Sylvain Mizrahi, better known as Sylvain Sylvain, songwriter and founding member of the NEW YORK DOLLS, has died at the age of 69.
The news of his passing was confirmed by former PATTI SMITH GROUP guitarist Lenny Kaye, who wrote: “Sylvain Sylvain, the heart and soul of the NEW YORK DOLLS, bearer of the Teenage News, passed into his next astral incarnation on Wednesday, January 13, 2021.
“Syl loved rock and roll. His onstage joy, his radiant smile as he chopped at his guitar, revealed the sense of wonder he must have felt at the age of 10, emigrating from his native Cairo with his family in 1961, the ship pulling into New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time. {…} Thank you Sylvain x 2, for your heart, belief, and the way you whacked that E chord. Sleep Baby Doll”.
In April 2019, a fundraising campaign was launched for Sylvain, who revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer.
R.I.P.
