RIP David Johansen, by Nick Montelongo

I don’t discuss music too often because I feel less qualified to discuss it than I do books. The words don’t come to me easily when it comes to saying how a song works, but I feel like I should say something about David Johansen who succumbed to cancer on February 28, 2025. I know him best as the front man and lead singer of the New York Dolls, a seminal New York-based rock band from the 70s. They had a wild and raucous style, but instead of leaning towards acid rock, they focused more on the roots of rock n roll: the blues. Songs like “Pills” and “Stranded in the Jungle” show these roots clearly and helped me to fall in love with old school rock. “Jet Boy,” “Puss in Boots,” “Frankenstein,” “Personality Crisis,” and “Chatterbox” convinced me that these guys knew how to rock.

As part of their shtick, they dressed in drag, some of them in dresses despite the fact that all of them were straight. Somehow this made their female fans more entranced with them. Johansen was lead singer, Sylvain Sylvain was rhythm guitarist, Johnny Thunders lead guitarist, Arthur “Killer” Kane bassist, and Billy Murcia on drums. Billy died due to strange circumstances (he was OD’ing and someone put him in a bathtub to revive him and he asphyxiated). Johnny Thunders died mysteriously too after a roller coaster solo career. Jerry Nolan, who succeeded Billy Murcia collaborated with Thunders after the Dolls, passed away a year later. Arthur Kane died in 2004 after reuniting with his surviving band members. Sylvain died of cancer a few years ago. They are now joined by Johansen.

They were fairly popular in New York City but struggled to find acceptance elsewhere during their original run from 1971 to 1976. Malcolm McClaren tried to manage the Dolls shortly before their demise, then pretty much transposed his ideas for running the band into forming and managing the Sex Pistols. The Dolls were immensely influential in the creation of punk rock and glam rock. Just about any rock band you can think of that wore makeup, looked feminine, and played wild music owed their existence to the Dolls. Where would Twisted Sister and Motley Crue be without them? Joan Jett, Billy Idol, Marilyn Manson, David Bowie, The Ramones, and The Misfits also cite them as influences. Johnny Thunders was a force of his own, creating a rawer version of Chuck Berry’s grinding riff that left a deep imprint on rock music and was pretty much a hero to every punk rock guitarist in the New York scene for many years.


Between the Dolls with their self-titled first album, their second Too Much Too Soon, and Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreaker’s album L.A.M.F., I found some of my favorite music, and so it hurts to find out that the last of the founding members of the Dolls has passed away. From what I understand, David Johansen had a fun personality and kept himself busy after the Dolls. For several years, he performed and found success as Buster Poindexter and even got some gigs in film, most notably as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the film Scrooged. The Dolls reunited in 2004 and made a few more albums together before disbanding again in 2011. It seemed like David Johansen always had something to do, and he kept up good spirits although he battled cancer for almost 5 years. I’m going to miss him. I hope to watch Martin Scorsese’s documentary of Johansen Personality Crisis: One Night Only at some point, but until then, I’ll keep listening to his music.

Written by Nicholas Montelongo