Hot Hot Hot – Buster Poindexter and His Banshees Of Blue | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#45) & Dance (#11); 1988
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
David Johansen’s flair for self-reinvention has stood him in good stead ever since he formed his first band, The Vagabond Missionaries. Early on, David was a fixture at Manhattan clubs as a patron and as a performer, first in Fast Eddie and The Electric Japs, then as a member of the New York Dolls.
The Dolls’ decidedly quirky image frequently overshadowed its proto-punk brand of Rolling Stones/MC5- influenced rock ‘n’ roll. By the mid-1970’s the NYD were appearing in red patent leather outfits accessorized with Russian and Chinese flags, and their career was on a downward spiral.
Post-NYD, Johansen soloed through four albums before morphing into lounge lizard Buster Poindexter, who drew much of his repertoire from the R&B and jump tune archives.
Sporting a tux and pompadour, and backed by pulsating horns, Poindexter/Johansen scored big time on a cover of Arrow’s 1984 Caribbean party soca (short for “soul-calypso”) hit, Hot Hot Hot.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- David Johansen
Lyrics Written by:
- Alphonsus Cassell
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).