Billy Murcia (October 9, 1951 – November 6, 1972) was an American musician who was the original drummer for the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

.Jacobson, Mark
"The Icon: Doll Face"
''

New York (magazine) ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' and ...

'', September 23, 2002. Accessed May 28, 2009. "Then came the sad pictures: Johnny and Jerry, RIP, and Billy Murcia too, their first drummer, a Colombian from Jackson Heights, dead in a London bathtub."

Biography

Murcia was born in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, Colombia, and raised in Jackson Heights, New York, United States. He and

Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain Mizrahi (February 14, 1951 – January 13, 2021), known professionally as Sylvain Sylvain, was a Syrian-American rock guitarist, most notable for being a member of the New York Dolls. Early years Sylvain was born in Cairo, Egypt, to a S ...

both attended Quintano's School for Young Professionals, in the late sixties. It was at Quintano's that they met

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of New York Dolls. He later formed the He ...

, also a student there. They made their musical debut in 1967, in a band called "The Pox". They owned and co-managed a clothing business called "Truth and Soul". Murcia was a fundamental ingredient of the original New York Dolls sound and played during their now-legendary series of weekly shows at the Mercer Arts Center. While on a brief tour of England in 1972, Murcia was invited to a party where he began overdosing on pills similar to

methaqualone Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg me ...

. Rather than calling for an ambulance, most attending the party departed quickly. The few remaining put him into a bathtub and ran the water, where he then drowned. Please Kill Me:The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain, pg. 178-179, Grove Press, New York, 1996 He died before the New York Dolls recorded their first album and was later replaced by Jerry Nolan in 1973. The final gig of their tour, at the Manchester Hardrock, was canceled, and the band flew back to New York City. Murcia can be heard playing live with the New York Dolls on '' Lipstick Killers: The Mercer Street Sessions''.

wrote a song called "Billy Boy", in honor of his friend and former band member. It was recorded on '' Que Sera Sera'' in 1985. The song "

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

", from

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's '' Aladdin Sane'' album, references Murcia and his untimely demise.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murcia, Billy 1951 births 1972 deaths Musicians from Bogotá Colombian rock musicians American punk rock drummers American male drummers Colombian emigrants to the United States People from Jackson Heights, Queens New York Dolls members 20th-century American drummers Accidental deaths in London Deaths from asphyxiation 20th-century American male musicians Drummers from New York City