I just got the news this morning that David Johansen, the lead singer for the band the New York Dolls, succumbed to cancer on February 28 at the age of 75. While I was never a big fan of the band, I do realize how much of an influence it had on the oncoming punk rock scene in England, as well as the cult following it had on the wild New York music scene of the mid-1970s.
The band was out to make a statement. They combined R&B rhythms with straight-ahead overdriven guitars and overpowering drums and bass. Their songs were about rebellion, not politically but socially. With that, the members decided to dress to shock, wearing women’s clothing and makeup. The result was indeed shock value, but perhaps for the wrong reasons. Music critics loved the music, but art and entertainment critics looked at it as campy parody. Johansen was often compared to an exaggerated version of Mick Jagger.
The band produced a few albums, and had a memorable single with “Personality Crisis,” but quick, ill-directed fame had the members diving heavily into drugs, which caused the demise. The band broke up in 1975, but would be listed as influential to many bands after that, including the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, as well as graphically influencing dozens of hair-metal bands in the 1980s.
Johansen was too much of an entertainer to just walk away from even the dimmest of spotlights. He also enjoyed listening to jazz vocalists and cocktail lounge music, so around 1980 he took on the pseudonym of Buster Poindexter and performed lounge music around New York City. The persona became a hit, and with early MTV programming taking him and his videos on, including songse like “Hot, Hot, Hot!” and “Is That You, Santa Claus?”, Johansen received much of the recognition that his talent deserved.
He also delved into acting, appearing as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the Bill Murray comedy Scrooged, and co-starring in a remake of Car 54, Where Are You? Johansen’s over-the-top personality fit in with so many comedic roles that he performed, he could have easily worked in the acting end of showbiz a lot sooner than he did.
In the early 2000s, he announced that he was being treated for cancer. In 2004, at the urging of Morrissey, he partially reformed The Dolls for a performance in London. Year by year, members of the band had passed away, with this reunion including only three original members. Johansen was the last remaining living member.
I am currently finishing up reading a book entitled Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil. It consists of interviews with musical artists and scenesters from the late 1960s (Iggy Pop, MC5, Velvet Underground) through the 1970s (the Dolls, Patti Smith, the Ramones, Television) and how the drug-infested, crime-riddled, crazy music scene of that time had an impact on what was to come with the punk-rock and new-wave movement that was to come in the late 1970s/early 1980s. There are a number of quotes from members of the Dolls, and in just a few pages, one can see that the band imploded on itself due to drugs and personality differences. I recommend the book to anyone interested in the rock music movement of that time period.
Sleep well, David. While you may not have had the same impact as the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, you definitely were an influence on the music that was to come after you.
Chew on it and comment.
Luegra 