“Personality Crisis” by New York Dolls

"Personality Crisis" kicks off the New York Dolls' self-titled 1973 debut, and it's the whole band in one blast: a song by singer David Johansen and guitarist Johnny Thunders, with Todd Rundgren producing. Mercury put it out that year as a double A-side with "Trash" to coincide with the album, and sent promo copies to radio for good measure. Jack Douglas, who engineered the record, named it his favorite thing on it; Tony Fletcher later called it an instant glitter-rock anthem, and David Szatmary heard dynamic, anthemic protopunk.

The Dolls fell apart, but the song kept coming back. Bellaphon reissued it in 1978 as a double A-side with "Looking for a Kiss", Kamera put it on a 12-inch in 1982, and an early demo surfaced on the 1981 collection Lipstick Killers – The Mercer Street Sessions 1972.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.