John Lennon and David Bowie’s ‘Fame’ Was Based on Another Song
While he rarely wrote tunes for other artists in the 1970s, John Lennon co-wrote David Bowie’s “Fame.” The tune’s other writer said that it was inspired by a 1960s doo-wop classic. Today, that doo-wop song is far less famous than “Fame” is. The connection between the two songs is surprising because they don’t sound like each other very much.
David Bowie and John Lennon wrote ‘Fame’ with an artist who worked with James Brown
“Fame” was co-written by John, Bowie, and frequent Bowie collaborator Carlos Alomar. During a 2020 interview with The Intercept, Alomar said the tune was based on a riff from The Flare’s “Foot Stompin’.” “Taking from my past history of working with James Brown, I decided to approach it like that,” he recalled.
“I’d thought of putting some licks down and by that time David had showed up with John Lennon and [his girlfriend] May Pang, who he was seeing at the time,” Alomar continued. “He listened to it, ‘That’s cool.’ ‘You wanna play?’ ‘Sure.'”
Alomar revealed what happened afterward. “I was invited to go out to dinner with them,” he laughed. “Who would say ‘No’ to that? Well, Carlos Alomar said ‘No’ to that because I was hearing these guitar parts in my head and I was not about to go and have dinner with David Bowie and John Lennon and be all goo-goo ga-ga and forget my parts.”
David Bowie and John Lennon didn’t seem to take that much inspiration from The Flares
Alomar’s decision worked out for the best. “I reluctantly said ‘No’ and stayed in the studio,” he remembered. “To my delight, when David Bowie returned and heard all of the parts I had laid down he basically said, ‘The song is done, I’d like to put down this one little guitar part.'”
Comparing “Foot Stompin'” to “Fame” feels strange. The two songs are so distinct. Without Alomar’s comments, it’s doubtful that anyone would have connected the two songs to each other. They’re not even in the same genre! Truly John, Bowie, and Alomar knew how to take something and make it their own.
How ‘Fame’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Fame” became a massive hit in the United States. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, staying on the chart for 21 weeks. The tune appeared on Bowie’s album Young Americans. That record includes other classic songs such as “Young Americans” and Bowie’s cover of The Beatles’ “Across the Universe.” Young Americans climbed to No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 51 weeks.
The Official Charts Company reports “Fame” peaked at No. 17 and lasted on the chart for eight weeks. Perhaps the song was more popular in the U.S. than in the U.K. because it’s so inspired by American funk music. In the U.K., Young Americans reached No. 2 and lasted on the chart for 17 weeks.
“Fame” is one of the most beloved songs of the 1970s and it wouldn’t be the same without “Foot Stompin’.”
