Dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker Jim Carroll found success as a writer of prose and poetry in his teens. Inspired by the burgeoning NY punk scene and the poetry/music crossover of his literary pal Patti Smith, he formed the Jim Carroll Band in the late-'70s, initially releasing three albums of poetic, Lou Reed-inspired post-punk. Despite a fluke hit ("People Who Died") on his first album, Carroll's musical career wasn't as successful as his literary endeavors and he eventually returned to writing. The occasional musical foray notwithstanding, he remains a renowned author.