He was a founder of one of the key American bands of the 1970s, the man behind swinging lounge singer Buster Poindexter, as well as an occasional actor. Yesterday (28 February) David Johansen succumbed to cancer, after spending much of the last decade battling the disease (not to mention, breaking his back in 2024, following a fall).
David Johansen was born in Staten Island in 1950 from a family with Irish and Norwegian heritage. His musical career started out in the late 1960's, as the lead singer of local band, the Vagabond Missionaries.
In 1971, his new band, The New York Dolls, part of the Mercer Art Center scene, signed with Mercury Records, putting out their eponymously titled debut in 1973. He forged a songwriting partnership with guitarist Johnny Thunders, and in 1974 the follow up Too Much Too Soon (presciently titled) came out.
They had a cult fan base and some critical love, but there was no commercial success - not breaking the Top100 in the UK or the US. Founding members Thunders and Jerry Nolan quit the band, leaving Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain to continue on with new members. That only lasted another year, before Johansen too departed for a solo career.
They had a penchant for debauchery, but their heady mix of blues rock and glam was a crucial influence on the soon to rise New York punk scene of Talking Heads, Television and The Ramones, not to mention the British bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash - Pistols guitarist Steve Jones has frequently cited the Dolls as a big influence on their sound. But they also had a formative influence on hard rocking bands like Aerosmith and Kiss too.
Buster Poindexter:
Johansen did get a little commercial success in the 1980s as the man behind lounge singer, Buster Poindexter, playing a mix of pop, blues and jump swing. He scored a hit with a cover of Hot Hot Hot.
Acting:
He picked up a number of TV and film credits in the 1980's and 90's. These include Let It Ride (with Richard Dreyfuss), the film remake of Car 54, Where Are You? (with John C McGinley) and as the Ghost of Christmas Past in Bill Murray's Scrooged. He's also provided voices for animations like Teen Titans and Centaurworld.
Life and Death:
Johansen married actress Cyrinda Foxe in 1977, but they divorced a year later. He was then married to photographer Kate Simon from 1983 to 2011. The, in 2013, he married artist Mara Hennessy.
Morrissey, it turns out, was the President of the New York Dolls fan club prior to becoming a Smith, and simply wrote the words All Hallow next a photo of Johansen on his website.
The E Street Band's Stevie Van Zandt wrote - “One of the most unique legends of our business and a very good friend. One of a kind.” Billy Idol sideman Steve Stevens said - “As a kid from Queens New York, this one hurts. Never about technique for New York rock and rollers. It was always about the sound of the subway, the stinking overflowing garbage cans, the misfits of Times Square. The Dolls did it to perfection.”
Lol Tolhurst of The Cure remembered Johansen being generous to the band on their first trip to the US. "He came to see us the first time we ever played in New York. I never forgot his welcoming larger than life personality as he chatted with us back stage - it's a wonderful memory on a sad day."
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