The Beatles were (and are) inspirational for many musicians. Their music was era-defining, and their sonic experiments made them legendary. Even fellow legends herald the Beatles as heroes. According to David Bowie, there was only one artist who could be credited for inspiring his music: John Lennon. Learn more about Bowie’s fascination with the former Beatle below.
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The Artist David Bowie Named As His Biggest Inspiration
Fame makes a man take things over
Fame lets him lose hard to swallow
Fame puts you there where things are hollow
Fame
Fame not your brain it’s just the flame
That puts your change to keep you sane
Fame
Bowie routinely feted Lennon and his music. Moreover, he got the opportunity to collaborate with his hero on “Fame”–equally as inspirational and era-defining as Lennon’s music. All in all, Bowie and Lennon’s stars were often intertwined.
According to Bowie, it was Lennon’s ability to expand the bounds of his artistry further than music that made him such an inspiration.
“It’s impossible for me to talk about popular music without mentioning probably my greatest mentor, John Lennon,” Bowie once said. “I guess he defined for me, at any rate, how one could twist and turn the fabric of pop and imbue it with elements from other art forms, often producing something extremely beautiful, very powerful and imbued with strangeness.”
[RELATED: The John Lennon Penned Song He Likened to Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”]
Because of his love for Lennon, Bowie was deeply shy when he first met the former Beatle. It was nearly a missed connection. If it had not been for a timely ice breaker, the pair may never have collaborated.
“So, after about two hours of that, he [John] finally said to David, ‘Rip that pad in half and give me a few sheets. I want to draw you,’” music producer Tony Visconti once said. “So David said, ‘Oh, that’s a good idea,’ and he finally opened up. So John started making caricatures of David, and David started doing the same of John and they kept swapping them and then they started laughing and that broke the ice.”
Luckily for all of us, Bowie and Lennon forged a connection–both personal and musical. Revisit their collaboration, “Fame,” below.
Fame what you like is in the limo
Fame what you get is no tomorrow
Fame what you need you have to borrow
Fame
Could it be the best could it be?
Really be really babe
Could it be my babe could it babe?
Could it babe could it babe?
(Photo by Chris Lopez/Sony Music Archive via Getty Images)
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