Young Americans (album)

Young Americans is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released in 1975. For the record, which showed off his 1970s "obsession" with soul music,[8] he let go of the influences he had drawn from in the past, replacing them with sounds from "local dance halls", which, at the time, were blaring with "lush strings, sliding hi-hat whispers, and swanky R&B rhythms of Philadelphia Soul". Bowie is quoted describing the album as "the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak rock, written and sung by a white limey".[9] Because of the strong influence of black music on the album, Bowie used the term "plastic soul" (originally coined by an unknown black musician in the 1960s) to describe the sound of Young Americans.[10] Although Bowie was an English musician bringing up touchy American issues, the album was still very successful in the US; the album itself reached the top ten in that country, with the song "Fame" hitting the No. 1 spot the same year the album was released.[8]

Contents
[hide]
 * 1 Album development
 * 2 Track listing
 * 2.1 Side one
 * 2.2 Side two
 * 2.3 CD releases
 * 2.3.1 1991 reissue bonus tracks
 * 2.3.2 2007 collector's edition bonus tracks
 * 3 Personnel
 * 3.1 Musicians
 * 3.2 Additional musicians
 * 4 Charts
 * 4.1 Peak positions
 * 4.2 Year-end charts
 * 4.3 Certifications
 * 5 In popular culture
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links

Album development[edit]
Begun on 11 August 1974, during breaks in David Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour, Young Americans was recorded by Tony Visconti primarily at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was agreed early on to record as much of the album as possible live, with the full band playing together, including Bowie's vocals, as a single continuous take for each song. According to Visconti, the album contains "about 85% 'live' David Bowie".[11]

In order to create a more authentically soulful sound, Bowie brought in musicians from the funk and soul community, including an early-career Luther Vandross and Andy Newmark, drummer of Sly and the Family Stone. It was also Bowie's first time working with Carlos Alomar, leading to a working relationship spanning more than 30 years. Carlos, who hadn't heard of Bowie before being called in to help with the album, recalled that Bowie was "the whitest man I've ever seen - translucent white" when they met.[12] Carlos said of how the album was put together:

The song "Young Americans", which Bowie said was about "the predicament of two newlyweds", took two days to record.[13]

The sessions at Sigma Sound lasted through November 1974.[11] The recording had attracted the attention of local fans who began to wait outside the studio over the span of the sessions. Bowie built up a rapport with these fans, whom he came to refer to as the "Sigma Kids". On the final day of tracking the Sigma Kids were invited into the studio to listen to rough versions of the new songs.[14]

"Across the Universe" and "Fame" were recorded at Electric Lady Studios with John Lennon in January 1975. They replaced previously recorded tracks "Who Can I Be Now" and "It's Gonna Be Me" on the record, though these songs were later released as bonus tracks on reissues of the album. The guitar riff for "Fame", created by Alomar, was based on the song "Foot Stompin'" by the doo-wop band The Flairs.[10]

Bowie considered several different titles for the album, including "Somebody Up There Likes Me", "One Damned Song", "The Gouster" and "Fascination".[13]

Track listing[edit]
All songs written by David Bowie except where noted.

Side one[edit]

 * 1) "Young Americans" – 5:10
 * 2) "Win" – 4:44
 * 3) "Fascination" (Bowie, Luther Vandross) – 5:43
 * 4) "Right" – 4:13

Side two[edit]

 * 1) "Somebody Up There Likes Me" – 6:30
 * 2) "Across the Universe" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:30
 * 3) "Can You Hear Me?" – 5:04
 * 4) "Fame" (Bowie, Carlos Alomar, Lennon) – 4:12

1991 reissue bonus tracks[edit]
1989 Sound & Vision box set
 * 1) "Who Can I Be Now?" – 4:35
 * 2) "It's Gonna Be Me" – 6:29
 * 3) "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – 6:58
 * 1) "After Today" - 3:50

2007 collector's edition bonus tracks[edit]
The bonus tracks "After Today," "Who Can I Be Now?," and "It's Gonna Be Me," were outtakes from the 1974 Sigma Sound sessions in Philadelphia.[15]
 * 1) "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)"
 * 2) "Who Can I Be Now?"
 * 3) "It's Gonna Be Me" (Alternate version, with strings)
 * 4) "1984" (Live on The Dick Cavett Show, DVD only)
 * 5) "Young Americans" (Live on The Dick Cavett Show, DVD only)
 * 6) "Dick Cavett interviews David Bowie" (DVD only)

Musicians[edit]

 * David Bowie – vocals, guitar, piano
 * Carlos Alomar – guitar
 * Mike Garson – piano
 * David Sanborn – saxophone
 * Willie Weeks – bass guitar (except on "Across the Universe" and "Fame")
 * Andy Newmark – drums (except on "Across the Universe" and "Fame")

Additional musicians[edit]

 * Larry Washington – conga
 * Pablo Rosario – percussion on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
 * Ava Cherry, Robin Clark, Luther Vandross – backing vocals
 * John Lennon – vocals, guitar, backing vocals on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
 * Earl Slick – guitar on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
 * Emir Ksasan – bass guitar on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
 * Dennis Davis – drums on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
 * Ralph MacDonald – percussion on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
 * Jean Fineberg – backing vocals on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"
 * Jean Millington – backing vocals on "Across the Universe" and "Fame"

Charts[edit]
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Certifications[edit]

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In popular culture[edit]
Two songs from the album have featured on the soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto games. Firstly, "Somebody Up There Likes Me" was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the in-game radio station K-DST, and "Fascination" was featured in Grand Theft Auto IV on the in-game station Liberty Rock Radio, the latter of which was hosted by Bowie's former collaborator Iggy Pop.