Up until his death, Bowie was an enthusiastic artist exciting numerous fans with his melodic tunes – he was generally an unmistakable artist all through the ‘70s and ‘80s, yet what was his first song?
David Bowie’s first and maybe most powerful song of his profession was ‘Space Oddity’ released in 1969, the same year Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon.
Read more below about the genuine motivation for his first melody and why Bowie continues to be celebrated right up ‘til the present day.
The Motivation Behind His First Song
Most notable songs will in general have significant meaning, so it’s only fitting for Bowie’s first melody to have meaning or if nothing else be motivated or inspired by something or someone.
People often mistake Bowie’s first song as being inspired by the space landing that occurred back when the song was released, but in actual fact, it wasn’t. While you may anticipate that a singer’s music would be enlivened by another conspicuous, prominent artist, this wasn’t the case for Bowie’s first tune which was roused by a film!
Inspired by a film
Space travel ruled mainstream society in the late 60s. According to uDiscover Music, Bowie’s notable character Major Tom (who appears in his song) depended on executive director Stanley Kubrick’s, Dr. David Bowman, who was played by Keir Dullea in the film A Space Odyssey. Bowie started the written composition of ‘Space Oddity’ in the wake of seeing the film 2001: A Space Odyssey upon its release in 1968.
According to an interview with Performing Songwriter, of his first song, Bowie recalled:
“It was always presumed that it was written about the space landing, because it kind of came to prominence around the same time. But it actually wasn’t. It was written because of going to see the film 2001, which I found amazing… It got the song flowing.”
Bowie’s one-time acting manager Kenneth Pitt acknowledged Bowie’s first tune as something extraordinary while it was under production. In his book Bowie: The Pitt Report, he writes: “That this was an unusually clever song was apparent from the first hearing, but it was only during the course of the day’s shooting that its wide appeal became evident.”
A Dislike For His Voice
Have you at any point stumbled on a singer who doesn’t care for their own voice? Wouldn’t you expect that you’d have to, in any case, like your voice to turn into a fruitful singer? All things considered, this wasn’t the case for the beloved Bowie who uncovered in a 2003 interview with 60 Minutes that he didn’t particularly like his voice.
“I was never particularly fond of my voice, I thought that I wrote songs and wrote music and that was sort of what I thought I was best at doing. And because nobody else was ever doing my songs, I felt — you know, I had to go out and do them.”
More Popular Among A British Audience
At first, Bowie was progressively more famous among the Brits, with ‘Space Oddity’ arriving at number five on the UK charts upon its original 1969 release, although it didn’t pick up much momentum in the US as it only made it to number 124 on the American charts.
As of 2020, out of 46 of his songs that have shown up on the American charts, Bowie has achieved nine top ten hits on Billboard 200, with his single ‘Blackstar’ hitting at the chart-topping position of number one in 2016, spending 12 weeks on the charts. In comparison, Bowie has received 11 number one hits on the UK charts.
To finish it off, according to NME, a 2016 survey led by CamRate uncovered Bowie was Brit’s favorite artist, however, it’s not clear that Americans share a similar view.