What Were David Bowie’s 5 Biggest US Hits?

The genius of David Bowie’s catalog could never be properly judged by looking at the pop charts. Bowie often wanted to challenge and engage his listeners with his work. That kind of music often fails to hit with the mainstream.

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But David Bowie proved many times that he could deliver hits when he desired, usually without losing touch with his iconoclastic side. Here are his five biggest US hits.

5. “China Girl” – No. 10 in 1983

The story goes that Bowie chose to record this track because he felt like his buddy Iggy Pop could use a little bit of a financial boost. Not only did Bowie include Pop’s “China Girl” on an album that he knew was likely going to be a commercial smash, but he even selected it for the second single. He didn’t mess around too much with Pop’s original arrangement. It says something about Bowie’s hold on the audience around that time that he was able to carry this somewhat enigmatic track as far as he did. “China Girl” actually did better on the US charts than the seemingly more crowd-pleasing “Modern Love”.

4. “Blue Jean” – No. 8 in 1984

In later years, Bowie spoke candidly about the artistic funk in which he found himself after the success of the Let’s Dance album. After making a play for commercial success, he found it difficult to get himself back on the adventurous path he had so often traveled. A song like “Blue Jean” is a pretty straightforward combination of rockabilly and New Wave that Bowie lends an energetic performance. Because he was riding high in the fame game, it immediately soared to the Top 10. But there wouldn’t be too many hardcore Bowie fans who would take this over anything on more ambitious albums like Low or Lodger.

3. “Dancing In The Street” (with Mick Jagger) – No. 7 in 1985

At the time of this recording, Mick Jagger was not on the best of terms with Keith Richards, his longtime Rolling Stones bandmate. He was also trying to rev up a solo career. It made sense then for him to make his Live Aid impact in a non-band setting. The original idea was to have Jagger and Bowie duet from different continents on the day of the show. But that idea was a technical impossibility at that time. They instead dashed off their cover of the Martha & The Vandellas’ classic in a couple of hours. And they added a silly, playful video to seal the deal on a Top 10 spot.

2. “Fame” – No. 1 in 1975

It’s kind of staggering to think that David Bowie managed only two US Top 40 hits before 1975. And neither of those songs (“Space Oddity” and “Young Americans”) came from all-time albums like Hunky Dory, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, and Aladdin Sane. Maybe Bowie was wise then to connect with John Lennon, who knew a thing or two about courting the US audience. Lennon co-wrote “Fame” and added backing vocals to the track. The funky musical background makes the acidic declarations about celebrity go down in danceable fashion.

1. “Let’s Dance” – No. 1 in 1983

Bowie made the conscious decision with the Let’s Dance album that the commercial train was not going to pass him by. To that end, he made a wise selection in collaborating with the brilliant Nile Rodgers. Rodgers’ rhythmic sense ensured that everything on that album, including the title track, contained an engaging wiggle. But Bowie also deserves credit for injecting a little bit of weirdness into the mix. With those minor keys and his arch delivery, lines like “Let’s dance to the song they’re playing on the radio” sound kind of ominous. People couldn’t resist it anyway, as it became his second chart-topper.

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