Jet Boy
"Jet Boy" is the closing track and second 7" single from New York Dolls' self titled debut album. It was written by Dolls lead singer David Johansen and guitarist Johnny Thunders.
| "Jet Boy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by New York Dolls | ||||
| from the album New York Dolls | ||||
| B-side | "Vietnamese Baby" | |||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Recorded | April 1973 | |||
| Studio | Record Plant | |||
| Genre | Glam rock,[1] punk rock | |||
| Length | 4:42 | |||
| Label | Mercury Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | David Johansen and Johnny Thunders | |||
| Producer(s) | Todd Rundgren | |||
| New York Dolls singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| New York Dolls performing "Jet Boy" on The Old Grey Whistle Test on YouTube | ||||
The lyrics are simply about a jet boy who stole his baby.[2] There is little explanation as to what a jet boy is other than to say that he flies around New York City. Tony Glover of Rolling Stone described the song as "Marvel Comics meets the Lower East Side."[3]
The New York Dolls famously performed "Jet Boy" on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 27 November 1973. After their performance, "Whispering" Bob Harris, host of the programme, laughingly referred to the performance as "mock rock."[4]
The original B-side to "Jet Boy" was the love song "Vietnamese Baby," written by David Johansen. According to journalist Steve Taylor, "Vietnamese Baby" dealt with the impact of the Vietnam War at the time on everyday activities for people, whose fun was undermined by thoughts of collective guilt.[5] (Sample lyrics: "Catch me your slaves, shot at/Every rifle on the way and I gotta/Show you more mustard gas than any girl ever seen/Since I been blasted, I've been blown, I've been backing away/You've got to back it away/You've got to take a search of values/Yeah, But I've got a concert out to play") Album producer Todd Rundgren played synthesizers on the track.
"Jet Boy" b/w "Babylon" and "Who Are the Mystery Girls" (both from Too Much Too Soon) were released by Mercury Records in the UK in 1977.
San Francisco-based hard rock band Jetboy is named after the song.
References
- Fletcher, Tony (2009). All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927–77. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 319. ISBN 978-0393334838.
...the addition of piano and backing vocals helping turn such songs as 'Personality Crisis,' 'Jet Boy,' and 'Trash' into instant glitter rock anthems.
- Atreyi Banerji (26 January 2021). "Six definitive songs: The ultimate beginner's to New York Dolls". aroutmagazine.co.uk.
- Tony Glover (September 13, 1973). "New York Dolls (Review)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- Stevie Chick (13 June 2011). "The New York Dolls play 'mock rock' on British TV". The Guardian.
- Taylor, Steve (2006). The A to X of Alternative Music. Continuum. p. 163. ISBN 0-8264-8217-1.