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I was never into the New York Dolls when they were a thing in the 70s. In fact, I didn’t discover them until front man David Johansen became Buster Poindexter in the 80s. He always kind of reminded me of Tom Waits for some reason. Last year, Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi—who Scorsese also worked with on the Bob Dylan documentary Rolling Thunder Revue—made a documentary about David after seeing him perform at the iconic Cafe Carlyle in New York. In a story shared by Executive Producer Mara Hennessey, David was originally booked to perform as Buster Poindexter, which he really didn't want to do. Instead, he ended up singing David Johansen songs while also sharing stories about his life. I haven't seen the whole film yet, but after seeing the trailer, it's definitely on my watch list.
Additional links:
New York Dolls: Personality Crisis
David Johansen with Budd Mishkiin
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
Blip.030: Personality Crisis
I had the pleasure of seeing David perform as Buster Poindexter during a trip to NYC in the late eighties. It was in a small, intimate club. Seating was arranged around him and the band. We stayed for both shows, and I still remember the high I felt after watching such an amazing performance. One of the highlights of my trip.