New York Dolls Vocalist David Johansen Dies, Aged 75

David Johansen, the last remaining founding member of seminal US rock band the New York Dolls has passed away at the age of 75.

News of Johansen’s death emerged over the weekend, with his family issuing a statement to confirm that he passed on February 28th.

“David Johansen died at home in NYC on Friday afternoon holding hands with his wife Mara Hennessey and daughter Leah, surrounded my music, flowers, and love,” their statement read. “He was 75 years old and died of natural causes after nearly a decade of illness.”

Indeed, just last month, Johansen’s family revealed the litany of health issues the vocalist had been facing. Ultimately forced to retire from music following the discovery of a brain tumour in early 2020, Johansen became bedridden in November after a fall saw him break his back.

Most notably, the singer was revealed to be battling stage four cancer, with a fundraising effort being launched in his name.

“We’ve been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends & family, carrying on, but this tumble  the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation,” Johansen wrote at the time. “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.”

Johansen was one of the founding members of the New York Dolls, who became famed for their passionate performances, and their mix of glam rock, hard rock, and proto punk sound and androgynous aesthetics; ultimately influencing countless other groups along the way.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 1973, with Too Much Too Soon following the year after. The band would ultimately split in 1976, but reform in 2004. Three more albums would follow, with their highest-charting – One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This – arriving in 2006. They would also play Australia twice during this period, in 2007 and 2011.

Initially formed by guitarist Sylvain Sylvain and drummer Bill Murcia in 1971, the group was rounded out by the addition of guitarist and vocalist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur Kane, and guitarist Rick Rivets. Johansen joined that same year when Thunders decided to step away from being the vocalist.

The band's lineup was frequently shifting, with many short-term members floating in and out over the years. Murcia passed away in 1972, and Thunders would later die in 1991. Kane briefly took part in their 2004 reunion before dying that same year, and Rivets and Sylvain would also pass in recent years – in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

Johansen also embarked upon a solo career, recording four albums between 1978 and 1984, and working under the name Buster Poindexter in the '80s. He also found fame as an actor, notably appearing as the Ghost Of Christmas Past alongside Bill Murray in 1988's Richard Donner-directed Scrooged.