RIP thread

[Ravenshire]

NEW YORK (AP) — David Johansen, the wiry, gravelly-voiced singer and last surviving member of the glam and protopunk band the New York Dolls who later performed as his campy, pompadoured alter ego, Buster Poindexter, has died. He was 75.

Johansen died Friday at his home in New York City, Jeff Kilgour, a family spokesperson told The Associated Press. It was revealed in early 2025 that he had stage 4 cancer and a brain tumor.

The New York Dolls were forerunners of punk and the band’s style — teased hair, women’s clothes and lots of makeup — inspired the glam movement that took up residence in heavy metal a decade later in bands like Faster Pussycat and Mötley Crüe.

“When you’re an artist, the main thing you want to do is inspire people, so if you succeed in doing that, it’s pretty gratifying,” Johansen told The Knoxville News-Sentinel in 2011.

https://apnews.com/article/david-johanse...e802d914d0

I was never a huge fan of his work, but I love this medley of Animals covers.

I've only recently been introduced to The New York Dolls, though I've likely heard their music quite a lot over the years, especially with the number of bands I listen to that cite them as an influence. They've been trending high on my rotation lately. A sad day for fans of the Dolls and of punk and glam rock/hair metal in general.