Personality Crisis

March 1, 2025 1:45 PM

David Johansen (1950-2025)
posted by dfm500 (54 comments total)

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As a child of the 80's, I knew him first as Buster Poindexter and from Scrooged. I was well into my 20s before I realized that this was in fact that same person who was the frontman for the New York Dolls.
posted by thecjm at 1:48 PM on March 1 [15 favorites]

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posted by djseafood at 1:51 PM on March 1

The most rock and roll thing I've ever watched in my life is David Johansen singing Personality Crisis on The Midnight Special with Johnny Thunders joining in on the chorus.

Forget it: case closed. The look, the attitude, the sonic assault. After watching a performance like that, everything else just looks like homage. Saying they were lightyears ahead of their time is an understatement.
posted by alex_skazat at 1:59 PM on March 1 [23 favorites]

Fuck cancer.
posted by Lemkin at 2:05 PM on March 1 [6 favorites]

As a child of the 80's, I knew him first as Buster Poindexter and from Scrooged. I was well into my 20s before I realized that this was in fact that same person who was the frontman for the New York Dolls.

Same. Well into my 20s before I even knew anything about the New York Dolls beyond that they existed, then a couple more before I made the connection of him being their singer. First I ever saw him at all was probably on SNL doing "Hot Hot Hot".
posted by LionIndex at 2:09 PM on March 1 [10 favorites]

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I hated Buster Poindexter and remember saying to the musicians at my wedding that Hot Hot Hot was my #1 song on the "do not play" list. I had *no idea* who that guy was, or his history. Glad to say I later learned.
posted by BlahLaLa at 2:12 PM on March 1 [8 favorites]

Here he is singing Kurt Weill's 'Alabama Song,' from the September Songs project.

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posted by box at 2:12 PM on March 1 [5 favorites]

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posted by pt68 at 2:23 PM on March 1

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posted by hap_hazard at 2:26 PM on March 1

I was a big Dolls fan back in the day. It was kinda funny seeing him reinvent himself as Buster. Sad news.

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posted by Thorzdad at 2:28 PM on March 1

He did a credible Howlin Wolf imitation as a Blues belter for a Wolf tribute I saw in Chicago. For that he did not put on a persona, just sang as Johansen. In that bio writeup they had his history with New York Dolls and the Buster Poindexter stuff. Good musical legacy.

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posted by indianbadger1 at 2:34 PM on March 1 [3 favorites]

Bill Murray sighting!


Kinda funny that in the beginning of that music video he explained he was in the Dolls. I'm sure MTV cut that part out when airing it. Love how he calls out the "Heavy metal bands from L.A." as being copycats.
posted by alex_skazat at 2:39 PM on March 1

and here like many children of the 70s I thought Buster Poindexter was Buster Poindexter.
posted by torokunai2 at 2:39 PM on March 1 [6 favorites]

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posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 2:44 PM on March 1

Honestly if Buster Poindexter was in Downtown 81 with Kid Creole and The Coconuts and James White and the Blacks I would have thought: yeah that tracks.
posted by alex_skazat at 2:46 PM on March 1 [3 favorites]

New York Dolls still aren't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That ain't right.
posted by BWA at 2:48 PM on March 1 [9 favorites]

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posted by potrzebie at 3:00 PM on March 1

With Muppets
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:09 PM on March 1

Bummer

Was never a fan of Buster, and knew nothing about the New York Dolls, other than they existed.

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posted by Windopaene at 3:11 PM on March 1

Definitely a bummer, the last Doll left standing. I saw recently that there was a crowdfunding campaign for his end of life medical care. Somebody did him dirty if Hot Hot Hot, which still gets a ton of play in every Caribbean cruise/resort 30 years later, didn’t give him a decent income.


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posted by dr_dank at 3:15 PM on March 1 [5 favorites]

He only would get performing royalties since he didn't write the song (it's a cover). And those are usually the worst royalties. Plus, it wasn't as popular as people remember it, the Billboard Peak was #45.
posted by mmb5 at 3:22 PM on March 1 [3 favorites]

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All the heroes of my youth are passing on. God, he made some kick ass rock and roll.
posted by caddis at 3:23 PM on March 1 [2 favorites]

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posted by equalpants at 3:35 PM on March 1

The most rock and roll thing I've ever watched in my life is David Johansen singing Personality Crisis on The Midnight Special yt with Johnny Thunders joining in on the chorus.

The audience seems less than jazzed. Odd, really.
posted by BWA at 3:36 PM on March 1 [1 favorite]

I dunno, I remember "Hot Hot Hot" being fairly inescapable; it was in at least one commercial, and I'm sure it was in a few shows and movies. It probably paid out well, but that was a long time ago.

Self-centeredly, this makes me feel very old. I remember seeing Buster Poindexter on Saturday Night Live. (My dad hated him.) I didn't realize the full extent of his deal in the music world until much later, but I do remember being all like, "Hey, it's the 'Hot Hot Hot' guy!" when I first saw the Tales from the Darkside movie.

It sounds like his last years were not fun. It's strange to think of, because he always seemed full of energy and manic motion. .
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:46 PM on March 1

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posted by brujita at 3:57 PM on March 1

" You left Claire for Frisbee the dog? Frank, let me sum this up for you: you don't know who you are, you don't know what you want, and you don't know what the hell is going on!"

-Johansen as Ghost of Christmas Past.

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posted by clavdivs at 4:18 PM on March 1 [2 favorites]

When I was a sophomore in high school, I was listening to Adam and the Ants, and the Monkees, (who had recently had some sort of revival thing. I think I was still stuck in the novelty, although Mike Nesmith had the good sense to avoid the whole circus.) There was a senior in my Health class who told me about Robert Johnson. He gave me a tape of Stevie Ray Vaughan on side A, and Night of the Living Dolls on the other. I never had a chance to tell him how much he changed my life.

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posted by dfm500 at 4:52 PM on March 1 [2 favorites]

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posted by gentlyepigrams at 4:58 PM on March 1

Nooooo. I was a huge Dolls fan back in the day. I didn't mind when he adopted the Poindexter persona, but my heart belonged to the Dolls. I'm so sorry to hear this..
posted by kitten kaboodle at 5:57 PM on March 1

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posted by Sphinx at 6:32 PM on March 1

I only ever really thought of him as Buster Pointdexter. And the cab driver. But I liked those personalities.

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posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:02 PM on March 1

Rest in rock
posted by bannana at 7:32 PM on March 1

Me too, David, me too
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 8:38 PM on March 1

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posted by jzb at 8:38 PM on March 1

Fuck, I loved the dolls. I remember running into their first album at a flea market and buying for a buck (yes, way back in the day) I brought it home and put it on and finally understood what the fuck everyone was on about. What a band. They landed in my top of all time list along with the Ramones, and Iggy. I have to concur about them on the Midnight Special. Anyway, here's Lookin' For a Kiss.
I'll miss you David.

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posted by evilDoug at 8:50 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]

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posted by artdrectr at 9:37 PM on March 1

He played a private corporate gig for First Options of Chicago in the 80s that I attended. He played as Buster Poindexter. I was pretty right squared away, free booze, but I remember that it was a good time. Good show. I saw him again a few years later in NYC, near Union Square. He was a great talent and a great entertainer. Those two don't always go hand in hand, but he had it.

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posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:28 PM on March 1 [1 favorite]

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posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 2:00 AM on March 2

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posted by From Bklyn at 2:36 AM on March 2

Never saw the Dolls as I was too young, but my uncle hung out with them and was on their permanent guest list. I did see Thunders in a small club a few years before he died. RIP to the Last Doll.
posted by Rhedyn at 2:39 AM on March 2 [2 favorites]

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posted by trip and a half at 2:55 AM on March 2

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posted by Smart Dalek at 3:33 AM on March 2

Saw him free as Buster. It was a "family" event so he had to watch what he said. I would have love to see him in a club where he could have used his full vocabulary. RIP
BTW, he hated doing "Hot Hot Hot".
posted by DJZouke at 5:15 AM on March 2 [1 favorite]

I got to see the New York Dolls playing the Youth Pavilion at the Minnesota State Fair in 1974, which was certainly an incongruous venue for them. This was 50 years ago, so my memories are somewhat dim, but I found a fascinating entry on a Facebook page about the event:

Bob Protzman of the Pioneer Press did his best to prepare the Cities for the Dolls; he said one local promoter said “he couldn’t wait to see the expressions on the faces of the State Fair’s hierarchy when they get a look at the New York Dolls in their platform shoes, bright red lipstick, earrings, tights, occasional miniskirts, necklaces, bracelets, unisex hairdos, and the rest.” He also prepared us for David Johansen’s routine of “tying up his arm and injecting himself with an imaginary hypodermic needle while singing ‘Looking for a Kiss.’”

The band was two hours late: a) no cabs would pick them up from Downtown; b) they had to be “dragged in from a drunken stroll down the midway;” or c) two of them had wandered off to get something to eat, take your pick. When they arrived they were reportedly ticked off that they were not playing in the Grandstand. Paul Metsa also remembers that “The Dolls were late, and when they arrived and started playing they were greeted by some with beer cans and burning paper airplanes. They were all wearing eye makeup and the bass player had on a pink tutu and bunny boots.” (Blue Guitar Highway, 2011) Tom Rusch’s review in the Insider did note that “this was no fey glam rock.” After the show they went off to enjoy the Midway.

posted by Kat Allison at 9:19 AM on March 2 [6 favorites]

I bought a cut-out cassette of the Dolls second album from Woolworth's (a source of a lot of interesting music in my early youth) in the mid 70's. I played that thing to death. In Central, rural Nebraska in the 70's, you took what you could find, and you had to constantly be on the search in the oddest places. We did a lot of mail order from ads you found in the back of The Trouser Press or Creem. The oddball guys who worked in the local restaurant always seemed to know interesting unknown music too. I'm still on that quest as I approach retirement.
posted by jkosmicki at 9:31 AM on March 2 [3 favorites]

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posted by Kattullus at 10:08 AM on March 2

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posted by Lyme Drop at 10:21 AM on March 2

...appeared in such movies as “Candy Mountain,” “Let It Ride,” “Married to the Mob” and had a memorable turn as the Ghost of Christmas Past in Bill Murray-led hit “Scrooged.”

Slightly off topic, but I would like to point out that Let It Ride (along with Funny Farm and Quick Change) were based on comic novels of Jay Cronley (Let It Ride under the title of Good Vibes. Cronley s woefully under-appreciated, too many of his books out of print, hard to find, and often when available, achingly priced.
posted by BWA at 1:09 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]

🦋
posted by brachiopod at 2:16 PM on March 2

I hadn't seen this 1983 appearance on Letterman.
posted by brachiopod at 2:31 PM on March 2 [2 favorites]

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I was born in '77, so I learned first knew him as Buster Poindexter. My dad bought that tape and I listened to it over and over again.

His cover of 'House of the Rising Sun' was incredible and I enjoyed nearly every track on that album (although 'Hot, Hot, Hot' was not a favorite).

Discovering the New York Dolls and his under appreciated later work was also important to me.

And honestly, he was only 1 year younger than my dad, so yes: Fuck Cancer.
posted by Dalekdad at 9:01 AM on March 3

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posted by filtergik at 6:37 AM on March 4

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posted by detachd at 7:43 PM on March 9