David Bowie All The Songs

It never fails: Mention David Bowie, and your listener’s face lights up with a big smile. David Bowie, we love him, even if we sometimes know only a handful of his recordings. How do you explain this strange fascination? Is it his unique voice? His androgynous beauty? Or is it simply that his songs speak to the heart? It’s difficult to say because it’s hard to pin down the reasons for the admiration—a better word might be love—that fans have felt for David Bowie since the mid-1970s, when he rose to international rock stardom.

Who was this man, hiding behind the characters of Rainbow Man, Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, and Nathan Adler? Interviews with the singer himself—frequently described as a chameleon—and the observations of those who worked with him all point to a single truth: This was a man who was generous, accessible, and responsive to others. An (almost) normal man, in his personal life he was far removed from the alien-like image that he sometimes projected for public consumption. His career was quite unusual, though. From the very beginning, in 1964, until his death in 2016, David Bowie worked incessantly, constantly creating new works, adopting new musical trends, and reinventing himself with each new album. He never stopped surprising his fans with his risk-taking.

By establishing the chronology of an extraordinary life and career, David Bowie All The Songs sets out to unravel the mystery of this intriguing singer, tracing the recording sessions of his twenty-six studio albums, as well as his side adventure with Tin Machine, and his many collaborations with various contemporaries in the recording industry. Out of respect for the work created by this demanding artist, only songs recorded and published according to his wishes are discussed in this book. This is why, as connoisseurs will not fail to notice, we have omitted many compositions that never progressed past early demo stages (“Bars of the County Jail,” “That’s Where My Heart Is,” “I’ll Follow You,” “I Want My Baby Back”), songs sung by other artists (“Rupert the Riley,” recorded by Nick King All Stars in 1971) or those published in unorthodox ways (“Ching-A-Ling,” “When I’m Five,” from the promotional film Love You till Tuesday).

From “Liza Jane” to “Lazarus,” David Bowie’s 456 songs tell us more about the man than any traditional biography ever could. A detailed look at his discography sheds light on the lasting legacy of an unforgettable artist. David Bowie All the Songs is a listener’s perfect companion to the catalog of one of the most important recording artists of the last hundred years.

A Note on the Text

In the interest of consistency, compilation albums and box sets featuring Bowie’s works are listed at the end of this book. Only works issued by record labels in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States are included.

Titles issued solely in the maxi 45 rpm format are not considered singles.

The chart listings referenced throughout David Bowie All the Songs, are:

–For the UK: The Official Charts Company

–For the US: The Billboard Hot 100 (singles), The Billboard 200 (albums).

Unless otherwise stated, the references and rankings included herein relate only to a specific album’s first edition.