Born Henry Lawrence Garfield, he grew up in Washington, D.C. He was an only child and lived with his mother in Glover Park during his early years. In his earlier parts of grade school, he was the minority, being, "one of three white kids" in a predominately African-American school. (Man Test)This was during the late '60s, during the civil rights movements, and Rollins was picked on due to the color of his skin.
On top of being picked on at an early age, Rollins also was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. An outlet that he used to expend his energy as a child was through violent behavior. (Man Test) As his grades dropped, he eventually was expelled from two different schools. Due to this, Henry was sent to Bullis Naval Preparatory School for Boys. After graduating from high school, he attempted to go to the American University, but dropped out after one semester. (Man Test)
Henry describes his childhood as being unhappy. He was beat up for being white, abused by one of his mother's boyfriends, and was medicated for behavioral problems. Being skinny and white in the '60s D.C., he felt very much like an outsider, and that has been felt through much of his music throughout his life. (Encyclopedia of World Biography)
After his attempt at college, Rollins worked several minimum wage jobs, including a Häagan-Dazs in Washington, D.C., which would later help fund his passion for punk rock. He got into that kind of music when Ian MacKaye had him listen to The Ramones, and soon Henry was the roadie for Ian MacKaye's first band, Teen Idles. This stemmed into Rollins convincing the band to let him sing for them when their front man failed to appear at practices, and word of his talent spread. Even Bad Brains had him come on stage a couple of times during their performances.
When Ian MacKaye went on to Minor Threat, a local D.C. band called the Extorts lost their lead singer to them. Rollins decided to replaced them and they became State of Alert. At this point, no one would have any idea how wildly successful the man would become as time pressed on. (Encyclopedia of Punk)
Encyclopedia of World Biography. Copyright2011 Advamag, Inc. Link.
The Encyclopedia of Punk. Brian Cogan. Copyright2006, 2008. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 387 Park Avenue South, New York NY 10016.
