STRANDED IN THE JUNGLE: JERRY NOLAN’S WILD RIDE

by Valerie Simadis

My latest read ‘Stranded in the Jungle: Jerry Nolan’s Wild Ride’ is an excellent biography on New York Dolls (and later, Heartbreakers) drummer Jerry Nolan. The book, written by Curt Weiss (formerly Lewis King, drummer for Beat Rodeo and the Rockats), provides an in-depth account of Nolan’s life, from his early days as an army brat, to playing drums in Wayne (Jayne) County’s band “Queen Elizabeth”, and eventually in 1972, replacing Billy Murcia as drummer for the New York Dolls. With reminiscent stories told by a cast of characters, the book gives us a glimpse into the life of the ill-fated drummer, and in doing so, captures the essence of the New York City glam scene in the early seventies.

“According to Syl, another deciding factor was what Billy told him: “If anything happens to me, Jerry should be the guy.” So I took that into consideration and shared that with the rest of the boys and they said, “Okay, let’s get Jerry.” I called him up…and I said, “Jerry, welcome to the New York Dolls.” I could tell his tits got hard.” (Excerpt from ‘Stranded in the Jungle: Jerry Nolan’s Wild Ride’’ by Curt Weiss)

Check out Curt’s book on Amazon.com!