Happy Birthday David Johansen!
David Johansen (photo swiped from Google search)
Happy Birthday David Johansen! From the New York Dolls to the Harry Smiths, David Jo is another artist that can do no wrong musically. He is a chameleon and a genius who never skips a beat in changing with the times.
I have a very funny David Johansen story.
Almost 10 years ago I interviewed him for The Montclair Times entertainment section. His publicity person was dead set on having a particular time to interview because David Jo didn’t want to talk on his cell phone. (Hey, that was A-OK in my book — I hate cell phones too!)
Then, the publicity person sent a B&W photo, which in this day and age didn’t make sense, but hey that’s what we had to work with, so UNFORTUNATELY, because the photo was B&W, not color, we couldn’t put him on the cover of the entertainment section. Instead, a local artist named Cate was put on the cover.
In addition to interviewing him, I met him so many times over the years, by chance, and he was always a great guy, funny and a real gentleman. I was too young to see the original New York Dolls, but I’ve seen their reunion, as well as David Jo doing solo stuff (circa 1982), Buster Poindexter, and The Harry Smiths — all these versions of his talent many times, in NYC, in New Jersey, and even in Long Island.
Whenever I saw him as Buster Poindexter, I always made sure to hop on the conga line for “Hot Hot Hot.” One time I was right behind him, so I grabbed his butt just for the fun of it.
Out of everything David Johansen ever did, I have to admit his solo stuff is what touched my heart the most.
Here are some of my favorite David Johansen songs:
NEW YORK DOLLS
DAVID JOHANSEN – SOLO
BUSTER POINDEXTER
David Johansen and THE HARRY SMITHS
Reblogged this on Maryanne Mistretta and commented:
From my Jukebox page