David Johansen

• Born: September 01, 1950, New York, NY
• Active: '80s, '90s
• Genres: Rock
• Instrument: Vocals
• Representative Albums: "Buster Poindexter," "Buster's Happy Hour," "Buster Goes Berserk"
• Representative Songs: "Hot Hot Hot," "Hit the Road Jack," "Smack Dab in the Middle"

Biography

"Buster Poindexter" is the pseudonym rock singer David Johansen adopted in the mid-'80s for a semi-comic nightclub-singer act he began to perform. Eschewing his hard rock solo career (which followed a stint as lead singer of The New York Dolls), Johansen turned up at the New York club Tramps in a tuxedo, with a band he dubbed The Banshees of Blue, and sang pop standards, jump blues, and various novelty material. Eventually, the act won him a record contract, resulting in a few albums on RCA, but it was basically a live attraction. Since then, Johansen has pursued an acting career, though he maintains The Buster persona, appearing, for example, in the Catskills in the summer of 1992. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Hot Hot Hot Buy this CD

Buster's Spanish Rocketship Buy this CD

Buster's Happy Hour Buy this CD

Buster Poindexter Buy this CD

Buster Poindexter Buy this CD

• Artist: David Johansen
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1978 05
• Total Time: 38:16
• Genre: Rock

Review

David Johansen's self-titled solo debut bears a closer resemblance to his work with the New York Dolls than any of his subsequent recordings, but the former Dolls singer cleverly crafted an album that played to his former band's strengths while establishing an identity of his own and delivering a set of tight but powerful hard rock. Where the Dolls were frequently sloppy and poorly focused (if often gloriously so), David Johansen rocks with a cleaner but equally emphatic guitar attack (courtesy Johnny Rao and Thomas Trask), while Johansen's vocals are noticeably more powerful and sharper than his earlier music. Johansen's songs are more straightforward and less campy than his Dolls tunes; while "Funky But Chic" would have done his old glam buddies proud ("Mama says I look fruity, but in jeans I feel rotten"), the celebration of the fair sex in "Girls" and "I'm a Lover" cuts his former sexual ambiguity to the quick, and the tough rock & roll good times of "Cool Metro" and the girl-trouble commiseration of "Pain In My Heart" show Johansen could move into more conventional lyrical territory without losing his swagger or street smarts along the way. And while the Dolls didn't leave Johansen much room for slow songs where he could wear his heart on his sleeve, "Donna" and "Frenchette" allow him to do just that, and remarkably well. David Johansen in some respects seems like a deliberate attempt to sidestep much of the baggage that weighed down the New York Dolls in their bid for rock stardom, but at the same time its celebration of women and good times isn't simple or without its own appreciation of good danger, and it rocks out with a New York street vibe that has a life of its own; it's still Johansen's best solo work to date. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Funky But Chic		David Johansen	(4:00)
Girls		David Johansen	(3:38)
Pain in My Heart		David Johansen	(3:28)
Not That Much		David Johansen	(3:03)
Donna		David Johansen	(4:31)
Cool Metro		David Johansen	(3:59)
I'm a Lover		David Johansen	(3:35)
Lonely Tenement		David Johansen	(4:14)
Frenchette	Sylvain Sylvain	David Johansen	(5:32)

Credits

David Johansen (Guitar), David Johansen (Castanets), David Johansen (Chimes), David Johansen (Vocals), David Johansen (Producer), Nona Hendryx (Vocals), Nona Hendryx (Vocals (Background)), Sarah Dash (Vocals (Background)), Jimmie Mack (Vocals), Scarlet Rivera (Violin), Sylvain Sylvain (Guitar), Steven Paul (Director), Bobby Blain (Organ), Bobby Blain (Piano), Stan Bronstein (Horn), Greg Calbi (Mastering), Felix Cavaliere (Organ), Felix Cavaliere (Vocals), Frankie La Rocka (Drums), Frankie La Rocka (Vocals), Gene Leppik (Vocals), Tony Machine (Percussion), Johnny Rao (Guitar), Gary Russell (Assistant Engineer), David Thoener (Engineer), Thomas Trask (Guitar), Buz Verno (Bass), Buz Verno (Vocals), Joe Perry Project (Guitar), Joe Perry Project (Guitar (Rhythm)), Jay Krugman (Assistant Engineer), Benno Friedman (Photography), Richard Robinson (Producer), Gregory Caruso (Assistant Engineer), Gary Green (Photography), Elena Pavlov (Design)

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