managed The Sex Pistols, offered an opening slot supporting the band. The Heartbreakers agreed and arrived in the UK in December 1976.
The day the Heartbreakers arrived in the UK, the Pistols appeared on the Bill Grundy show for their now infamous Today appearance which saw them use profanity on live TV. Following that appearance, The Pistols made the front pages of the newspapers and offended countless viewers resulting in a majority of their tour being cancelled.
The Heartbreakers soldiered on with whatever gigs were left. Lee Black Childers, who managed the band at this point, recalled, “We were freezing. The Heartbreakers, Sex Pistols and Clash on this rickety old bus. Johnny couldn’t care less, he’s laughing, carrying on. He kept the spirits up on the bus. It was like the old days of vaudeville – the show must go on.”
Johnny Thunders’ drug addiction only worsened with time. The band considered going back to New York, but their manager convinced them to stay in England, thinking they would have a bigger career across the pond. Their prayers would be answered as Track Records offered The Heartbreakers a recording contract after several shows in the UK.
“Walking into the studio was like walking into a crack house.” – Leee Black Childers
Throughout most of 1977, The Heartbreakers called London their home and recorded their album L.A.M.F. The record was hampered by mixing issues that lasted months and months and ultimately forced the demise of the band, with the band’s manager remembering, “That mix can be completely laid at the door of Jerry Nolan. He went into this kind of control-freak thing, where he had to mix it but everyone was stoned. Walking into the studio was like walking into a crack house. I should have gotten a gun and shot a couple of them dead.”
Nolan would form his own band, The Idols, which would make a name for themselves back home in New York. The Heartbreakers limped along but Thunders was devastated by Nolan’s departure.
“Johnny was impossible to work with because he had another job that was more important.” – Wayne Kramer
Johnny Thunders eventually found his way back to the US and hooked up with one of his idol’s, MC5’s Wayne Kramer to form the short lived project, Gang War. Kramer remembered, “Johnny was impossible to work with because he had another job that was more important. It’s the way addiction works – you can’t do anything until you cop. I thought I could fix it. And of course I can’t fix anyone but Wayne. And I can hardly even fix Wayne myself.”
The group released a series of demos and played a handful of shows but that was it. Adding to Johnny’s stress, his wife Julie left with their children and he never saw them again.
“He was walking death.” – Joe Perry
Things only worsened for Johnny Thunders by the 80’s. Guitarist Joe Perry remembered, “He was walking death. Every time I ran into him, he was desperately trying to get from hour to hour. You’d hear that he’d tried to clean up and then he’d be back living on the street again.”
Something profound finally happened for Thunders. He seemed to find a new father figure in German Entrepreneur, Christopher Giercke. He met Thunders in 1981 and helped him rebuild his shattered life. It was also around this time that a new woman found her way into Johnny’s life, a Swedish hairdresser named Susanne Blomqvist.
He went to see a doctor once and they took some tests, and something changed…” – Susanne Blomqvist
By 1987, Thunders got a second chance at being a father with the birth of his child, Jamie Ganzale. Shortly after his daughter’s birth, Johnny Thunders was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Blomqvist remembered, “We separated when Jamie was one-and-a-half years old, and he moved back to New York. I drove him out to the airport, we said goodbye, and I knew I was never going to see him again. He went to see a doctor once and they took some tests, and something changed…”
Johnny Thunders wouldn’t let the life-altering diagnosis change his musical ambitions. Thunders toured in the last year of his life with the band, The Oddballs.
Johnny Thunders Found Dead in New Orleans
Johnny Thunders was found dead in St. Peter’s House, New Orleans on the afternoon of April 23, 1991 at 38 years old. The Coroner’s report claimed the cause of death was drug-related as methadone and cocaine was found in his system, but many people have expressed doubts over this conclusion.
Some people think foul play was involved in Thunders’ death, while others believed he may have succumbed to his cancer. The police supposedly found methadone and cocaine in his room, but Thunders’ manager at the time, Mick Webster, claimed there was no trace of methadone or any other drugs in his system.
There were reports of several men coming into Thunders’ room the night before. His belongings, including cash, his passport and his clothes were stolen.
The coroner who did the autopsy on Johnny Thunders would be later fired for falsifying a report in another case. There were also other news reports that the level of substances in his system was not considered fatal.
According to the autobiography, Lobotomy: Surviving The Ramones, Dee Dee Ramone was called by Stevie Klasson, Johnny’s rhythm guitar player with Ramone remembering, “They told me that Johnny had gotten mixed up with some bastard who ripped him off for his methadone supply. They had given him LSD and then murdered him.”
“He was a very ill man by the time he got to New Orleans and I’m totally convinced that he died of natural causes.” – Danny Garcia
Danny Garcia, who wrote and directed the documentary, Looking for Johnny, told punkglobe.com in a 2015 interview, “He was a very ill man by the time he got to New Orleans and I’m totally convinced that he died of natural causes. I read the other day somewhere he died of a methadone and cocaine overdose and that’s BS. But, since it’s still a mysterious drug-related death, and two guys that were with him when he died stole all his belongings, of course, people go for the sensationalistic theories before looking at the evidence. Murder sells more than dying of natural causes, that’s for sure.”
Thunders’ sister confirmed that the autopsy did find evidence of advanced leukemia. Thunders apparently knew about his cancer diagnosis, but kept it mostly to himself. His former bandmate drummer Jerry Nolan said he tried to get his bandmate and friend to see a doctor and claimed that Thunders had a medical phobia and refused to go to a hospital for treatment.
Almost a year after Thunders passed away, his longtime friend Nolan would also pass.
In 1994 in an interview with Melody Maker, Thunders’ manager revealed that his family tried to get the New Orleans police to reopen the investigation, but they have been unwilling to do so.
Like this story? Check out The Mysterious Death of Bon Scott
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Johnny was a very nice man. I knew him and the Dolls socially at clubs like Max’s and Nobody’s. I left NYC in 1974, mainly because I was so disheartened by the influx of hard drugs in the music scene.. I saw a lot of famous people with great careers ahead of them lose everything to drug addiction and it was alarming. I saw him about a decade later, when he came out to San Francisco to gig, and it was nice that he remembered me and he said hello. I was very saddened that he died so young. RIP, Johnny.