Photo by Frank Beacham
David Johansen is 71 years old today.
A rock, protopunk, blues, pop singer, songwriter and actor, Johansen is best known as a member of the seminal protopunk band, The New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym, Buster Poindexter.
Born in the New York City borough of Staten Island to a librarian mother and an insurance sales representative father, Johansen began his career in the late 1960s as a lead singer in the local Staten Island band, The Vagabond Missionaries, and later in the early 1970s as the singer/songwriter in The New York Dolls.
The New York Dolls released two albums, the New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974). The bulk of the material was written by Johansen and guitarist Johnny Thunders. The Dolls were well received critically, but failed to succeed commercially.
In 1975, Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan left the band. Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, along with Peter Jordan, Chris Robison and Tony Machine, continued playing as the New York Dolls, until 1977, after which Johansen embarked on a solo career.
His first two albums, David Johansen and In Style, featured several enduring originals. Sylvain Sylvain frequently performed with him, and his band covered many Dolls songs in concert.
His live albums, Live It Up and The David Johansen Group Live, document Johansen's reputation as an exceptional concert performer. The studio releases, Here Comes the Night (which includes a signature number, "Heart of Gold") and Sweet Revenge, again showcased his strengths as a writer of new material and featured a guest appearance by jazz saxophone player, Big Jay McNeely.
A number of the songs on "Here Comes the Night" were co-written with South African musician, Blondie Chaplin.
In the late 1980s, Johansen achieved moderate commercial success under the pseudonym, Buster Poindexter, accompanied by The Uptown Horns, performing a mixture of jazz, lounge, calypso and novelty songs. He appeared as part of the house band on Saturday Night Live.
As Poindexter, he scored his first hit song, "Hot Hot Hot," which in an interview on National Public Radio's Fresh Air, he called "the bane of my existence," due to its pervasive popularity. "Hot Hot Hot" was initially written and recorded by the Montserratian Soca artist, Arrow.
As Poindexter, Johansen often appeared with his band, The Banshees of Blue. Early Poindexter releases combined an eclectic selection of covers with Johansen's own compositions. Johansen went on to issue Buster Poindexter's Happy Hour, a CD of songs thematically linked by their subject matter — alcohol.
Johansen then turned to country blues with his group, The Harry Smiths. The group was named as a tribute to Harry Everett Smith, who compiled the Anthology of American Folk Music, several songs of which were covered by the band. Johansen's second album with the Harry Smiths is titled Shaker.