David Johansen was the frontman for the glammy proto-punk band the New York Dolls, who ended up being one of the most influential of the era, and also had a solo career under the name Buster Poindexter.
- Died: February 28, 2025 (Who else died on February 28?)
- Details of death: Died of cancer in Staten Island at the age of 75.
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David Johansen’s legacy
As the frontman for the New York Dolls, Johansen helped shape the look and feel of music in the 1970s and ‘80s, and that’s just one of the ways in which he left his mark on the world of art and entertainment.
The Staten Island-born Johansen had success in the ‘80s under the name Buster Poindexter, when he performed swing music – well before the 2000s revival – as well as pop and novelty songs. Among them was his 1987 hit cover of Arrow’s “Hot, Hot, Hot,” which hit No. 11 on the U.S. dance charts.
Around the same time, Johansen began to delve into acting, eventually amassing a pile of credits that included appearances on “Miami Vice,” “Oz,” “The Adventures of Pete & Pete,” and other series. His big-screen persona is best remembered as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the Bill Murray holiday comedy, “Scrooged,” as well as roles in “Married to the Mob,” “Let It Ride,” and others.
But Johansen’s biggest contribution to the world of art and entertainment is undoubtedly the New York Dolls, a glam-influenced proto-punk band that never attained major success in their time yet went on to influence entire subgenres of rock. Formed in the early 1970s, the early incarnation of the Dolls (featuring guitarist Johnny Thunders (1952–1991), bassist Arthur Kane (1949–2004), guitarist and pianist Sylvain Sylvain (1951–2021, and drummer Jerry Nolan (1946–1992)) fell apart after just two albums and a few years together. Those two LPs, however – 1973’s self-titled debut, and 1974’s “Too Much Too Soon” – proved to be an important milestone not just on the early days of punk music, but also helped craft the look, style, and approach of glam-pop acts like Duran Duran, and an entire genre of glam rock and glam metal that exploded in the 1980s, thanks to groups like Motley Crue and Poison.
Led by Johansen, the New York Dolls wore provocative clothing and cosmetics, cross-dressed, and played stripped down rock-and-roll music with an energy and attitude that was in many ways a rebellion against the psychedelic feel-good rock of the 1960s. By the mid-1970s, however, they had already run their course, and Johansen launched his solo career. His self-titled debut album came out in 1978, his first of four recorded and two live albums.
Over the decades, Johansen continued to perform in various solo incarnations, as the pompadoured Poindexter; he led the Harry Smiths, a blues band; and he even enjoyed a short-lived Dolls reunion in the 2000s. In 2023, his life as an artist was spotlighted in the Martin Scorsese-directed documentary, “Personality Crisis: One Night Only.”
Tributes to David Johansen
Full obituary: The New York Times
