Music
07 Mar 26

On this day in 1975: David Bowie released Young Americans

On this day in 1975: David Bowie released <i>Young Americans</i>

David Bowie - Young Americans, 1975

On March 7, 1975, 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)

Mike Garson:

Bowie's piano man on the Young Americans sessions.

“When I was hired it was for just eight weeks and I didn’t know I would last that long! In between the first American Ziggy Stardust tour we did in ’72 and going to Philly, David fired five different bands, of which I was the sole survivor. His two favourite singers were Scott Walker and Luther Vandross who essentially got his start on Young Americans and is one of the many reasons that record is so special.”

(2026)

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)