“Fame” by David Bowie

A sly, funky bit of business.

Mar 22, 2024

It’s the end of the week, and I want to send everyone off into the weekend with the best vibes possible. That’s why the Daily Music Picks newsletter features a weekly segment called Fun Song Fridays! Regardless of era, genre, or style, the criterion is simple: it must deliver the joy and excitement we all need in our lives.

You can access the entire Fun Song Fridays archive here. A playlist featuring the songs covered with this segment is coming soon!

Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!

Today’s music pick is one of Bowie’s very best, a sly, funky bit of business.

Genre: Funk, Soul

Label: RCA

Release Date: June 2, 1975

Vibe: 🪩

After listening to his music for the better part of thirty years, I can safely say no artist exudes more cool than David Bowie. From his peak 70s period, where he released at least a half-dozen classic albums, to his underrated post-80s experimental period, his charisma has always been undeniable. In a discography that ranks among the best artistic oeuvres in rock and roll, no song exemplifies those intangibles better than the seductive funk of “Fame.”

The closing track on 1975’s Young Americans, it caught David Bowie at an inflection point in his career. In the three years preceding fame, he’d achieved glam rock superstardom by creating the Ziggy Stardust character—an endeavor that was all-consuming, to say the least. After a tour in support of Diamond Dogs that, by all accounts, nearly killed him, he flipped the script and tried his hand at Philadelphia Soul. Although initially scorned by fans, the move paid off. “Fame,” built on a was the single that finally delivered Bowie his first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper in September 1975. The slinky guitar work from Carlos Alomar, Earl Slick, and Bowie himself winds its way around Emir Ksasan’sbass and Dennis DDavis’drums, elevating a simple disco beat into an ultra-cool sonic stratosphere. Going from “Ziggy Stardust” to this in three years, without any drop-off in overall quality, is extraordinarily impressive.

There’s also the Beatle connection that’s worth mentioning. Though there are varying accounts of the Fab Four frontman's involvement during the song’s recording, we can say that John Lennon is listed as a backing vocalist (and you can hear that falsetto clearly in the mix) and songwriter. I have a suspicion that, lyrically, this track reflects both men’s dissatisfaction with the baggage that comes with fame. From two-faced management to relationships bending under the weight of ego and substance use, Bowie has called “Fame” a “nasty, angry little song.” But, unless you were paying close attention, you’d never really notice. All you want to do is nod your head or get out of your chair and dance to an all-time groove.

That, my friends, is the power of effortless cool.