David Johansen, who segued from being the New York Dolls frontman to his Buster Poindexter alter ego and back again, has died at age 75.

In the 1970s, he and the transgressive Dolls were proto-punk pioneers. He later refashioned himself as the pompadoured lounge lizard Buster Poindexter.

David Johansen has died. Although best known and celebrated for his work as lead singer of formative American punk band New York Dolls, Johansen was an unabashed artistic chameleon, who also achieved mainstream chart success under his Buster Poindexter pseudonym,

Our 2011 interview with the late David Johansen finds him talking about Arthur Kane, Johnny Thunders and dancing backwards in high heels

In a statement shared with Vulture, Scorsese remembers the grit and “energy” of New York that came alongside Johansen’s work. Below is Scorsese’s full tribute to the late musician. “With David Johansen,

David Johansen, the wiry, gravelly-voiced singer and last surviving member of the glam and protopunk band the New York Dolls, has died.

"In the history books, it would always say, ‘They were trashy. They were flashy. They were drug addicts. They were drag queens,'" Johansen said. "I realized that, you know, it really is art.”