New York Dolls Frontman David Johansen Dies at 75
by Best Classic Bands Staff
This ad for the New York Dolls’ debut album appeared in the August 18, 1973, issue of Record World magazine.
David Johansen, the legendary co-founder of the New York Dolls, died Friday, February 28, 2025. The news arrived Saturday morning (March 1), just weeks after it was announced that he had been living with stage 4 cancer and a brain tumor. Diagnosed in 2020, Johansen made the decision to keep his illness private. His daughter, Leah Hennessey, confirmed his passing at age 75 at his home in New York.
Last November, Johansen fell and broke his back in two places, which required surgery. Despite a successful procedure, the performer, had been bedridden and incapacitated, requiring around-the-clock care. In early February, Sweet Relief launched the David Johansen Fund. to raise money to provide full time nursing, physical therapy and funding for day-to-day vital living expenses. Sweet Relief also offered a special Johansen t-shirt with all proceeds going to his treatment.
A statement on the site noted that “David and his family were deeply moved by the outpouring of love and support they’ve experienced recently as the result of having gone public with their challenges. He was thankful that he had a chance to be in touch with so many friends and family before he passed. He knew he was ecstatically loved.
”There will be several events celebrating David’s life and artistry, details to follow.”
David Johansen and his daughter, Leah Hennessey, in an undated photo.
In a statement on February 10, Johansen said, “We’ve been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends and family, carrying on, but this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation. This is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I’ve never been one to ask for help, but this is an emergency. Thank you.”
David Johansen (Photo: Bob Gruen; used with permission)
Johansen was the lead singer and songwriter of the legendary New York Dolls, widely acknowledged as a cornerstone of the glam movement and one of the first (and most dynamic) punk bands. Born January 9, 1950, David Roger Johansen grew up in the New York City borough of Staten Island. He began his musical career in the late 1960s as the lead singer of the Vagabond Missionaries, a Staten Island band. The New York Dolls were formed in 1971, and included initially–beside lead vocalist Johansen–guitarist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur Kane, guitarist Rick Rivets and drummer Billy Murcia. Rivets was replaced by guitarist/keyboardist Sylvain Sylvain and Murcia, who died in 1972, by Jerry Nolan.
Signed to Mercury Records, the group released its self-titled debut album, produced by Todd Rundgren, in 1973, followed by Too Much Too Soon, produced by George “Shadow” Morton, the following year. Dressed in female attire, heavy makeup, spandex and other finery that was atypical of rock bands at the time, the Dolls could not find an in with the mainstream audience. The albums only reached #116 and #167, respectively, in Billboard, and Mercury dropped them in 1975. Along with internal problems, including substance abuse, the Dolls had called it quits by 1976.
Their influence on other musicians and bands, however, was just beginning, and over the ensuing decades the impact of the Dolls continued to expand, particularly on the nascent punk rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s.
On March 5, the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde wrote, in tribute: “David Johansen [was] a friend and major contributor to music… huge inspiration. A gentleman, always well turned out (the very definition of ‘cool’… the guy could easily been commandeering a food truck in NYC with great success) who dazzled the world with his beautiful voice. Plus he gave the Pretenders our first gig in the U.K. supporting his band. Fly on Bro!”
In 1978, Johansen released his self-titled debut album, followed through the years by several others under his own name, along with releases as Buster Poindexter and the Harry Smiths, exploring American roots music and other forms. A revived New York Dolls released three “reunion” albums in the 21st century, but by the 2011’s Dancing Backward in High Heels, only Johansen and Sylvain were left: Thunders had died in 1991; Nolan in 1992; and Kane in 2004. Sylvain’s death in 2021 left Johansen as the last surviving member of the classic New York Dolls.
Johansen was recently the subject of Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi’s documentary Personality Crisis: One Night Only, which brilliantly captured an evening of his songs and storytelling, while offering a little context to the wild tapestry of his life.
Related: Our feature on the New York Dolls’ 1973 acclaimed debut
After the breakup of the Dolls, Johansen started the David Johansen Band, before reinventing himself yet again as a big band leader in the 1980s under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter. Although his 1987 recording of the song “Hot Hot Hot” wasn’t a significant chart hit, reaching only #45 on the Hot 100, it’s remained a cultural touchstone.
The personable entertainer has also dabbled in acting, perhaps most notably as the Ghost of Christmas Past in the 1988 Bill Murray film Scrooged.
Inspired by his passion for the blues and arcane American folk music Johansen formed the group The Harry Smiths, and toured the world performing the songs of Howlin’ Wolf with Hubert Sumlin and Levon Helm. He also hosted a weekly radio show, “The Mansion of Fun,” on Sirius XM. He had an exhibition of his paintings in New York last summer at Elliot Templeton Fine Arts gallery. His recordings are available here.
Related: Musician deaths of 2025
4 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationAmazing life… the last remaining member of the Dolls…he is in my prayers!
Frenchette is a great song off his David Johanson album.
I could not agree more, and that debut solo album is one of my all-time favorites. He was a classic.
Had the opportunity to see David as Buster 2x at the Bottom Line in NY. The intimate setting was perfect for these shows. It was quite entertaining. I loved the jokes and quips in between and during the setlist. RIP Buster
So long, Davey.
I have memories of auditioning for the NY Dolls at the Mercer Arts Center.
My late, wonderful friend, Eric Marshall, was Arthur “Killer” Kane’s roommate at Pratt Institute and he got me the audition.
AND in the middle of the audition, jamming on “Daddy Rolling Stone”
(written by my writing partner, Otis Blackwell and covered by the Who!)
Killer Kane breaks into the studio and begs to “come back to the band”.
And so…I go!
From Arthur “Killer” Kane Wiki page:
“Kane attended Pratt Institute[5] in Brooklyn, New York as a Food Science and Management student. During his early years there, Kane socialized with art students such as Eric Marshall in the Pratt dormitory on Willoughby Avenue. Marshall was later, through association with the retro New Wave band Marbles, recruited on saxophone for fellow-Doll Sylvain’s short-lived Criminals.”