''Buster Poindexter'' is a self-titled album released by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

in 1987 by Buster Poindexter, the

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

David Johansen David Roger Johansen (January 9, 1950 – February 28, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor best known as lead singer of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Po ...

. Johansen re-recorded the track "Heart of Gold" as Buster Poindexter, which originally appeared on Johansen's 1981 solo album ''

Here Comes the Night "Here Comes the Night" is a 1964 song, written by Bert Berns. It became a hit for Northern Irish band Them, fronted by Van Morrison, in March 1965, charting at No. 2 in the UK and No. 24 in the US. Them's single is listed at either No. 33 or No ...

.'' The song " Hot Hot Hot" was a

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

single and received heavy play on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Development of the Buster Poindexter character

Around 1982, Johansen began performing under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter in a small club in his neighborhood. 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. They achieved moderate commercial success, performing

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

traditional pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western culture, Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known ...

, swing, and

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

s. Shortly before the album's release, Buster began appearing as part of the

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

on the television program ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Buster Poindexter and His Banshees of Blue * Buster Poindexter - vocals *

Patti Scialfa Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into t ...

- backing vocals *Crispin Cioe - alto and baritone saxophone *

Joe Delia Joseph Delia (born October 11, 1948) is an American singer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. He is the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the eponymous blues rock band Joe Delia & Thieves, after previously touring as a sess ...

- 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 (third drummer New York Dolls: 1975–1976) *

Soozie Tyrell Soozie Tyrell (born May 4, 1957), formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist, guitarist, and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band and formerly the Sessions Band. Early life and educatio ...

- 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

External links

*
Buster Poindexter on FacebookNew York Dolls HomepageDavid Johansen Resource
* *

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

* Buster Poindexterat

{{Authority control 1987 albums Buster Poindexter albums RCA Records albums