The Dictators are an American punk rock band formed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1973. Critic John Dougan said that they were "one of the finest and most influential

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...

bands to walk the earth."

Origins

The band was formed in 1972 by Andy "Adny" Shernoff, who was attending

the State University of New York at New Paltz The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz or New Paltz) is a public university in New Paltz (village), New York, New Paltz, New York (state), New York. It traces its origins to the New Paltz Classical School, a Secondary educ ...

, and

Ross "The Boss" Friedman Ross Friedman (born January 3, 1954), also known as Ross the Boss, is a guitarist, known as a founding member of both the punk band the Dictators, and the heavy metal band Manowar. History Friedman was born in the Bronx, New York, and formed t ...

who was playing in a local band called Total Crudd. Scott "Top Ten" Kempner was asked to join, and the trio rented a house in Kerhonkson, New York, where they lived and rehearsed with various drummers. The original recording line-up consisted of vocalist/bassist/songwriter

Andy Shernoff Andy Shernoff (born April 19, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member of The Dictators, one of the original New York punk bands, in which he wrote nearly all of the songs, played bass guitar and k ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

ist Ross Friedman (aka Ross Funicello),

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

ist Scott Kempner, and

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

Stu Boy King. It was this line-up–along with roadie/occasional vocalist and "Secret Weapon" Handsome Dick Manitoba–which recorded the band's 1975 debut album, ''The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!'' for

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, produced by Sandy Pearlman and

Murray Krugman Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

(best known for their work with Blue Öyster Cult). The album sold poorly at the time but is now considered to be the starting point for American punk rock . ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' wrote "Go Girl Crazy's junk-generation culture and smart-aleck sensibility did provide an essential blueprint for '70s punk. With its TV references and homely vocals, this ground-breaking and long-unavailable album continues to inspire underground groups everywhere." Steven Beeber argued that this all-Jewish band was an early musical expression in rock music of the New York sarcasm and toughness found among this alienated population, who significantly contributed to punk rock (humor of

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic a ...

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

Hilly Kristal Hillel Kristal (September 23, 1931August 28, 2007) was an American club owner, manager and musician who was the owner of the iconic New York City club CBGB, which opened in 1973 and closed in 2006 over a rent dispute. Early years Kristal was bor ...

founder of CBGB's, Danny Fields, the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

) Frustrated by the lack of sales, the band broke up for a few months in late 1975, but reconvened in early 1976, with bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza replacing Shernoff and Ritchie Teeter replacing King. After a few months Shernoff was persuaded to return to the group as the group's keyboardist. This line-up soon secured a contract with Asylum Records (at least partly due to the notoriety the group had developed following a well-publicized brawl between Manitoba and Jayne County) and released their second album, ''

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special vir ...

'', in 1977. The album was produced by Pearlman and Krugman with songs written by Shernoff. Early in 1978, Mendoza had left the band (he soon joined

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...

), and Shernoff had returned to his original position on bass guitar. It was this line-up of Manitoba, Shernoff, Friedman, Kempner, and Teeter which recorded '' Bloodbrothers'' (yet again produced by Pearlman and Krugman with songs written by Shernoff). It was the first album to feature Manitoba as the group's vocalist on all the songs, though

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

–a big fan of the group to this day–can be heard counting "1-2-1-2-3-4" during the album's opening track, "Faster and Louder." The album's "Baby, Let's Twist" was a minor hit on a number of East Coast

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

s, but the lack of mainstream success caused the band to split again the following year. Shortly before the split, drummer Mel Anderson had left Twisted Sister and joined The Dictators, replacing Teeter.

1980s

After the break-up, Manitoba drove a taxi cab, Shernoff worked as a record producer and songwriter and Friedman worked first with the French

hard-rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band Shakin' Street, then became a founding member of

Manowar Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as ...

in 1982 (with whom he recorded the band's first six albums, leaving the band after the 1988 album ''

Kings of Metal ''Kings of Metal'' is the sixth album by the American heavy metal band Manowar, released on November 18, 1988 by Atlantic Records. The album was the last to feature guitarist and founding member Ross "The Boss" Friedman, who later went on to r ...

''), and producing the first demo for

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

. The members of the band began reuniting occasionally and in 1981, ROIR released the cassette-only ''Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take a Joke'' produced by Andy Shernoff, which featured numbers from all three of the group's studio albums, covers of the

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...

's "What Goes On" and Mott the Hoople's "Moon Upstairs," plus two new Shernoff numbers: "Loyola" and " New York New York". Other than occasional reunion shows, little was heard from The Dictators during the next five years. However, in late 1986 Shernoff and Manitoba (along with guitarist Daniel Rey) formed

Wild Kingdom ''Wild Kingdom'', also known as ''Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'', is an American documentary television program that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and it was revived in 2002. The show's second ...

, releasing a version of "New York New York" on the 1988 soundtrack to ''

Mondo New York ''Mondo New York'' is a 1988 Mondo film directed by Harvey Nikolai Keith. The documentary film was inspired by the 1963 movie '' Mondo Cane''. Overview ''Mondo New York'' examines the lives and activities of Manhattan performance artists, and fea ...

''.

1990s

In 1990,

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

released the Wild Kingdom debut, ''...And You?'' written and produced by Andy Shernoff, though they were now billed as Manitoba's Wild Kingdom to avoid a lawsuit from the TV show Wild Kingdom. By this time Rey had left the group and had been replaced by Friedman (the group was rounded out by drummer J.P. Patterson). ''...And You?'' - a brief 25 minutes in length - received excellent reviews, with ''Rolling Stone'' calling it "the first great punk rock album of the '90s." The ''...And You?'' album cover was a source of some controversy, since it was lifted from a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

recruiting poster. It was not the first time members of the band (most of whom were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

) had been associated with charges of this sort since ''Go Girl Crazy'' had featured the songs "Master Race Rock" and "Back to Africa." By the 1990s, much about the lives of the band's members had changed markedly. Shernoff recorded and toured with

The Fleshtones The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York, United States, formed in 1976. History 1976–1979 The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York, by Keith Streng (born September 18, 1955, New York City) an ...

in 1989 and 1990, wrote and recorded with

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

, became a successful record producer and worked as a sommelier. Manitoba opened an East-Village bar called Manitoba's in 1999. Kempner had developed a certain degree of respect from roots-rock audiences due to his 1980s work with The Del-Lords. In 1992, he released his solo album ''Tenement Angels'' and joined

The Brandos The Brandos are an American rock band formed in 1985 in New York City by Dave Kincaid (vocals, guitar), Ernie Mendillo (bass, vocals), Ed Rupprecht (guitar, vocals) and Larry Mason (drums, vocals). The Brandos achieved commercial success in th ...

in 1993. Friedman's work with Manowar and

Brain Surgeons Brain Surgeons were an American rock band featuring Albert Bouchard formerly of Blue Öyster Cult, vocalist Deborah Frost, and guitarist Ross the Boss formerly of the Dictators and Manowar. The Brain Surgeonsat Allmusic They formed in 1994 and ...

had given him a certain cachet with heavy metal audiences. However, the group - first with

Frank Funaro Frank Funaro is an American drummer who has played with Del Lords, The Brandos, Camper Van Beethoven, Joey Ramone, The Dictators, Cracker, Nils Lofgren & Dion DiMucci. Funaro collaborated with Joey Ramone on his first solo record ''Don't Worry ...

on drums, then again with Patterson - began recording a new Dictators album written and produced by Andy Shernoff in the late 1990s, which was eventually released as ''D.F.F.D.'' in 2001.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the album a "non-stop barrage of spitfire precision rock. The material is, unbelievably, their best and most consistent ever for an album".

2000s

The Dictators continued to perform to a devoted audience releasing a live album, ''Viva Dictators'' in 2005, produced by Shernoff. In 2007, they compiled an album of demos, rarities, and unreleased songs which were recorded at various times over their thirty-plus year career called ''Every Day Is Saturday'' on Norton Records. The title was a line in the song "Weekend" from the band's first album ''The Dictators Go Girl Crazy''. Shernoff formed The Master Plan with

' Keith Streng, releasing ''Colossus of Destiny'' on Alive-Total Energy Records in 2003, and ''Maximum Respect'' on Green Mist Records in 2011. Manitoba sang with the surviving members of the

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

and worked as a DJ in Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Radio, till he was fired, then re-hired to work on Steven's station, which did not work out, as he left in January 2018. In October 2006, the band (Manitoba, Shernoff, Friedman, Patterson, Kempner) headlined the second and third to last shows ever at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

. The second to last show featured Blondie on the bill as well, and during the Dictators final song on the CBGB stage, they were joined by Tommy Ramone, the last surviving original member of The Ramones for a rendition of the Ramones song " Blitzkrieg Bop". In November 2007, Manitoba, along with author Amy Wallace, put out ''The Official Punk Rock Book of Lists'' on BackBeat Books, a small book company owned by Hal Leonard Publishing. Manitoba's Wild Kingdom reunited in May 2008 to play at the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, with a lineup featuring Manitoba, Shernoff, Friedman and Patterson. In July 2008, Kempner released his second solo album ''Saving Grace'' . In October 2008, The Dictators reunited for a series of four concerts in Spain. Ross The Boss released his debut solo album, ''

New Metal Leader ''New Metal Leader'' is the debut album recorded by guitarist Ross "the Boss" Friedman and his German band under the moniker, "The Ross the Boss Band". It was released on August 22, 2008 on Candlelight records in the US and A.F.M. Records in Eur ...

'', in August 2008. He and his band have released their second album '' Hailstorm'' in 2010. Patterson released his second album, entitled ''The LP Is Dead'', in November 2009 via No Fun Records.

2010s

Kempner and the rest of The Del-Lords re-united in early 2010 for a successful tour of Spain. They are currently working on an album of all new material. Kempner's first solo album, ''Tenement Angels'', was released on March 1, 2011 on GB Music. The release is on CD (remastered with a bonus track) and on vinyl. The LP is a limited edition on 500, and comes with a digital download and a hand signed poster by Kempner. Manitoba,

Ross the Boss Ross Friedman (born January 3, 1954), also known as Ross the Boss, is a guitarist, known as a founding member of both the punk band the Dictators, and the heavy metal band Manowar. History Friedman was born in the Bronx, New York, and formed t ...

, Dean Rispler (ex- Murphys Law), JP Paterson, and Daniel Rey formed Manitoba in January 2012. In April 2013, the band changed its name to The Dictators NYC. A single "Supply and Demand," composed by Boss, Manitoba, and Manitoba's son Jake, and backed with a live version of the MC5's "

Kick Out the Jams ''Kick Out the Jams'' is the debut album by American proto-punk band MC5. It was released in February 1969, through Elektra Records. It was recorded live at Detroit's Grande Ballroom over two nights, Devil's Night and Halloween, 1968. The LP p ...

," was released in November 2015. In July 2017, it was announced that the band name would be changed back to Manitoba, "due to legal threats by ex-bandmates, Andy Shernoff and Scott Kempner". In December of that year the band announced it had broken up. Shernoff released his first solo EP ''Don't Fade Away'' on Yazoo Squelch Records in 2012. Critic Mark Deming wrote "the man is still writing excellent songs and singing them straight from the heart, which is what his best work has always been about, and it's great news that well over three decades into his career, he's still got fresh and worthwhile things to say." He released his second EP ''On The First Day, Man Created God'' in 2013 again on Yazoo Squelch records. In August 2015, he released a video collaboration with Lydia Lunch for the song "A Good Night To Say Goodbye". Another video to celebrate Joey Ramone's 65th birthday was released on May 15, 2016. Former member Richard Teeter, who played drums for The Dictators between 1976 and 1979, died on April 10, 2012, due to complications from esophageal cancer. He was 61. In November 2015, ''Go Girl Crazy!'' received an expanded and remastered CD reissue, featuring several unreleased selections and remixes of three tunes by Andrew W.K. On May 1, 2018, the Dictators original drummer, Stuart 'Stu Boy' King, died from pancreatic cancer.

2020s

On May 28, 2020, Andy Shernoff announced that the Dictators were reforming to record some new material and possibly play live, with a line-up comprised by Shernoff on bass and vocals, Ross The Boss and Kempner on guitars and Albert Bouchard (formerly of Blue Öyster Cult) on drums. On January 8, 2021, Shernoff announced on Facebook that a new Dictators song and video would be released on January 15. On April 6 that year, the Dictators announced "Scott Kempner will be leaving the band due to health reasons."
On October 18, the band announced that Keith Roth (David Johansen, Earl Slick, Cherie Currie, Cheetah Crome) would join the band on vocals and guitar.

Members

- bass (1973-1975, 1978-1980, 1995-present), keyboards, lead vocals (1973-1975, 1976-1980, 1995-2008, 2020-present) *

- lead guitar, backing vocals (1973-1975, 1976-1980, 1995-2008, 2020-present) * Albert Bouchard - drums (2020-present) *Keith Roth - vocals and guitar (2021-present) ;Former *

Richard Manitoba Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba (born Richard Blum; January 29, 1954) is an American punk rock singer and radio personality, best known as the original lead singer of New York City-based band The Dictators and the reunion singer of MC5. Backg ...

- lead vocals (1974-1975, 1976-1980, 1995-2008) * Scott "Top Ten" Kempner - rhythm guitar (1973-1975, 1976-1980, 1995-2008, 2020-2021) *Stu Boy King - drums (1974-1975, died 2018) *Ritchie Teeter - drums (1976-1979; died 2012) *

Mark Mendoza Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (born Mark Glickman, July 13, 1956) is an American rock bassist and a member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He joined the band in 1978 after leaving the Dictators. He briefly played in Blackfoot in the earl ...

- bass (1976-1977) *Mel Anderson - drums (1979-1980) *

- drums (1995-1998) *J.P. Patterson - drums (1998-2008)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

Go Girl Crazy! ''The Dictators Go Girl Crazy!'' is the debut album by American punk rock band The Dictators. It was released in March 1975 and is considered one of the first examples of punk rock. Response Critical reception ''The Dictators Go Girl Cra ...

'' (1975) * ''

'' (1977) #193 Billboard Top 200 Albums * '' Bloodbrothers'' (1978) * ''...And You?'' (1990) (as Manitoba's Wild Kingdom) * ''D.F.F.D.'' (2001)

Live albums

* ''Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take a Joke'' ( ROIR, 1981) * ''The Dictators Live, New York, New York'' ( ROIR, 1998) * ''Viva Dictators'' (2005)

Compilations

* ''Every Day Is Saturday'' (2007) * ''Faster... Louder - The Dictators' Best 1975-2001'' (2014)

References

External links

Official website

Andyshernoff.com

Interview with The Dictators by TruePunk.com

Scott Kempner's MySpace Page

Interview with Andy Shernoff on Food Is Not Love

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dictators, The Punk rock groups from New York (state) ROIR artists Musical quartets Musical groups established in 1973 Protopunk groups Jews in punk rock