Fame (David Bowie song)
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| "Fame" | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by David Bowie | |||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Young Americans | |||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Right" | ||||||||||||||||||
| Released | July 25, 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | Electric Lady Studios, New York January 1975 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Funk Rock | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 03:30 Single edit 04:12 Full-length album version |
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| Label | RCA Records Rykodisc/EMI ("Fame '90") |
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| Writer(s) | David Bowie, Carlos Alomar, John Lennon | ||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Harry Maslin, David Bowie | ||||||||||||||||||
| David Bowie singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||
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"Fame" is a song recorded by David Bowie, initially released in 1975 and in remixed versions, in 1990.
With the Young Americans sessions mostly concluded in late 1974, the material was delayed while Bowie extricated himself from his contract with manager Tony DeFries. During this time he was staying in New York, and met John Lennon. The pair socialised and jammed together, which led to a one-day session at Electric Lady Studios in January 1975. There, Bowie contacted several members of his tour band. Firstly a cover of The Beatles’ "Across the Universe" was recorded. Then a new song called "Fame", inspired by "Walk On", from the Jackson Five's "Going Back to Indiana" live album, and a guitar riff written by Carlos Alomar and with the title from Lennon, was then hurriedly developed by Bowie, and recorded. Both tracks were then added to the Young Americans album. Despite having only a minor contribution, Lennon was given a co-writing credit due to the lyrics (bemoaning the nature of celebrity) being inspired by conversations he had with Bowie on the subject, and because Bowie acknowledged that Lennon singing "Fame!" over Alomar’s guitar riff was the catalyst for the song. The songwriting credit list order is David Bowie, Carlos Alomar, and John Lennon.
An edited version of "Fame" was issued as the second single from the album, and shot to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (a few months before a reissue of "Space Oddity" would give Bowie his first UK number-one single). In the UK, "Fame" would only reach number seventeen.
Contents |
[edit] 1975 track listing
- "Fame" (Bowie, Alomar, Lennon) – 3:30
- "Right" (Bowie) – 4:13
- The alternate version of the single had "Golden Years" as the B-side.
- The Italian version of the single had "Space Oddity" as the B-side.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart | 17 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 9 |
[edit] 1975 musicians
- David Bowie – Vocals, Guitar
- John Lennon – Vocals, Guitar on "Fame"
- Carlos Alomar – Guitar on "Fame"
- Emir Kassan – Bass on "Fame"
- Dennis Davis – Drums on "Fame"
- Ralph McDonald – Percussion on "Fame"
- Willie Weeks – Bass on "Right"
- Mike Garson – Piano on "Right"
- Andy Newmark – Drums on "Right"
- David Sanborn – Saxophone on "Right"
- Pablo Rosario – Percussion on "Right"
- Larry Washington – Conga on "Right"
- Ava Cherry, Robin Clark, Luther Vandross – Backing vocals on "Right"
[edit] "Fame '90"
A remixed version of "Fame" was released by EMI in 1990 to coincide with the Sound + Vision tour and the release of the ChangesBowie compilation. The "Gass Mix" was also included on the "Pretty Woman" soundtrack.
[edit] Track listing
Song written by David Bowie, Carlos Alomar, and John Lennon.
- "Fame '90" (with Queen Latifah) –5:58
- "Fame '90" (House mix) –5:58
- "Fame '90" (Gass mix) – 3:36
- "Fame '90" (Hip hop mix) – 3:10
- "Fame '90" (Absolutely Nothing Premeditated/Epic Mix) – 14:25
Film director Gus Van Sant directed the promotional video for this version, which featured clips from many of Bowie’s previous videos. In the music video, Bowie also performs a dance with Louise Lecavalier, one of the main dancers of the Québécois contemporary dance troupe La La La Human Steps (whom Bowie would collaborate with on the Sound + Vision tour).
In both the UK and the U.S. this appeared in a variety of formats, including a 7" picture disc, an "Arthur Baker Remixes" 12 inch single and a "Changes pack" with three prints of Bowie at different eras. None of the British releases (on EMI USA) feature the "Absolutely Nothing Premeditated mix". It stayed in the UK chart for four weeks, peaking at number twenty-eight.
[edit] Live versions
- A live version recorded on the Heroes tour at the Philadelphia Spectrum, April 28-29th, 1978, was released on Stage.
- An updated version recorded from Bowie's performance at the BBC Radio Theatre, June 27, 2000, was released on Disc 3 of Bowie at the Beeb and on BBC Radio Theater: London June 27, 2000.
[edit] Other releases
- It was released as the B-side of the U.S. release of "Beauty and the Beast" in January 1978.
- It appears on several compilations in its album version:
- ChangesOneBowie (1976)
- Fame and Fashion (1984)
- Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
- The Best of 1974/1979 (1998)
- Best of Bowie (2002)
- Have a Nice Decade: The 70s Pop Culture Box (1998) contains its single version.
- The "Fame '90" remix also appeared on:
- Changesbowie (1990)
- The Singles Collection (1993)
- Best of Bowie (2002) (Germany/Switzerland/Austria and Australia versions; Colombia/Ecuador/Peru/Venezuela contains both versions)
[edit] Film and television use
- In 1990, a new mix was used on the soundtrack for the movie Pretty Woman (see above).
- It was used in the movie A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries by James Ivory and Ismail Merchant.
- It was used in the movie Copycat during a murder scene in a bar.
- It was released as a picture disc in the RCA Life Time picture disc set.
- It was used as its original version in the movie Next Friday.
- It was featured on an episode of Nip/Tuck.
- It was featured on an episode of Doogie Howser, M.D..
- It featured in the Ashes to Ashes episode "Charity Begins at Home".
- It appears as a playable track in Guitar Hero 5
[edit] Cover versions
- Dennis Coffey - Fame (playtime: 3:48) / Vinyl-LP: Finger Lickin Good (1975/USA/Westbound)
- Duran Duran - 12" single for "Careless Memories"; included on Starman: Rare and Exclusive Versions of 18 Classic David Bowie Songs, CD premium from the March 2003 issue of Uncut magazine
- Egostatic - .2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie (2006)
- Eurythmics - previously unreleased bonus track on 2005 remaster of the album Touch (1983)
- The Feelies - Something Wild video
- FuckEmos - Only Bowie (1995)
- God Lives Underwater - Up Off The Floor (2004)
- Nina Hagen - The chorus in Nina Hagen's song "Heiss" is the vocal part and line "Is it any wonder" from Fame
- Infectious Grooves - Sarsippius' Ark (1993)
- Jay-Z - The Takeover uses a sample of the vocalized title (2001)
- Tommy Lee - Featured as "Fame 02" on the album Never a Dull Moment
- Love and Money - 12" single
- Dave Matthews Band - Live recording
- Umphreys McGee - Encore: 12/30/2005
- George Michael - Performed live at his 1991 Cover to Cover tour.
- Pearl Jam - Live recording
- RC - Dr. Dre Presents...The Aftermath (1996)
- The Rockridge Synthesiser Orchestra - Plays David Bowie Classic Trax
- Stardust - Live performance
- Stickfigure - Hero: The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie (2007)
- Vanilla Ice - Mind Blowin' (1994)
- Scott Weiland - Features Paul Oakenfold on Weiland's second solo album "Happy" in Galoshes, released in 2008
| Preceded by "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single September 20, 1975 |
Succeeded by "Calypso" / "I'm Sorry" by John Denver |
[edit] References
- Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
