- askNat – concerning John Lennon’s contribution to David Bowie’s “Fame”
“Fame” got it’s start from a guitar riff that Alomar had nicked from “Foot Stompin.’” David wrote lyrics that reflected the anger he was feeling towards his former management and John came up with more lyrics to fit David’s sentiments and allude to the downside of celebrity status. John also came up with the song’s title. David acknowledged that it was John singing “Fame” over Alomar’s guitar riff that formed the basis for the entire song. Both John and David accompany Alomar with guitar on “Fame” and John supports David’s lead vocal with backing vocals throughout the song. John’s vocal is heard on the track in a progression that repeats the word “Fame” with his voice at fast, normal and then slow playback speeds before David’s voice takes over for the final lyrics going into the fade out. The additional musicians on the track include Emir Ksasan on bass, Dennis Davis on drums and Ralph MacDonald on percussion. As far as equal billing for John goes, he never expected this as he was just doing David a favor and considered his contribution strictly as a supporting musician. He is properly credited in the album liner notes.
After the session was over, David had two additional songs in the can and ended up using them as replacements on Young Americans for the tracks “Who Can I Be Now” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.” Some digital re-issues of the album include these omitted tracks as bonus material.
Young Americans was released in March 1975 and made it to #9 on the Billboard album charts in the U.S. and in the U.K. it peaked at #2 on the Record Retailer charts. The “Fame” single, released the following July, was a #1 hit in the U.S. on Billboard and in the U.K. it peaked at #8 on the Record Retailer charts. In the U.S., “Fame” was not only Bowie’s first #1, but his first time in the top 10.