Photo: Randy Bachman/Getty Images
David Johansen, lead singer for the New York Dolls, died at the age of 75 on February 28, reports the New York Times. He was the last surviving member of the original 1971 lineup for the band. Last month, Johansen asked for assistance with his medical bills through the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund, sharing he had Stage 4 cancer as well as a brain tumor and a broken back. “David Johansen passed away peacefully at home, holding the hands of his wife Mara Hennessey and daughter Leah, in the sunlight surrounded by music and flowers,” the fund updated on the page for his donations. Johansen’s life was the subject of a documentary by Martin Scorsese called Personality Crisis: One Night Only, where they followed Johansen as he prepares for a performance as Buster Poindexter, his musical alter ego.
In a statement shared with Vulture, Scorsese remembers the grit and “energy” of New York that came alongside Johansen’s work. Below is Scorsese’s full tribute to the late musician.
“With David Johansen, it started with the music, of course. Actually, with a New York Dolls song, “Personality Crisis.” I heard that song, I can’t remember when or where, and it stayed with me. I listened to it obsessively. The sound was rough, the playing was raw, the voice was wildly theatrical and immediate. And the energy was New York, 100% pure and uncut, right off the streets. After the Dolls broke up, I kept watching and listening to David. He never stopped growing as a songwriter and a singer, always exploring, always staking out new paths. There was the Buster Poindexter alter ego. And the radio show “Mansion of Fun,” which amazed me and which I listened to obsessively. That was when I understood just how wide and deep David’s knowledge of music history was—all of music history, from Debussy to the Cadillacs to Loretta Lynn to the Incredible String Band to Gregorian chants to David’s beloved Maria Callas, all of it mysteriously connected. And then there were the cabaret performances at the Carlyle, which David Tedeschi and I were lucky enough to capture with our film Personality Crisis: One Night Only. As the years went by and David became increasingly fragile, he would always be there for screenings and gatherings, with his beloved Mara and Leah by his side. He would sit quietly, preserve his energy, but he was always fully there, right up to the end. What a remarkable artist. What an amazing man. I was so lucky to have known him. I just wish there had been more time.”
Born on January 9, 1950, Johnasen thrived as a frontman to several bands. In the late 60s, he began his musical journey as the singer of his hometown Staten Island band called the Vagabond Missionaires before eventually moving onto the New York Dolls. Despite not being a part of the band’s inception, Johansen’s role in the band was instrumental, as even throughout the band’s hiatuses and breakup Johansen would always return as the Dolls’ leading vocalist. However, Johansen achieved the most commercial success as Buster Poindexter; one of his most popular tunes was “Hot Hot Hot.”
