Music
07 Mar 25

50 years ago today: David Bowie released Young Americans

50 years ago today: David Bowie released <i>Young Americans</i>

David Bowie - Young Americans, 1975

On this day 50 years ago, David Bowie released his iconic, Philly soul-inspired seventh album, Young Americans. Highlights of the album include 'Fame', Bowie's first No.1 single – co-written with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar – as well as key contributions from then-little-known singer Luther Vandross. To mark its anniversary, we're revisiting some special reflections on Young Americans, all selected from the Hot Press archives...

Gail Ann Dorsey:

The Philadelphia bass guitarist – a mainstay of David Bowie's band for nine years – recalls first getting into his work courtesy of Young Americans, which was recorded in her hometown.

“I was around twelve or thirteen when he was making that record in Philly. I’d heard songs like ‘Ziggy Stardust’ and ‘Suffragette City’ and thought he was cool, but didn’t get the quirkiness sometimes.

“Interestingly, when Young Americans came out the DJ on the black radio station my brothers and sisters listened to said, ‘This is David Bowie, guys. This is his new thing. This is the jam.’ They picked up on ‘Fascination’ first and then moved on to the rest of the album.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, this is completely different to ‘Hang On To Yourself’, what’s happened?’ I recognised that he wasn’t just some guy with a guitar and some crazy clothes. He could sing!" (2025)

Ava Cherry:

The Young Americans backing vocalist – and close friend of Bowie's – discusses her influence on the album.

"I never knew David was gonna be an icon. I wasn't just his girlfriend, I wasn't just singing backup for him. He would take my advice and ask for my opinion, and a lot of what I said had happened.

"Everybody wants to be the heir apparent to David Bowie. I didn't play the instruments, but I was definitely there talking to him and influencing him." (2022)

Tony Visconti:

Bowie's producer and long-time collaborator recalls recording the Young Americans track 'Right'

"I love 'Right'. In the Five Years documentary, there was a reconstruction of how those backing vocals were recorded, but it’s a very accurate one. It was very tricky to record. The band recording went down smoothly without a melody or words to follow. It was just a very organised jam. Afterwards, David sat with it for a few days and then came up with that great call and response breakdown.

"It took a couple of hours to record. As the film illustrates, the backing singers were learning a little bit at a time, recording what they had just learned, then moving on the next few bars. In the control room, I was getting sore fingers from rapidly punching in and out on the tape machine. Luther Vandross was the key to making it all work. He was a natural born choir master." (2019)