The Dictators
Formed in 1974 in New York City, the Dictators pre-dated the punk rock of bands such as the Ramonesand Sex Pistols by two years, yet they exhibited many of that genre's hallmarks from their inception. Purveying loud, three-chord rock without long solos and drawing their lyrical inspiration and visual image from such disparate facets of popular culture as fast food, professional wrestling, cult movies and late-night television, the Dictators built a devoted fan-base in their hometown and selected hip pockets in the USA and Europe, but were unable to succeed commercially and are rarely acknowledged for their pioneering efforts in helping to establish the new rock ‘n’ roll of the '70s and '80s. The group originally consisted of guitarists Scott Top Ten Kempner and Ross The Boss Funicello, bassist Adny Shernoff and drummer Stu Boy King. Vocalist Handsome Dick Manitoba (b. Richard Blum) guested on the group's debut album and subsequently joined. King left after the release of that album and was replaced by Richie Teeter, and bassist Mark The Animal Mendoza also joined at that time (1975), allowing Shernoff to switch to keyboards. That first album, THE DICTATORS GO GIRL CRAZY, featured original songs by Shernoff with titles such as Teengenerate, (I Live For) Cars And Girls and a cover of Sonny And Cher's I Got You Babe. It was released on Epic Records, which then dropped the group when the album failed to catch on. After the personnel shuffle of 1975, the Dictators signed to Asylum/ Elektra Records in late 1976 and released MANIFEST DESTINY, their only album to chart. Before they recorded their third and last album, BLOODBROTHERS, in 1978, Mendoza left to join heavy metal outfit Twisted Sister. When the third album failed, they were dropped by Elektra and disbanded. The Dictators have reunited several times for single concert dates, one of which was recorded and released as a cassette-only album in 1981, FUCK ’EM IF THEY CAN'T TAKE A JOKE.During the '80s Kempner went on to form the Del-Lords, another straight-ahead rock group popular in New York, which recorded a few albums. Manitoba and Shernoff formed the quasi-metal band Manitoba's Wild Kingdom. Ross The Boss Funicello joined the short-lived Shakin’ Street. The Dictators reunited once more in December 1993 to play at the 20th Anniversary celebrations for CBGB's.