Buster Poindexter (album)

Last updated
Buster Poindexter
BusterPoindexter.gif
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 7, 1987
Length40:19
Label RCA
Producer Hank Medress
Buster Poindexter chronology
Sweet Revenge
(1984)
Buster Poindexter
(1987)
Buster Goes Berserk
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg link
Rolling Stone (positive) link [ dead link ]
The Village Voice B+ link

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.

Contents

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

Around 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

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Smack Dab in the Middle" Chuck Calhoun, Michael Mains3:52
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
Side two
No.TitleWriter(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 Doris3:52
8."Whadaya Want?" Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller 2:44
9."House of the Rising Sun"Traditional; credited to Josh White; Terry Holmes3:40
10."Cannibal"David Johansen, Joe Delia 4:45
11."Heart of Gold"Johansen4:40
Total length:40:19

Personnel

Buster Poindexter and His Banshees of Blue
Technical

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References

  1. "Here Comes the Night - David Johansen". Allmusic . 1982.
  2. Morrison, Susan (October 8, 2014). "Festival Spotlight: Buster Poindexter". New Yorker (magazine) .
  3. Visco, Gerry (October 28, 2014). "The New York Doll Turned Lounge Lizard". Interview (magazine) .
  4. Gross, Terry (May 5, 2023). "New York Dolls co-founder David Johansen helped pave the way for punk". NPR.
  5. Ruhlmann, William. "Buster Poindexter Biography". Allmusic.
  6. "Buster Poindexter Setlist". Setlist.fm.