RIP David Johansen

The last remaining New York Doll, David Johansen has passed. 

It’s possible that I bought my first Dolls album on the buzz around them as punk godfathers, though it’s also possible that I had seen snippets of them on punk documentaries. By the 1990s, their biggest fan, Morrissey ruled over alternative rock. Half a world away and an entire sound away, Guns N Roses copied their style, sound and appetite for destruction. How could one band influence two such different artists. 

I remember vividly buying 1985s Night of the Living Dolls. Though the band only released two albums. I suppose a “greatest hits” is still a starting point for the novice listener. I would soon go on a mission to buy anything with the band’s name on it. Years later and unexpectedly, I would run into friends who shared my obsession. 

The roots of the New York Dolls seem pretty clear. A charismatic singer paired with an equally charismatic lead guitarist. It was Jagger and Richards to the next level. You could argue if they were punk, but they undeniably planted the roots of punk, and as far as rock, they were the template for every glam rock band in the 80s who got it from either directly or through middle-men like Hanoi Rocks. The other element was that they ironically or unironically drew from early 1960s Girl Groups- adding harmony and humor to the subway train guitars. 

In his posthumously released autobiography, Killer Kane lays out the influence and legacy often stolen by bands like KISS, Aerosmith, and Motley Crue. In an unfortunate story, Blackie Lawless would build off his relationship with Kane in the mid-1970s to go on to his own success later in the band WASP, though not carrying Kane along to the fame. 

I doubt there are many bands that I have listened to more than the Dolls and I am not sure why that is. The songs that cement their legacy were largely written before Johnny Thunders turned 20. Yet there was something magic that no one else has quite captured. 

 I recently watched 2011s doc Looking Good On Television which doesn’t add a ton in the way of content (there’s footage of an early interview with the band) but worth it for all the footage of the band performing. 

By the time I got into the Dolls, Johansen had surprisingly become a big star with his Buster Poindexter persona (appearing in one of my favorite movies, Scrooged) I picked up his second record, 1979s Mick Ronson produced “In Style”. It is a product of its time but holds pretty well. It reminds me a bit of Ian Hunter’s solo albums of the same era (and Ian guests on one track). Those first two solo records are largely cowritten with former Dolls guitarist Sylvain Sylvain. Sandwiched between those albums is 1978s David Johansen Group Live - a rarity that got wide release in the 90s. It’s an interesting mix of his new direction with some interesting covers (Build Me Up Buttercup, The Supremes’ “Love Child) and a few Dolls songs (with Sylvain guesting on guitar throughout and Thunders dropping in at the end for “Babylon”) It’s an amazingly fun record that seems to capture a hometown crowd in love with David. He namedrops Elvis Costello, Blondie and The Ramones in his between song banter. 

Johansen would end up with four solo records but his most successful album is the 1982 live record Live It Up. There may not have been much interest in his solo career, but his live performances were where things were at. Recorded live over two nights in Boston in 1982, it’s much the same recipe as the 1978 album. In fact, side by side, it pales in comparison to David Johansen Group Live (which again wasn’t really available at the time) but it stands up well on its own. It also probably is a foreshadowing of Buster Poindexter. Poindexter seems like a character that could only come out of 1980s America and born out of New York City and Saturday Night Live. It would make Johansen simultaneously a cult hero who helped create punk and a one hit pop wonder. Wiki says if only made it to 45 on the pop charts but it feels like it made a more distinct impression on culture. 

The 2004 New York Dolls reunion was so improbable but sure enough they would make three more records. A list of stars flowed through the new line up- Steve Conte, Gary Powell of the Libertines, Sami Yaffa of Hanoi Rocks, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Frank Infante of Blondie, Kenny Aaronson and Earl Slick. 

I was never impressed with the second iteration of the Dolls, nor with Johansen’s early 2000 band the Harry Smiths. But perhaps there’s not a scenario where I can elevate anything to the reputation of those two Dolls records. I cannot fault someone who elevated the blues legend Hubert Sumlin back into the spotlight or gave Kane his final hurrah in the reunited Dolls.