Frankenstein is a song by American rock band the New York Dolls, released on July 27, 1973, by Mercury Records as part of their major-label album that tanked (much like The Velvet Underground and The Stooges, although these bands’ influence was long felt afterwards).
The band formed in 1971 and developed a cult following while playing regularly in lower Manhattan. However, they were unappealing to most record companies because of their onstage cross-dressing and gloriously trashy attitude.
The original New York Dolls eventually imploded amidst legendary drug binges and panic management by Malcolm McLaren. The Sex Pistols (“New York”) and Lords of the New Church (“Lil Boys Play with Dolls”) subsequently referenced the New York Dolls in negative and positive ways…
Lyrics:
Something must have happened over Manhattan
Who can expound all the children this time
Could they ever, could they ever
Expect such a Frankenstein, Frankenstein
I remember when you were jammin’
You worked at ’em and any of them
There was never nothing you would ever understand
But you know who was there to be your master
Making his demands and plans
As though he’s making his friends
And when those plans they don’t mix your style
You get a feeling of your own ordeal
That’s when he starts calling you, wow
Bud, you just don’t know what to do
So now you come around here
