Ah Crap, David Jo’s Got Cancer

Not a personality crisis, but a major health crisis:

[www.sweetrelief.org]

I've seen him in-person several times, all within the last eight years, and it really puts everything in a different context.

The first time was at the Lou Reed tribute at Lincoln Center, July 30, 2016 - sadly it's the only time I've ever seen him perform live, but he was the highlight of the entire day. He came out looking incredibly fit and thin with a tight aqua T-shirt that showed off his waist. After thanking everyone for "doing your civic duty" by coming out for the show, he launched into "Rock and Roll Heart" with a beaming Lee Ranaldo accompanying him on guitar. Steve Shelley was on drums and the recently departed Sal Maida was also on bass. (Side note, with both Johansen and Maida suffering severe falls - in Maida's case, a fatal one - and filmmaker/photographer Jerry Schatzberg suffering a terrible fall last week, there should really be a PSA on helping the elderly get around.) Johansen later came back that evening and nailed a magnificent "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" in a snazzy white outfit, with Earl Slick delivering a great guitar solo as well. Johansen sounded so good, looked so lively on the first song and so stately that evening that I really hoped he'd do another full-blown rock tour.

The next time I saw him was at the NYFF premiere of the Scorsese doc in October 2022. I remember being taken aback by how thin he looked, appearing frail rather than fit. Most likely I chalked it up to age, especially in the wake of the pandemic. I saw him at a few shows after that, but in the audience and not on stage, and always wearing an eye patch. Initially, I wasn't sure if it was just him trying to go incognito - apparently someone asked and I guess he said he had some eye thing he was dealing with. The last time I saw him was the most memorable - last year at Jonathan Richman's show in Brooklyn, and it was mind-blowing to see them actually hanging out afterwards. They're often in the history books right next to each other when tracing the development of punk, but I never assumed their musical connection reflected or translated into an actual friendship.

I regret missing his Carlyle shows and especially his appearance at the Brooklyn Folk Festival in late 2023 - I knew about that last one but couldn't attend because I had tickets to another event that day.

Found it: David Johansen at the Lou Reed tribute performing "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'"

[www.youtube.com]

So this will finally get the Dolls into the RRHoF. (Unless Johansen recovers.)

And as predicted, none of them will get to enjoy their induction, whenever it comes. Nice going Hall of Fame.

Anyway, I played the Dolls' first two Mercury albums back-to-back, and it's crushing to hear that line-up come to an abrupt end after just two studio albums. There's no doubt they would've made a brilliant third album had Mercury stuck by them - Johnny Thunders's Heartbreakers and David Johansen's solo debut is proof of that. Then again, getting L.A.M.F. and David Johansen out of the split isn't a bad trade...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2025 07:53PM by belfast.

The brain cancer is horrific enough, but it's complicated by his broken back by the fall on some stairs in November. That photo of him in the hospital is heart wrenching.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

Not-so-fun-fact (for those who don't know): He does -not- get any Buster Pointdexter royalties from "Hot Hot Hot."

I was told that he’s had most of his royalties in general tied up in music biz accounting b.s. for some years now.

I think his whole recording career has been plagued by such issues, going back to the way Mercury treated the Dolls.

Here's a link to Paul Nelson's classic Village Voice article on them:

[www.villagevoice.com]

I'll be doing a tribute show tomorrow morning. And supposedly David J & family will be listening in. So I've been told. Say hi to
em on the chat!
[wfmu.org]

I probably got to know him via his ultra-suave In Style album - my brothers had the Dolls albums, but they had them on 8 tracks, which never left their cars, so unless I was riding with them when they were playing the tapes, I never heard them. But they had In Style on vinyl, and I listened the hell out of "Melody," "Swaheto Woman," etc. So for me, David was always more of a blue eyed soul man than a proto-punker, though once I finally heard the Dolls, I became a big fan.

RIP David