Jet Boy Explained

Jet Boy
Cover:JetBoySingle.jpg
Type:single
Artist:New York Dolls
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
Producer:Todd Rundgren
Prev Title:Trash'" b/w "Personality Crisis
Prev Year:1973
Next Title:Stranded In The Jungle
Next Year:1974

"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.[2]

The lyrics are simply about a jet boy who stole his baby.[3] 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."[4]

The New York Dolls famously performed "Jet Boy" on The Old Grey Whistle Test on 27 November 1973. Shortly before hitting the stage, Johansen told "Whispering" Bob Harris, host of the programme, that he had "bunny teeth". After the performance, Harris laughingly referred to it as "mock rock."[5]

The original B-side to "Jet Boy" was the love song "Vietnamese Baby," written by David Johansen.[6] 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.[7] (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.[8]

San Francisco-based hard rock band Jetboy is named after the song.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Fletcher, Tony. Tony Fletcher. 2009. All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927–77. registration. W. W. Norton & Company. 978-0393334838. 319. ...the addition of piano and backing vocals helping turn such songs as 'Personality Crisis,' 'Jet Boy,' and 'Trash' into instant glitter rock anthems..
  2. Web site: New York Dolls – New York Dolls. Discogs. 1973.
  3. Web site: Six definitive songs: The ultimate beginner's to New York Dolls. Atreyi Banerji. aroutmagazine.co.uk. 26 January 2021 .
  4. Web site: New York Dolls (Review). Tony Glover. September 13, 1973. Rolling Stone. September 1, 2017. April 14, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140414175635/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/new-york-dolls-19730913. dead.
  5. Web site: The New York Dolls play 'mock rock' on British TV. Stevie Chick. 13 June 2011. The Guardian.
  6. Web site: New York Dolls – Jet Boy. Discogs. 1973.
  7. Book: Taylor, Steve . The A to X of Alternative Music . 0-8264-8217-1 . Continuum . 2006 . 163.
  8. Web site: New York Dolls – Jet Boy. Discogs. 1977.