Page "Punk rock" Paragraph 31

The origins of New York's punk rock scene can be traced back to such sources as late 1960s trash culture and an early 1970s underground rock movement centered on the Mercer Arts Center in Greenwich Village, where the New York Dolls performed.

In early 1974, a new scene began to develop around the CBGB club, also in lower Manhattan.

At its core was Television, described by critic John Walker as " the ultimate garage band with pretensions ".

Their influences ranged from the Velvet Underground to the staccato guitar work of Dr. Feelgood's Wilko Johnson.

The band's bassist / singer, Richard Hell, created a look with cropped, ragged hair, ripped T-shirts, and black leather jackets credited as the basis for punk rock visual style.

In April 1974, Patti Smith, a member of the Mercer Arts Center crowd and a friend of Hell's, came to CBGB for the first time to see the band perform.

A veteran of independent theater and performance poetry, Smith was developing an intellectual, feminist take on rock ' n ' roll.

On June 5, she recorded the single " Hey Joe "/" Piss Factory ", featuring Television guitarist Tom Verlaine ; released on her own Mer Records label, it heralded the scene's do it yourself ( DIY ) ethic and has often been cited as the first punk rock record.

By August, Smith and Television were gigging together at another downtown New York club, Max's Kansas City.