The Dictators are a proto-punk band from New York City in 1973. In 1975, they released their first album, The Dictators Go Girl Crazy, making them the first NYC punk band to release an album on a major label. They are considered, to this day, a very influential punk band. The Dictators are represented in the Punk Wing of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, in Cleveland, Ohio. Steven Van Zandt called them, "The connective tissue between the eras of The MC5, Stooges, NY Dolls, and the punk explosion of the mid to late 70's."