Happy 50th Anniversary to One of the Best Albums of All Time!
David Bowie’s Hunky Dory is now 50 years old! This classic album was released on December 17, 1971. Hunky Dory, long touted as one of the best albums of all time, is a remarkable piece of work that helped define the rest of David Bowie’s career. Below I will tell you about my 3 favorite tracks, along with the people and stories you need to know!
Who is David Bowie?
David Bowie, a glam rock pioneer, is one of the most influential musicians of 20th century. If you ask any major pop star from the 1980s to today about who their influences are, David Bowie’s will always come up. Artists such as Lady Gaga, Madonna, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Bono of U2, Janelle Monáe, Moby, Tame Impala, The Killers, and Boy George site David Bowie as a major influence in their work and artistic expression. The man is an otherworldly rock god for the ages! A legend of legends!
David Robert Jones was an English singer, songwriter, musician, producer, and actor born on January 8, 1947. In the very early days of his career he went by Davy Jones, but confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees forced him to adopt a stage name. He went with David Bowie, possibly inspired by American pioneer, James Bowie or the Bowie knife. James Bowie was an American pioneer in the 19th century. He was a slave smugger, slave trader, and soldier who died in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. It’s unclear why David Jones chose to name himself after a slave smuggler and trader. Perhaps he named himself after the Bowie knife, which was also named after James Bowie?
Body of Work
Throughout his career, from 1967 to 2016, David Bowie released 26 studio albums and sold over 100 million records. In 1996 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to his musical career, he appeared in over 30 projects for film, television, and stage, favoring supporting roles over main characters. Bowie’s most memorable roles are Joseph Merrick in The Elephant Man stage production (1980-81), Jareth the Goblin King in The Labyrinth (1986) and FBI Agent Phillip Jeffries in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992).
Gone Too Soon
David Bowie died on January 10, 2016, just two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar. Only those who very close to Bowie knew about his battle with liver cancer.
About David Bowie’s Hunky Dory
David Bowie’s Hunky Dory is his fourth studio album. The album marked a major turning point in his career. With Hunky Dory, Bowie established the sound and image he became known for. It is considered one of his best works and recognized as one of the greatest rock albums of all time by many publications in the US and UK. Upon its release, many critics heaped praise on the album, using such adjectives as inventive, trendsetting, important, brilliant, and intellectual.
In contrast to his earlier recordings, which were mostly guitar-driven with a harder rock edge, the songs on David Bowie’s Hunky Dory are piano-driven. The result was a warmer sound, leaning more towards pop music and easy rock. Like Elton John’s Madman Across the Water, Bowie’s Hunky Dory is included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
In 1970 Bowie toured the US to promote The Man Who Sold the World, which did far better in the US than in the UK. Upon returning to the UK, he threw himself into songwriting and wrote over three dozen songs. Amongst those songs are three pieces about American icons Andy Warhol (“Andy Warhol’), Bob Dylan (“Song for Bob Dylan”), and Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground (“Queen Bitch”). The album also includes songs about artistic growth and change, alternative philosophical views, and a song dedicated to his son, Duncan.
David Bowie’s Hunky Dory Sales and Ranking
David Bowie’s Hunky Dory failed to chart upon its release, with only 5,000 copies in sales. The album gained recognition and success in the UK after the follow-up album, 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Hunky Dory peaked at #3 on the UK’s album chart in 1972. Many years later, in 2016, Hunky Dory peaked at #57 on US Billboard’s 200 chart.
My Top 3 Songs from David Bowie’s Hunky Dory
Below, I will tell you all about the most notable people behind the scenes ofDavid Bowie’s Hunky Dory, as well as my 3 favorite songs:
- “Changes”
- “Oh! You Pretty Things”
- “Andy Warhol”
“Changes”
“Changes” is a song about Bowie’s desire to separate himself from other rock stars by expressing himself more creatively and genuinely. When Bowie wrote the song, he wasn’t satisfied with his three previous albums. He wasn’t satisfied with his level of success or artistic expression. In the first verse he sings, “Every time I thought I’d got it made, it seemed the taste was not so sweet.” Despite his successes, he felt underwhelmed with his career.
He continues, “So I turned myself to face me, but I’ve never caught a glimpse of how the others must see the faker. I’m much too fast to take that test.” It’s a confusing lyric for sure. The way I interpret this is he’s looking at himself and acknowledging the lack of ingenuity in his work. He calls himself a “faker”, but before you can spot it, he’s going to make “ch-ch-ch-ch-changes (Turn and face the strange).” He’s going to turn away from being fake to being his true, strange self.
As the chorus continues, he says he’s not doing it “to be a richer man,” but to “be a different man.” “Time may change me,” just as it changes everyone, but “I can’t trace time.” To trace is to follow. Bowie wants to lead time, not follow it.
“Changes,” the first single from David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, was released in January of 1972. It peaked at #66 on Billboard’s Hot 100 that year, but in 1975 it climbed back up the charts and peaked at #41. Although the song was never a huge commercial success it always received positive critical reviews and is still considered one of the greatest songs of all time.
Fun Fact:
“Changes” is the first song featuring Bowie playing saxophone. He played saxophone on over a dozen of his own songs throughout his career.
“Oh! You Pretty Things”
“Oh! You Pretty Things” explores the idea of a superior being, the “Homo Superior” he references in the chorus. This idea was taken from Bowie’s interest in the Übermensch, a superman (not the Superman character of DC Comics), from Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy. Übermensch is a concept that challenges the Christian idea of Heaven and God that people are expected to worship and aspire to. From what very little I understand, and I could be completely wrong, Übermensch is the one and only superior being you should look up to. Übermensch and Earth is your destiny, not the Christian idea of God and Heaven in the afterlife.
The “pretty things“ sung about in the chorus are the adult humans of the planet. The adults drove their creators, the “Mamas and Papas,” insane with the false ideologies they feed their kids. They taught their children about the Christian God when they should have been learning about the Homo Superior. The Homo Superior are the subject of the lyric, “All the strangers came today, and it looks as though they’re here to stay.”
“Oh! You Pretty Things,” from David Bowie’s Hunky Dory was never released as a single. Instead, another artist, Peter Noone, recorded a version of the song with Bowie on backing vocals and piano accompaniment. Noone’s version was released as a single in April of 1971, just months before Bowie’s version appeared on Hunky Dory. On the UK’s singles chart, Noone’s version peaked at #12.
“Andy Warhol”
In song, David Bowie’s Hunky Dory idolized two musical artists (Dylan and Reed) and one visual artist, Andy Warhol. The song, “Andy Warhol” was a B-side to the first single, “Changes.” Before Hunky Dory was released, Bowie performed the song for Andy Warhol at The Factory, Warhol’s studio. As the story goes, Warhol barely reacted to the tribute, leaving Bowie to forever wonder whether he liked the song or not.
Bowie’s tribute to Warhol extended beyond the song. The album cover art features David Bowie posed like an old Hollywood starlet. The photo was taken in black and white and then colorized, resulting in an image that was very much inspired by Andy Warhol’s aesthetic. Warhol often created colorful portraits of celebrities based on silk screened images created with black ink.
Notable People Behind the Scenes on David Bowie’s Hunky Dory
Musician and Arranger, Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson was an English musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. He played guitar for two of the tracks above, “Changes” and “Andy Warhol”. He also arranged the strings and sang backup on “Oh! You Pretty Things.” Ronson began recording with Bowie on the 1970 album, The Man Who Sold the World. He recorded a total of six albums with David Bowie. Around the same time he was recording The Man Who Sold the World, he was also working with Elton John on Tumbleweed Connection. The original recording of the song, “Madman Across the Water” features Ronson on guitar and was supposed to be on Tumbleweed Connection. It did not make the cut and the song was later re-recorded with a different guitarist and used as the title track for Elton’s 1971 album.
In 1972 Ronson and Bowie produced Lou Reed’s second solo album, Transformer, which features the iconic song “Walk on the Wild Side”. In addition to co-producing Transformer with Bowie, Ronson was also the main session musician for the album. He contributed guitar, piano, recorder and backing vocals for many of the tracks. Transformer includes Reed’s most popular songs and catapulted Reed’s fame into international recognition.
Ronson recorded three solo studio albums: Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974), Play Don’t Worry (1975), and Heaven and Hull (1994). He also collaborated with other artists such as John Mellencamp, David Cassidy, Roger Daltry (lead singer of The Who), Bob Dylan, and Morrissey. Ronson died of liver cancer in April 1993, at just 46 years old. In 2017 a documentary and the a ccompanying soundtrack, Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story, was released. The documentary chronicles Mick Ronson’s life and collaborations with David Bowie.
Pianist, Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman played piano on Bowie’s first two self-titled albums, as well as three tracks on Hunky Dory, including “Changes” and “Oh! You Pretty Things”. The same day Bowie asked him to join his backing band, Spiders from Mars, Wakeman received an offer to join the band, Yes. He chose to join Yes’s ever-changing line-up and recorded eight albums with them. In April 2017, Yes’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included Rick Wakeman.
In addition to his work with Bowie and Yes, Wakeman contributed to three tracks on Elton John’s 1971 album, Madman Across the Water. He was also a session musician and made guest appearances for Strawbs, T. Rex, Lou Reed, Black Sabbath, and Ozzy Osbourne. In addition to his long list of collaborations, Wakeman also released dozens of albums as a solo artist and with his son, Adam Wakeman.
Producer, Ken Scott
Before co-producing David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, Ken Scott started his career as a studio engineer at Abbey Road Studios. His first session was as an assistant engineer on the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. After serving as an assistant engineer for a handful of artists, he was “cutting” or “mastering” for two years. In 1967, he became one of the main engineer for The Beatles, Elton John, David Bowie, Jeff Beck, and George Harrison.
In 1971 David Bowie wanted to produce his own album, but his lack of production experience led him to recruit a co-producer. Hunk Dory would be the first project produced by Bowie and Scott, separately and together. They would go on to co-produce The Rise of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (April 1973), Pin Ups (October 1973) and the 1973 rock musical, The 1980 Floor Show, starring Bowie. During his work on Hunky Dory, Scott was also mixing Elton John’s Madman Across the Water. That work led him to working on two more albums with Elton John.
It seems Ken Scott never stopped working. He joined Bowie and Ronson’s production team on Lou Reed’s Transformer as a mixer and engineer. He then went on to work with many other artists over the next few decades, including America, Supertramp, The Tubes, Devo, Jeff Beck, Missing Persons, and Duran Duran.
Get It If You Don’t Have It!
Those are my three favorite songs from David Bowie’s Hunky Dory, plus the behind-the-scenes people you need to know! There are some albums that just get better with age and Hunky Dory is one of them! The more I listen to this album, the more I appreciate it. I’ve said this about every album on my blog thus far, and I’m going to say it again because I mean it. This album deserves a spot in everyone’s music library!