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Why did Americans not get David Bowie?

Posted on 3/5/23 at 3:21 pm
Posted by Mike Joyce
Member since Jan 2021
393 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 3:21 pm
I have just read that Bowie never had a number 1 US album in his lifetime. Whereas bands like Nickelback have.

Why did Americans not take to Bowie like the rest of the world?
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
142047 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 3:34 pm to
He was a major star and media presence with a long career even w/his often eccentric career choices

I know he had at least one #1 single in the '70s, and then had a big commercial comeback in the '80s.

He just wasn't as big in the US as he was in the UK, that's all

Lies, damn lies, and statistics... FWIW Creedence never had a #1 single, and they were the biggest selling band in the US for two years -- yes, outselling The Beatles.
Posted by mdomingue
Lafayette, LA
Member since Nov 2010
30360 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 3:55 pm to
quote:

I know he had at least one #1 single in the '70s,


Fame was his only #1 on the main chart. That album, Young Americans, was actually the first Bowie album I purchased. What a fantastic album.

Let's Dance hit #1 on the hot 100 in the 80s.

Bowie was a fantastic artist IMO.
Posted by rebelrouser
Columbia, SC
Member since Feb 2013
10629 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 4:19 pm to
What does Nickleback have to do with anything? Bowie was popular but he was competing against the likes of The Beatles, The Who, CS&N, The Doors, etc. The list of No. 1 albums in 1970: Abbey Road, Led Zeppelin II, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Let It Be, Woodstock Soundtrack, Cosmos Factory, etc. Tough competition back then. I think Bowie wasn't as popular in the U.S. as he was in England because of the weirdness.
Posted by sledgehammer
SWLA
Member since Oct 2020
3383 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 4:29 pm to
quote:

I think Bowie wasn't as popular in the U.S. as he was in England because of the weirdness

Prime example was Labyrinth
Posted by genuineLSUtiger
Nashville
Member since Sep 2005
72975 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 5:05 pm to
I always thought he was pretty popular over here. Always on the radio in the 70’s and 80’s. Let’s Dance was a huge album that was released in MTV’s heyday. It was a perfect medium for him.
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
142047 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 5:24 pm to
quote:

I always thought he was pretty popular over here. Always on the radio in the 70’s and 80’s
This has actually come up on the board before

I'm not sure why some people think Bowie was not popular in the US

Small Faces, The Move, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music*... These are the bands to ask, why weren't they big here? Not Bowie.




*Bowie, then a caftan-draped hippie, actually stole his look from Bryan Ferry of then unsigned RM, not the other way around as I'd always assumed (you can guess what assuming did)
Posted by shutterspeed
MS Gulf Coast
Member since May 2007
63396 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 5:40 pm to
quote:

What does Nickleback have to do with anything?


His point was, even an awful band like Nickleback had a #1 album, so why the actually talented Bowie?
Posted by rebelrouser
Columbia, SC
Member since Feb 2013
10629 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 5:55 pm to
Because Nickleback wouldn't stand a chance of having a number one album w/ the competition Bowie had.
Posted by Alyosha
Member since Nov 2020
6795 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 5:56 pm to
He knows
Posted by DeltaTigerDelta
Member since Jan 2017
11303 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 7:58 pm to
We were just Young Americans
Posted by Locoguan0
Baton Rouge, LA
Member since Nov 2017
4301 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 8:40 pm to
Bowie was much more niche than other acts. Other than the 80s sellout that many 60s-70s acts were guilty of, he was never mainstream pop.
Posted by awestruck
Member since Jan 2015
10947 posts
Posted on 3/5/23 at 11:34 pm to
quote:

Bowie was much more niche than other acts.
In my bit of retrospect 'the dude sucks' epitaph was and simply preceded our 'the eagle sucks' type of response.


And IMO both partially as push back to their media overload. Because at some point you can simply have had enough of good thing.
Posted by pecanridge
South
Member since Apr 2009
1255 posts
Posted on 3/6/23 at 4:31 am to
To me will always be thankful that Bowie tapped Stevie Ray Vaughn to guest guitar on Let’s Dance album after seeing them at a Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. First public recording of SRV before Texas Flood came out.

Bowie and SRV

SRV guitar fills. 1:50-2:15
3:30-3:58
This post was edited on 3/6/23 at 5:07 am
Posted by Honest Tune
Louisiana
Member since Dec 2011
15641 posts
Posted on 3/6/23 at 6:36 am to
According to their social media, every girl in Nola “got” his music when he died. TONS of Bowie tributes on ig.
Posted by el Gaucho
He/They
Member since Dec 2010
53019 posts
Posted on 3/6/23 at 8:06 am to
quote:

you can guess what assuming did

It make arse of u and ming
Posted by auggie
Opelika, Alabama
Member since Aug 2013
28009 posts
Posted on 3/6/23 at 8:11 am to
quote:

It make arse of u and ming


That sounds like the start of a dynasty.
Posted by MorbidTheClown
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2015
66007 posts
Posted on 3/6/23 at 10:07 am to
didn't realize this was a thing. I listened to Bowie as a kid and still do from time to time. Not a huge fan of his 80s MTV stuff. But, Ziggy Stardust, Major Tom, Rebel Rebel, fame,
great songs
Posted by Cdawg
TigerFred's Living Room
Member since Sep 2003
59532 posts
Posted on 3/6/23 at 12:51 pm to
quote:

Because Nickleback wouldn't stand a chance of having a number one album w/ the competition Bowie had.

Not true at all. In Bowie's hey day, Bay City Rollers spent more time charting than Bowie.
Posted by Mizz-SEC
Inbred Huntin' In The SEC
Member since Jun 2013
19246 posts
Posted on 3/6/23 at 2:59 pm to
quote:

Creedence never had a #1 single, and they were the biggest selling band in the US for two years -- yes, outselling The Beatles.

The Monkees outsold the Beatles in 1966, I believe.
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