How John Lennon helped inspire David Bowie’s first U.S. No. 1, 'Fame'

According to Collider, David Bowie’s first U.S. No. 1 single, "Fame," grew out of a 1975 studio visit by John Lennon and marked a significant transformation in the artist’s career.

Bowie had first met Lennon at a 1974 party hosted by Elizabeth Taylor, and the following year Lennon dropped by while Bowie was recording Young Americans. Bowie and James Brown’s former guitarist Carlos Alomar were working on a riff when Lennon began mumbling along; part of that muttering suggested the word "fame," which prompted Bowie to write the song. Although Lennon did not contribute to the lyrics beyond that word, Bowie gave him songwriting credit, and the track reached No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada after Bowie's earlier successes with "Space Oddity" and Ziggy Stardust.

The studio encounter also influenced Bowie's later shift away from glam rock toward more direct pop songwriting. Bowie recalled Lennon’s blunt appraisal—"it’s just rock and roll with lipstick on"—and said he took Lennon’s writing advice to "say what you mean, make it rhyme and put a backbeat to it." Eight years after Young Americans, Let's Dance appeared in 1983, by which time Lennon was already dead, and Bowie drew on those principles for songs such as "Let's Dance" and "Modern Love."

Key Topics

Culture, David Bowie, John Lennon, Fame, Young Americans, Carlos Alomar