Fame (David Bowie song)

Infobox Single
Name = Fame


Artist = David Bowie
from Album = Young Americans
B-side = "Right"
Released = start date|1975|8|18
Format = 7" single
Recorded = The Power Plant, New York January 1975
Genre = Rock, Funk
Length = 03:30 Single edit 04:12 Full-length album version
Label = RCA Records
Rykodisc/EMI ("Fame '90")
Writer = David Bowie, Carlos Alomar, John Lennon
Producer = Harry Maslin, David Bowie
Last single = "Young Americans"
(1975)
This single = "Fame"
(1975)
Next single = "Golden Years"
(1975)Extra chronology 2
Last single = "Never Let Me Down"
(1987)
This single = "Fame '90"
(1990)
Next single = "Real Cool World"
(1992)Extra chronology 2
Artist = Tin Machine
Type = Single
Last single = "Prisoner of Love"
(1989)
This single = "Fame '90"
(1990)
Next single = "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll"
(1991)
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = Single


Lower caption = "Fame '90" cover

"Fame" is a song recorded by David Bowie, initially released in 1974 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 The Power Plant studio 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 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.

Lennon's voice was heard at the ending of the song, repeating the word: "FAME, FAME, FAME", from a fast track to a slow track of his voice, as it started from a high voice, culminating in his regular voice, and ending in a lower deep voice, before Bowie finished the song with the words: "Fame, What's your name, what's your name, what's your name, what's your name, what's your name". The songwriting credit list order has always been 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 (ironically, 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.

Interestingly, James Brown plagiarised the essential musical content and production style in his 1976 single "Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)" (R&B #31). Given the long tradition of white musicians' borrowing of the creations of black artists, and the fact that the song's style seems to emulate Brown's own work from that period, many wrongly assumed it to have originally been Brown's creation.

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.

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"

"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.

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.

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 27th, 2000, was released on Disc 3 of "Bowie at the Beeb" and on .

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)
** "" (1993)
** "The Best of 1974/1979" (1998)
** "Best of Bowie" (2002)
* "" (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)

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 featured in the "Ashes to Ashes" episode "Charity Begins at Home".

Cover versions

* 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)
* Infectious Grooves - "Sarsippius' Ark" (1993)
* Dave Matthews Band - Live recording
* Love and Money - 12" single
* 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"
* Ronald Rat
* Stardust - Live performance
* Tommy Lee - Featured as "Fame 02" on the album "Never a Dull Moment"
* Vanilla Ice - "Mind Blowin"' (1994)
* God Lives Underwater - "Up Off the Floor" (2004)
* Umphreys McGee - Encore: 12/30/2005PAGENAME is the core sample of the similarly named song on Unfinished Business (EPMD album).

References

*Pegg, Nicholas, "The Complete David Bowie", Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5