The New York Dolls in Amsterdam, 1973. From left, Arthur Kane, Johansen, Johnny Thunders, Sylvain Sylvain, and Jerry Nolan.

The group outside Gem Spa, on New York City’s St. Mark’s Place.

Johansen, as Buster Poindexter, and Cyndi Lauper, 1989.

*Top,* Johansen at the opening of his art show “Saints and Sinners” at Ricco/Maresca Gallery, in New York City, 2003; *above,* with the New York Dolls onstage in Amsterdam, 1973.

Onstage with the New York Dolls in 1973.

The New York Dolls on the BBC music showcase *The Old Grey Whistle Test.*

*Top,* Joan Jett, Deborah Harry, Johansen, and Joey Ramone during a shoot for *Punk* magazine, 1977; *above,* Johansen and his wife Mara Hennessey at an anti-Trump protest in 2018.

The New York Dolls in 1974. From left, Kane, Nolan, Johansen, Sylvain, and Thunders.

Johansen serves as the marshall of Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade, 2005.

The Godfather of Punk

As the glam lead singer of the New York Dolls, David Johansen changed music forever

By Legs McNeil

It must have been about three o’clock in the morning on the Bowery. I had already spent all my money on beer, and Joey Ramone and Arturo Vega were out of town with the Ramones, so I couldn’t crash at their loft. So I started off toward the office of Punk magazine on 10th Avenue at 30th Street—the “Punk Dump,” as we called it—to spend the night.

Suddenly, a Checker cab pulled up, the back door flew open, and I heard that unmistakable gruff voice: “Hey, Legs, get in. It’s about time you learned how to eat Chinese food!”