"The Jean Genie" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released in November 1972 as the lead single to his 1973 album Aladdin Sane. Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing band the Spiders from Mars − comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. According to Bowie, it was "a smorgasbord of imagined Americana", with a protagonist inspired by Iggy Pop, and the title being an allusion to author Jean Genet. One of Bowie's most famous tracks, it was promoted with a film clip featuring Andy Warhol associate Cyrinda Foxe and peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Life on Mars?" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, first released on his 1971 album Hunky Dory. Bowie wrote the song as a parody of Frank Sinatra's "My Way". "Life on Mars?" was recorded on 6 August 1971 at Trident Studios in London, and was co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott. Bowie's backing band consisted of guitarist and string arranger Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder, drummer Mick Woodmansey and Strawbs member Rick Wakeman on piano. "Life on Mars?" is primarily a glam rock ballad, with elements of cabaret and art rock; it has a complex structure that includes chord changes throughout. The lyrics are about a girl who goes to a cinema to escape reality, and include surreal images that reflect optimism and the effects of Hollywood.
"Suffragette City" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released in April 1972 as the B-side of the single "Starman" and subsequently appeared on his fifth studio album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972). The song was later reissued as a single in 1976, with the US single edit of "Stay" as the B-side, to promote the compilation album Changesonebowie in the UK. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it was recorded by Bowie at Trident Studios in London with his backing band the Spiders from Mars, consisting of Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey, at a late stage of the album's sessions. The song was originally offered to English band Mott the Hoople, who declined it and recorded Bowie's "All the Young Dudes" instead. It is a glam rock song that is influenced by the music of Little Richard and the Velvet Underground. The lyrics include a reference to Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange and the lyric "Oooohh wham bam, thank you, ma'am".
Station to Station is the tenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 through RCA Records. Regarded as one of his most significant works, the album was the vehicle for Bowie's performance persona the Thin White Duke. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, Station to Station was mainly recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, California, in late 1975, after Bowie completed shooting the film The Man Who Fell to Earth; the cover art featured a still from the film. During the sessions, Bowie was dependent on drugs, especially cocaine, and later said that he recalled almost nothing of the production.
"Rebel Rebel" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released in the UK in February 1974 by RCA Records as the lead single from the album Diamond Dogs. Written and produced by Bowie, the song is based around a distinctive guitar riff reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. Cited as his most-covered track, "Rebel Rebel" has been described as Bowie's farewell to the glam rock movement that he had helped initiate, as well as being a proto-punk track. Two versions of the song were recorded: the well-known UK single release and the shorter US single release, which featured added background vocals, extra percussion and a new arrangement.
"Diamond Dogs" is a 1974 single by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, the title track of the album of the same name.
"Golden Years" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released by RCA Records on 21 November 1975 as the lead single from his tenth studio album Station to Station (1976). Partially written before Bowie began shooting for the film The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), the song was mostly compiled in the studio and was the first track completed for the album. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, recording took place at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles during September 1975. Due to Bowie's heavy cocaine use, he later recalled remembering almost nothing of Station to Station's production.
"Fame" is a song recorded by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released on his 1975 album Young Americans and was later issued as the album's second single by RCA Records in June 1975. Written by Bowie, Carlos Alomar and John Lennon, it was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City in January 1975. It is a funk rock song that represents Bowie's dissatisfaction with the troubles of fame and stardom.
"Changes" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his 1971 album Hunky Dory. RCA Records then released it as a single from the album on 7 January 1972. Written following his promotional tour of America in early 1971, "Changes" was recorded at Trident Studios in London between June and July that year. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it featured Rick Wakeman on piano and the musicians who would later become known as the Spiders from Mars—Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey.
"John, I'm Only Dancing" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, originally released as a non-album single on 1 September 1972. A glam rock and R&B number, the lyrics describe a situation in which the narrator informs his lover not to worry about the girl he is with because he is "only dancing" with her. Although ambiguous, many interpreted it as concerning a gay relationship. Recorded in London in June 1972, it was boosted by a low-budget promotional video directed by Mick Rock. It reached number 12 in the UK; RCA refused to release it in America due to its suggestive lyrical content.
"TVC 15" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released on his 1976 album Station to Station. RCA Records later released it as the second single from the album on 30 April 1976. The song was recorded in late 1975 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, the recording featured guitarists Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick, bassist George Murray, drummer Dennis Davis, pianist Roy Bittan and Warren Peace on backing vocals. The upbeat song is mostly art rock performed in a style reminiscent of the 1950s. Lyrically, the song concerns a character's girlfriend being eaten by a television set. It was inspired by a dream of Iggy Pop's and Bowie's role in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Some lyrics are also influenced by the Yardbirds and Kraftwerk.
"Wild Is the Wind" is a song written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind. Johnny Mathis recorded the song for the film and released it as a single in November 1957. Mathis' version reached No. 22 on the Billboard chart. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1958, but lost to "All the Way" by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn from The Joker is Wild.
"Cygnet Committee" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie and recorded in 1969 for his second eponymous album. At over 9 minutes this ambitious progressive folk rock song was Bowie's longest studio recording until the opening/title track of 1976's Station to Station.
"Queen Bitch" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released on his 1971 album Hunky Dory before appearing as the B-side of the single "Rebel Rebel" in the United Kingdom in early 1974. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, the lineup consisted of the musicians who would later become known as the Spiders from Mars: Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey.
"Panic in Detroit" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the album Aladdin Sane in 1973. Bowie based it on his friend Iggy Pop's descriptions of revolutionaries he had known in Michigan and Pop's experiences during the 1967 Detroit riots. Rolling Stone magazine called the track "a paranoid descendant of the Motor City's earlier masterpiece, Martha and the Vandellas' "Nowhere to Run"".
"Station to Station" is a song by the English musician David Bowie. It was released in January 1976 as the title track and opener of his tenth studio album Station to Station, as well as on a promotional 7-inch single in France the same month. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, it was written and recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles between September and November 1975. At over 10 minutes in length, it is Bowie's longest studio recording. Opening with a train-like noise, the song's first half is a slow march, built around an atonal guitar riff, while the second half takes the form of a prog-disco suite in a different key and tempo than the first. It has been characterised as art rock and is influenced by the German electronic bands Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream.
"Stay" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released on his 1976 album Station to Station. The song was recorded in late 1975 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, the recording featured guitarists Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick, bassist George Murray, drummer Dennis Davis, pianist Roy Bittan and Warren Peace on percussion. The track features prominent dual guitar work from Slick and Alomar, who mostly composed it in the studio. Based on the chord structure of "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)", a funk reworking of "John, I'm Only Dancing" (1972), "Stay" emulates funk rock, soul and hard rock. The song's lyrics are abstract and relate to love.
"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" is a song by the English musician David Bowie from his 1999 album Hours. Written by Bowie and Reeves Gabrels, its title references past songs such as "Oh! You Pretty Things" and the Stooges' Raw Power track "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell". On Hours, the song is a rockier number that contains elements of 1970s glam rock. The lyrics offer views on disillusionment and aging. The song was first released in a different mix in the film Stigmata before being released as the first single from the album in Australia and Japan, replacing "Thursday's Child". An unreleased music video was filmed that depicted Bowie encountering several of his past personas. It was performed live in 1999 and 2000.
The Isolar – 1976 Tour was a concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, in support of the album Station to Station. It opened on 2 February 1976 at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, and continued through North America and Europe, concluding at the Pavillon de Paris in Paris, France, on 18 May 1976. The tour is commonly referred to as Thin White Duke Tour, The Station to Station Tour, and The White Light Tour.
Live Nassau Coliseum '76 is a live album by David Bowie recorded on 23 March 1976 during Bowie's Isolar Tour in support of the album Station to Station. The recording was first released in September 2010, as part of special and deluxe editions of Station to Station. The album was released separately on 10 February 2017.
