Kooks (song)

"Kooks"
Song by David Bowie
from the album Hunky Dory
Released	17 December 1971 [a]
Recorded	Summer 1971
Studio	Trident, London
Genre	Pop rock folk rock twee pop [5]
Length	2:53
Label	RCA
Songwriter(s)	David Bowie
Producer(s)	Ken Scott, David Bowie
Official audio
"Kooks (2015 Remaster)" on YouTube

"Kooks" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, which appears on his 1971 album Hunky Dory . Bowie wrote this song to his newborn son Duncan Jones. The song was a pastiche of early 1970s Neil Young because Bowie was listening to a Neil Young record at home on 30 May 1971 when he got the news of the arrival of his son. ^[6]

Live versions

• Before the studio recording of the song was made, it was recorded for the BBC In Concert radio show with John Peel, on 3 June 1971 (broadcast on 20 June 1971). In 2000 this recording was released on the Bowie at the Beeb album.
• The song was recorded again for the BBC "Sounds of the 70s" radio show with Bob Harris on 21 September 1971 (broadcast on 4 October 1971).

Personnel

• David Bowie – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, alto sax
• Mick Ronson – string arrangement
• Trevor Bolder – bass, trumpet
• Mick Woodmansey – drums
• Rick Wakeman – piano

References

1. Pegg 2016, pp. 343–350.
2. Cann 2010, pp. 230–234.
3. Clerc 2021, p. 117: US date.
4. O'Leary 2015, Notes on chap. 5.
5. Pitchfork Staff 2004.
6. Cann 2010, p. 218.

Notes

1. Some sources give the album release date as 17 November 1971 in the UK and 4 December in the US. ^{[1] [2] [3]} According to Chris O'Leary, the US date was before the UK one, although he questions Billboard 's reported date of Saturday 4 December. He does, however, clarify the UK date as 17 December. ^[4]

Sources

• Cann, Kevin (2010). Any Day Now – David Bowie: The London Years: 1947–1974. Croydon, Surrey: Adelita. ISBN   978-0-95520-177-6.
• Clerc, Benoît (2021). David Bowie All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. New York City: Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN   978-0-7624-7471-4.
• O'Leary, Chris (2015). Rebel Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie from '64 to '76. Winchester: Zero Books. ISBN   978-1-78099-244-0.
• Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (revised and updated ed.). London: Titan Books. ISBN   978-1-78565-365-0.
• Pitchfork Staff (23 June 2004). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s". Pitchfork . Retrieved 16 April 2023. ...and primitive twee-pop ("Kooks", "Fill Your Heart")