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David Bowie FAQ:Music:Albums:
Young Americans (1975)
Bowie released his soul album, Young Americans, in 1975. He has said in several
interviews that he doesn't remember recording Young Americans. The album was
recorded at the famous Sigma Sound studio in Philadelphia in the latter part of
1974. During the sessions, a group of young fans used to hang around the studios
watching the musicians come and go. After the album was finished, Bowie invited
the kids (popularly referred to as "the Sigma kids" into the studio to listen to
the album.
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Bowie met John Lennon in early 1975, before he released Young Americans. They
became good friends and even wrote a song together - Fame (with Carlos Alomar).
Bowie also recorded a cover version of the Beatles song Across The Universe.
Both of these songs were released on Young Americans. Two songs originally
intended for the album, "Who Can I Be Now?" and "It's Gonna Be Me" were taken
off the album to make way for the Lennon collaborations (without the knowledge
of producer Tony Visconti). Both these tracks were included as bonus tracks on
the Ryko/EMI CD re-releases of the album.
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In the US, the album consolidated Bowie's commercial breakthrough on Diamond
Dogs, becoming his second top 10 album there (it peaked at #9), and spending 51
weeks on the chart (over twice as long as Diamond Dogs). It also spawned his
first US #1 hit single, Fame.
Conversely, in the UK the album continued Bowie's downward commercial graph,
becoming the first Bowie studio album in almost 3 years not to top the charts
(it peaked at #2) and spending only 12 weeks on the chart (less than any other
Bowie album since his breakthrough). It remains one of Bowie's least selling 70s
albums in the UK - the MRIB in 1998 confirmed the album was not one of Bowie's
top 10 selling albums in the UK.
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Ryko and EMI re-released the album on CD in 1991 with bonus tracks. The reissue
spent one week on the UK charts at #54. A 1998 mid-price CD reissue by EMI in
1998 spent a further three weeks on the chart, peaking at #162.
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