I bought that first album because I thought it looked cooler than any album cover I had ever seen. I had never heard of them, but I was looking at punk records because an obnoxious classmate gave me Never Mind the Bollocks as a joke and I loved it, so I wanted more. The Pistols, Dolls and Ramones were the first bands that actually made sense to me when I was a kid...I liked other bands (including Kiss) but those were real to me in a way that other bands and music just weren't.
I got the chance to meet David up here in Seattle a long time ago and I told him how that record changed my life, and how much I dug his vocals on all their songs; he was still not totally OK with the Dolls legacy at that point but he was gracious and took the time to chat with me for a bit. He was super cool. He deserved better than to have to beg for money to pay his bills at the end of his life for sure, but man, what a legacy he will leave. Thanks for this post, Scott.
Scott, I'm a little older than you, am also a huge Pistols fan (Why do I need every variation of NMTB?) but I always loved David Johansen--he always seemed like he was having a great time even during his post Dolls solo career and Buster Poindexter period. R.I.P.
I bought that first album because I thought it looked cooler than any album cover I had ever seen. I had never heard of them, but I was looking at punk records because an obnoxious classmate gave me Never Mind the Bollocks as a joke and I loved it, so I wanted more. The Pistols, Dolls and Ramones were the first bands that actually made sense to me when I was a kid...I liked other bands (including Kiss) but those were real to me in a way that other bands and music just weren't.
I got the chance to meet David up here in Seattle a long time ago and I told him how that record changed my life, and how much I dug his vocals on all their songs; he was still not totally OK with the Dolls legacy at that point but he was gracious and took the time to chat with me for a bit. He was super cool. He deserved better than to have to beg for money to pay his bills at the end of his life for sure, but man, what a legacy he will leave. Thanks for this post, Scott.
Scott, I'm a little older than you, am also a huge Pistols fan (Why do I need every variation of NMTB?) but I always loved David Johansen--he always seemed like he was having a great time even during his post Dolls solo career and Buster Poindexter period. R.I.P.