David Johansen, frontman of the New York Dolls, dies aged 75

nme.com:

New York Dolls, has died at the age of 75.The news was announced by his daughter Leah Hennessey, who confirmed that he passed away on Friday (February 28) at his home in New York.

He had been diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2020.As the singer in the New York Dolls, Johansen was fundamental in the shaping of the aesthetic that would go on to define punk rock, merging elements of glam and hard rock with a distinctively anti-establishment attitude and resonating with an emerging generation of music fans.Born on January 9, 1950, the Staten Island native began his music career with the band The Vagabond Missionaries in the late ‘60s, before forming the Dolls in 1971 with Johnny Thunders, Sylvain Sylvain and Arthur Kane.They released two highly influential studio albums together – ‘New York Dolls’ (1973) and ‘Too Much Too Soon’ (1974) – before splitting in 1976 and not performing together again until 2004.Johansen went on to lead a successful solo career, opening for The Who, before swerving in the late ‘80s into the alter ego Buster Poindexter, a louche lounge singer that performed regularly with the Saturday Night Live band.

He had a hit under that name with ‘Hot Hot Hot’ in 1987.He also embarked on a semi-regular acting career, appearing most notably alongside Bill Murray in 1988’s festival classic Scrooged.

Other credits included Let It Ride, Mr. Nanny and The Adventures of Pete and Pete.Several figures from the music industry have been paying tribute to Johansen, including Stevie Van Zandt, who described him as, “One of the most unique legends of our business and a very good friend.