Buster Poindexter is a self-titled album released by RCA Records in 1987 by Buster Poindexter, the alter ego of New York Dolls frontman David Johansen.
| Buster Poindexter | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 7, 1987 | |||
| Length | 40:19 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | Hank Medress | |||
| Buster Poindexter chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Rolling Stone | (positive) link[dead link] |
| The Village Voice | B+ link |
Johansen re-recorded the track "Heart of Gold" as Buster Poindexter, which originally appeared on Johansen's 1981 solo album Here Comes the Night.[1] The song "Hot Hot Hot" was a Billboard single and received heavy play on MTV.
Development of the Buster Poindexter character
editAround 1982,[2] Johansen began performing under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter in a small club in his neighborhood.[3] He adopted the pseudonym to avoid fans of his music from coming to the shows and asking for his music. The shows grew in popularity, and gradually the original three piece band with which he performed grew in size to the Banshees of Blue, accompanied by The Uptown Horns.[4] They achieved moderate commercial success, performing jump blues, traditional pop, swing, and novelty songs.[5] Shortly before the album's release, Buster began appearing as part of the house band on the television program Saturday Night Live.[6]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Smack Dab in the Middle" | Chuck Calhoun, Michael Mains | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Bad Boy" | Avon Long, Lil Hardin Armstrong | 3:07 |
| 3. | "Hot Hot Hot" | Alphonsus "Arrow" Cassell | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Are You Lonely for Me, Baby?" | Bert Berns | 3:38 |
| 5. | "Screwy Music" | Jimmie Lunceford | 3:17 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Good Morning Judge" | Louis Innis, Wynonie Harris | 3:37 |
| 7. | "Oh Me, Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)" | Jim Doris | 3:52 |
| 8. | "Whadaya Want?" | Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller | 2:44 |
| 9. | "House of the Rising Sun" | Traditional; credited to Josh White; Terry Holmes | 3:40 |
| 10. | "Cannibal" | David Johansen, Joe Delia | 4:45 |
| 11. | "Heart of Gold" | Johansen | 4:40 |
| Total length: | 40:19 | ||
Personnel
edit- Buster Poindexter and His Banshees of Blue
- Buster Poindexter - vocals
- Patti Scialfa - backing vocals
- Crispin Cioe - alto and baritone saxophone
- Joe Delia - organ, piano, horn arrangements
- Bob Funk - trombone
- Tony "Antoine Fats" Garnier - bass
- Carl Hall - backing vocals
- Arno Hecht - tenor saxophone
- "Hollywood" Paul Litteral - trumpet
- Brian Koonin - guitar, banjo, mandolin
- Lisa Lowell - backing vocals
- Tony Machine - drums (3rd drummer New York Dolls: 1976–77)
- Soozie Tyrell - violin, backing vocals
- Louise Bethune - backing vocals
- Fred Wolcott - percussion
- Larry Poindexter - accordion
- Technical
- John Sheard - associate producer, Synclavier and string arrangements
- Bill Scheniman - engineer, mixing
- Ria Lewerke - art direction
- Ken Nahoum - photography
References
edit- ^ "Here Comes the Night - David Johansen". Allmusic. 1982.
- ^ Morrison, Susan (October 8, 2014). "Festival Spotlight: Buster Poindexter". New Yorker (magazine).
- ^ Visco, Gerry (October 28, 2014). "The New York Doll Turned Lounge Lizard". Interview (magazine).
- ^ Gross, Terry (May 5, 2023). "New York Dolls co-founder David Johansen helped pave the way for punk". NPR.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Buster Poindexter Biography". Allmusic.
- ^ "Buster Poindexter Setlist". Setlist.fm.