You may have known him as the rock and roll animal who fronted the glam-punk pioneering New York Dolls, you might have followed his “Funky But Chic” solo career, you might have seen his incarnation as Vegas lounge legend Buster Poindexter, of “Hot Hot Hot” fame, you might have heard his satellite radio show, or spotted him in movies… David Johansen was all of it and more. He had a fascinating life and career, and through most of it, he wasn’t exactly waiting around for the rest of us to keep up.
Today’s song comes from his Buster Poindexter days, a faithful take on the Louis Armstrong Christmas classic complete with a fun video. But I also want to give a shout out today to Johansen’s role in the 80’s movie “Scrooged,” in which he plays the Ghost of Christmas Past in the form of a deranged cab driver who shuttles Bill Murray’s character back in time.
It’s a gloriously weird scene, and one that had a very strange effect on one of Johansen’s old bandmates. According to Rolling Stone, bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane caught the movie on cable TV in 1989, and when he saw Johansen nailing his part, he “flew into a jealous, psychotic rage because his own film career had gone nowhere.” After a drunken attack that his then-wife said prompted her to become his ex, Kane jumped out a window:
“Kane survived the fall because a planter box broke his fall, but he landed on his head, and shattered his kneecap and left elbow. It took him a year to learn to walk again. During his recovery, he came across an ad for a free bible from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Two young women came to his house to hand-deliver the book. And that was it: Kane was a devout Mormon for the remainder of his life, and it was all because he happened to come across Scrooged on cable.”[/blockquote]
A life change that fit the premise of the movie, and one of David Johansen’s many contributions to music, art and Christmas.
