Young Americans
Studio album by  David Bowie
Released	7 March 1975
Recorded	August 1974 – January 1975
Studio	Sigma Sound, Philadelphia Record Plant, New York City Electric Lady, New York City
Genre	Blue-eyed soul  R&B  funk
Length	40:00
Label	RCA
Producer	David Bowie  Harry Maslin  Tony Visconti
David Bowie chronology
David Live (1974) Young Americans (1975) Station to Station (1976)
Singles from Young Americans
"Young Americans" Released: 21 February 1975 "Fame" Released: 25 July 1975 (UK)

Young Americans is the ninth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 7 March 1975 through RCA Records. A departure from the glam rock style of previous albums, the record showcased Bowie's interest in soul and R&B. Music critics have described the sound as blue-eyed soul; Bowie himself labelled the album's sound "plastic soul".

Recording sessions began at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia in August 1974, after the first leg of his Diamond Dogs Tour. The record was produced by Tony Visconti, and includes a variety of musicians, such as the guitarist Carlos Alomar, who became one of Bowie's most frequent collaborators, and the backing vocalists Ava Cherry, Robin Clark and then-unknown singer Luther Vandross. As the tour continued the setlist and design began to incorporate the influence of the new material. The recording sessions continued at the Record Plant in New York City at the tour's end. A collaboration between Bowie and John Lennon yielded a cover of Lennon's Beatles song "Across the Universe" and "Fame" during a January 1975 session at Electric Lady Studios, produced by Harry Maslin. The album's cover artwork is a back-lit photograph of Bowie taken by Eric Stephen Jacobs.

Young Americans was Bowie's breakthrough in the US, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard chart; the single "Fame" became Bowie's first number one hit. Bowie continued developing its sound on Station to Station (1976). Young Americans has received mixed critical reviews on release and in later decades; Bowie himself had mixed feelings about the album. The album proved influential. Bowie was one of the first white artists of the era to overtly engage with black musical styles; other British artists followed suit. The album has been reissued multiple times with outtakes, and was remastered in 2016 as part of the Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976) box set.

Release

RCA released "Young Americans" as the lead single to the album on 21 February 1975, with the Ziggy Stardust track "Suffragette City" as the B-side. In the US, it was released in edited form, omitting two verses and a chorus. It reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart and number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, his second top 40 entry and second-highest chart peak in the US up to that point. Bowie's November 1974 performance of the song on The Dick Cavett Show was used as promotion, airing on the BBC's Top of the Pops on 21 February 1975.

Young Americans was released in the UK on 7 March 1975, with the catalogue number RS 1006. It reached number nine on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. It stayed on the UK Albums Chart for 17 weeks, peaking at number two, being kept off the top spot by Tom Jones's 20 Greatest Hits. Elsewhere, Young Americans reached the top five in New Zealand and Sweden, the top ten in Australia and Finland, number 12 in France, 13 in Norway, 17 in Canada and 82 in Japan. According to Buckley, sales were lower than Diamond Dogs overall.

The second single "Fame" was released on 2 June in the US and on 25 July in the UK, with album track "Right" as the B-side. Although it only reached number 17 in the UK, "Fame" topped the charts in the US. Its chart success was a surprise to Bowie, who recalled in 1990: "Even though [Lennon] had contributed to it and everything, and I had no idea, as with 'Let's Dance', that that was what a commercial single is. I haven't got a clue when it comes to singles. I just don't know about them, I don't get it, and 'Fame' was really out of left-field for me." In early November, he became one of the first white artists to appear on ABC TV's Soul Train, where he gave a mimed performance of "Fame" and his new single "Golden Years"; he was one of the first white artists to appear on the programme. He then sang "Fame" and "Can You Hear Me?" live on the CBS variety show Cher a few weeks later.

Critical reception

Young Americans was released to a generally favorable reception, particularly in America. Billboard predicted that the album would appease Bowie's current fans and open him up to new ones. It was further described by Record World as Bowie's "most compelling album to date" and his best studio record since Ziggy Stardust, while Cashbox praised Bowie as an artist.

Amongst mixed reviews, some enjoyed certain tracks but disregarded the collection as a whole. Rolling Stone's Jon Landau praised the title-track and thought that "the rest of the album works best when Bowie combines his renewed interest in soul with his knowledge of English pop, rather than opting entirely for one or the other." Ray Fox-Cumming of Record Mirror described the sound as "spasmodic, awkward, frustrating" and having "a joyless energy". In The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jack Lloyd called Young Americans a "gem" and a "triumph" filled with "superb" songs aside from the "pretentious" title track, but felt "Across the Universe" and "Fame" were out of place.

Several critics were negative. In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau called the record "an almost total failure", saying "although the amalgam of rock and Philly soul is so thin it's interesting, it overwhelms David's voice, which is even thinner." He nonetheless appreciated Bowie's renewed "generosity of spirit to risk failure" following Diamond Dogs and David Live, which Christgau had found disappointing. In Phonograph Record, John Mendelsohn criticised the lyrics, Bowie's vocal performance, found the melodies "as good as non-existent" and the overall album very weak. In the NME, Ian MacDonald felt the record was more of a transitional one, created out of a confused state of mind not knowing where to take his career next. He enjoyed it despite its flaws. In Melody Maker, Michael Watts praised the backing band but found the record too "pastiche" to be credible and Bowie's worst release up to that point. In Canada, Bill Man of The Gazette was also disappointed, believing Bowie should "focus his talents more directly". In their end-of-year list, NME ranked Young Americans the seventh best album of 1975.

Track listing