The Curious History of “It Ain’t Easy”

"It Ain't Easy" Ron Davies Copyright 1970 Irving Music Inc. (BMI)

Have you ever noticed a song that seems to follow you through your record collection, appearing in different forms across decades and genres? This episode explores the fascinating journey of “It Ain’t Easy“, a song that found a home in the repertoire of David Bowie, Three Dog Night, Long John Baldry, Mitch Ryder, Shelby Lynne and more. We trace the song back to its source: Ron Davies, a prolific but often-overlooked songwriter who came out of the Pacific Northwest garage rock scene. Despite never reaching the top of the Billboard charts himself, Davies created a song with musical bones so strong that it transitioned seamlessly from the glam-rock harpsichord of Bowie’s sessions to the stripped-back folk of Chris Smither.

We take a look at the specific production touches of the most significant versions, including the “all-star” original recording featuring Leon Russell and Jim Keltner. We discuss the tragic “lost” sessions of Bettye LaVette at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, the Rolling Stones-style swagger of Claudia Lennear’s version (featuring Ry Cooder), and even modern interpretations by The Raconteurs and Alexis P. Suter. Whether filtered through blues, country, glam, or soul, “It Ain’t Easy” remains a masterclass in songwriting consistency. Join us as we explore the lifespan of a track that proved a great song doesn’t need to be a commercial smash to become a timeless classic.

“It Ain’t Easy” Ron Davies Copyright 1970 Irving Music Inc. (BMI)

TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome back, friends, to the I’m In Love With That Song podcast. We’re surfing the intertubes to come to you, courtesy of the Pantheon Network of podcasts. I’m Brad Page, the host of this shindig, and each edition of this show, I pick a favorite song and we explore it together. This is a show for any music fan; we don’t get too technical or get into music theory or anything like that, so you don’t have to be any kind of expert. This show only requires two things: a love for music and a healthy dose of curiosity.

So, this episode is going to be a little different than usual, but I hope you find it interesting. To paraphrase—or mangle—an old saying: when something happens twice, it could be a coincidence; when something happens three or more times, well, that’s a mystery waiting to be solved. And that is where the curiosity comes in, because I get curious about certain things, like this: Many years ago—I’m talking like 40-something years ago—when I got my first copy of David Bowie‘s Ziggy Stardust album, it caught my eye that Bowie wrote every song on the album– except one. The last song on side one is a song called “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: David Bowie – “It Ain’t Easy”]

I looked at the credits for this song and saw that it was written by someone named Ron Davies. At first, I thought maybe that’s Ray Davies—you know, from The Kinks—but nope, not Ray; it’s Ron, a completely different guy, not related at all. But I always liked that song, so it stuck with me.

A few years later, I picked up an album by a band called Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder of “Devil with the Blue Dress” fame. And this is just a great rock and roll record; I really love this album. And one of the tracks on this album is “It Ain’t Easy“. It’s Detroit‘s version of the same song. This album was actually released in 1971, a year before David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

Skip ahead a few years: I was turned on to an R&B singer named Bettye LaVette, who’s become maybe my favorite female vocalist of all time. And so I started collecting her albums. I picked up a re-issue of her very first album, Child of the Seventies, and the first song on that album is “It Ain’t Easy“. This song, by a songwriter I’ve never heard of, keeps turning up.

And then, just a couple of years ago, I finally picked up an album that I’d been looking for for quite a while, an album by legendary background singer Claudia Lennear called Phew!. I put the album on and, sure enough, there’s that song again, “It Ain’t Easy“. So that was kind of like the last straw. I had to find out more about this song, which was written by a fairly obscure artist, had never been a hit for anybody, yet so many artists kept covering it. What is the story of this song? On this episode, we’re going to find out.

Ron Davies was born Ronnie Wayne Dickerson on January 15, 1946, in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father was Tex Dickerson, a country singer. His sister, Gale, would become a well-known singer-songwriter herself and the first female record producer in country music. Both Gale and Ronnie took their stepfather’s last name when their mother remarried, hence Davies. They also moved from the South up to Tacoma, Washington. That’s where his stepfather gave him his first guitar.

In the 1960s, the Pacific Northwest was a hotbed of the sound that would eventually be called garage rock. That’s the sound of Nuggets-era bands like The Sonics, The Kingsmen, and Paul Revere & the Raiders. And one of the biggest bands on that scene were The Wailers—not to be confused with Bob Marley and the Wailers, completely separate band. The Wailers had a hit with a song called “Tall Cool One” in 1959.

In 1966, The Wailers released an album called Outburst. Every song on that album was written by Ron Davies. He was only 17 at the time. That established Ron as a songwriter, but he also played and recorded as a solo artist. In 1968, he signed to A&M Records as a singer-songwriter and released his debut solo album in 1970. That album was called Silent Song Throughout the Land. The album was produced by Chad Stewart of Chad & Jeremy fame, and the single released from that album was “It Ain’t Easy“.

The song features kind of an all-star lineup, including the great Leon Russell on piano, Jim Keltner on drums, and backing vocals by Clydie King, Venetta Fields, and Merry Clayton, who we’ve talked about on this show before.

[Music: Ron Davies – “It Ain’t Easy”]

The song never hit the Billboard chart, though it did chart in Canada, reaching number 55 on their RPM chart. Ron Davies would release a second solo album, UFO, in 1974, which included some of the same songs that were on that first album, including “It Ain’t Easy“. He moved to Nashville in 1985 and continued working as a songwriter. Ron Davies died from a heart attack in October of 2003.

The next time “It Ain’t Easy” appeared was courtesy of Three Dog Night. It was actually the title cut from their third album, released in March 1970. Three Dog Night didn’t write their own material, but they were pretty good at finding and adapting other people’s songs and had churned out quite a few hits. The It Ain’t Easy album included their hit version of “Mama Told Me Not to Come“, along with their take on Elton John’s “Your Song” and a cover of “Woman“, a song by Free, who are about to be featured on an upcoming episode here. Three Dog Night’s version of “It Ain’t Easy” is less swampy, doesn’t have that gospel choir feel on the chorus, and the song is a little more AM radio friendly, which fits Three Dog Night’s style. But the song still retains quite a bit of the original’s feel.

[Music: Three Dog Night – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Though Three Dog Night’s It Ain’t Easy album was a big hit, they never released the song as a single, at least not as an A-side. So the song still hadn’t really hit the charts.

“It Ain’t Easy” resurfaced again in 1971 with a version by Long John Baldry. Baldry was a fixture of British blues in the 1960s. He was a founding member of that scene. He had gigged along with The Rolling Stones, and both Rod Stewart and Elton John had been members of his band. He helped to give them their start.

When he released his fifth album in 1971, both Rod and Elton returned the favor by each of them producing half of the record. The album was titled, of course, It Ain’t Easy. The song “It Ain’t Easy” appears on side one—that was the side produced by Rod Stewart. Baldry’s version is bluesier, it’s a little slower, heavy with that blues-rock swagger. Baldry’s vocal is intense, digging into the despair of the lyrics. And he’s supported on the chorus by the backing vocals of Maggie Bell, one of the great blues-rock vocalists of her time. She’s been forgotten, unfortunately, but I would put her right up there with Janis Joplin; she’s that good. Check out her vocals. Also featured on this track is Ron Wood on slide guitar.

[Music: Long John Baldry – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Also in 1971, there was an album released that I personally really love. Mitch Ryder made his name fronting The Detroit Wheels in the 1960s and had a number of hits, including “Devil with the Blue Dress“, “Jenny Take a Ride“, and “Sock It to Me, Baby!“. In the early 1970s, he formed a new band just called Detroit. They took Ryder’s already ramped-up R&B flavored rock and added a heavier edge. Detroit featured guitarist Steve Hunter, who would go on to work for Lou Reed and Alice Cooper—great guitar player. Detroit only issued one self-titled album; it came out in 1971, and it included this version of “It Ain’t Easy“. Check out the little riffs added by Steve Hunter, along with the pretty busy bass part played by W.R. Cooke.

[Music: Detroit – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Dave Edmunds has had a multifaceted career, to say the least. A terrific guitarist and a great singer, he first made his mark in the British psychedelic-tinged rock band Love Sculpture in 1968 and then went solo. He had a big hit with “I Hear You Knocking” in 1970. He went on to form Rockpile, became an in-demand record producer, and collaborated with many artists, including Paul McCartney. But back in 1972, he released his first solo album. It was called Rockpile, and it featured his take on “It Ain’t Easy“. His version is less bluesy than Baldry’s and avoids the studio sheen of Three Dog Night; it’s not as riffy as Detroit’s version, and he injects some of his rockabilly sensibility into it. But the bones of the song remain the same. Let’s hear a little of Dave Edmunds doing “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Dave Edmunds – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Next, we get to the big one. If you’re familiar with this song at all, it’s probably this version. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is not only one of David Bowie‘s biggest records, it’s one of the most iconic albums of the 1970s, probably of all time. When you talk all-time classic albums, this one has got to be on the list.

Ziggy Stardust is a concept album, a very particular, specific vision of David Bowie’s. So why on this album of songs about a space-alien rock star is there a version of “It Ain’t Easy“? Well, the track was originally recorded for Bowie’s previous album, Hunky Dory, released the year before in 1971. It was left off of that album, but for some reason, they decided to include it on the Ziggy Stardust record. Rick Wakeman played many of the keyboard parts on the Hunky Dory album and, because this track was recorded during those sessions, he appears on this song playing harpsichord. It’s the only song on the Ziggy Stardust album that Wakeman appears on. Rick Wakeman was, of course, a member of Yes and would become a legendary keyboard and synthesizer player. Also appearing on this song is Dana Gillespie, providing background vocals on the chorus. Neither Wakeman nor Gillespie were credited on the original release of the album.

Not surprisingly, Bowie’s version drifts the furthest away from the bluesy, swampy vibe of the original. The harpsichord, in particular, takes it to a different place. You don’t find the harpsichord on too many blues numbers.

[Music: David Bowie – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Bettye LaVette is hands-down one of my favorite singers. We featured her on an episode a while back, so if you want to dig into her history further, go listen to episode 139 on Bettye LaVette and “I Still Want to Be Your Baby“. But to sum up things briefly here, Bettye released her first single way back in 1962 and had some success on the R&B charts in the ’60s. In 1972, she went to the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios to record her first album. That album was called Child of the Seventies, and I think it’s a great record. But for some inexplicable reason, the record company never released it. God knows why, but it was put on a shelf until it was rediscovered in 1999 and finally issued. And people rediscovered Bettye LaVette. That album features Bettye’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“, recorded in 1972, the same year that Ziggy Stardust was released, though Bettye’s version wouldn’t be officially released until 27 years later.

[Music: Bettye LaVette – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Claudia Lennear was one of the premier backup singers in the business. She started her career as an Ikette with Ike and Tina Turner, and her list of credits is a mile long. She’s sung on albums by Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker, Dave Mason, Humble Pie, Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, Freddy King… the list goes on. But she only released one solo album back in 1973; that album was called Phew! (P-H-E-W) and it opens with “It Ain’t Easy“. Claudia’s version injects the song with a whole lot of Rolling Stones-style swagger and a touch of gospel. It also features some excellent guitar work by the great Ry Cooder.

[Music: Claudia Lennear – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Things went quiet for a few years after that until Graham Bonnet recorded a version of “It Ain’t Easy” for his 1977 solo album. Bonnet established himself as one of the leading hard rock and metal singers with his work with Rainbow and Alcatrazz, but here’s his take on “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Graham Bonnet – “It Ain’t Easy”]

One of the more oddball versions was recorded by Dennis Waterman, who was mostly known as a TV actor in the UK, though he also had a career as a singer—a British version of David Hasselhoff, I guess. He released a version in 1977, but I don’t own that record to be able to play it for you.

Chris Smither is a blues and folk artist who started his career in the folk scene around Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1984, he stripped the song down to its pure basics and released his version of “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Chris Smither – “It Ain’t Easy”]

In 1996, there was a Bowie tribute album released called Crash Course for the Ravers. The alternative band Hazel had the honors of contributing their version of “It Ain’t Easy“. I wouldn’t typically include this song here because it’s more of a tribute to Bowie than it is a cover of the original song, but just to be complete, here is Hazel’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“.

[Music: Hazel – “It Ain’t Easy”]

In more recent years, the song’s been covered by The Raconteurs…

[Music: The Raconteurs – “It Ain’t Easy”]

…and Shelby Lynne did a nice version of it.

[Music: Shelby Lynne – “It Ain’t Easy”]

Fish covered it when they performed the entire Ziggy Stardust album in 2016. And just last year, in 2025, Alexis P. Suter recorded a version for her album Just Stay High.

[Music: Alexis P. Suter – “It Ain’t Easy”]

So that brings us up to date. I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed some other versions of this song, but as far as I can find, these are the significant versions of this track. We’ve heard this same song filtered through blues, to country, to glam, to soul, to rock and back again. The bones of this song remain remarkably consistent, I think, and yet it can slide so easily into the repertoire of so many diverse artists. Not one of these versions was ever a hit; it was never a commercial success. And yet, the song has lived a pretty interesting life. And who knows where it’ll turn up next?

Well, I hope you enjoyed this history ride through the lifespan of this one song. I have to say, this episode is kind of the perfect example of why I do this podcast; every episode begins with me asking myself a question, and then trying to find the answer, just for my own satisfaction. I never go into an episode knowing all the answers. The fun part for me is learning all of this stuff and then sharing it with you. And I hope you find all of this as interesting as I do.

Thanks for joining me here on the Pantheon Podcast Network, where fans belong. New episodes of this podcast come out on the 1st and the 15th of every month, so you can bet your sweet bippy that the I’m In Love With That Song podcast will be back soon. Until then, visit our website at lovethatsongpodcast.com to find all of our previous episodes. Whether you’re catching up on shows you missed or want to rediscover some of your favorites, our website is the best place to do it.

You can support the show by going to oldglory.com and buying a t-shirt or some band merch from your favorite artists. They have a ton of stuff on their site, and if you use our discount code, LOVETHATSONG, you’ll save 15% and you’ll be supporting the show. That’s discount code LOVETHATSONG; the website is oldglory.com.

I would also ask that you share the show with your friends and family. The word-of-mouth support from savvy listeners like you is the best way to spread the word and grow this show, so I really appreciate it. Thank you.

So, I’m going to pack it in for the night. Thanks again for sticking with me on this one. So many great versions of this song, but if I had to pick just one, well, I got a real soft spot for that version by Detroit featuring Mitch Ryder. So let’s close it out with Detroit’s version of “It Ain’t Easy“. I’ll see you next time.

[Outro Music: Detroit – “It Ain’t Easy”]

RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

Artists & Bands:

Record Labels & Studios:

David Bowie – “Starman”

"Starman" (David Bowie) Copyright 1972 Chrysalis Music Limited, EMI Music Publishing Limited & Tintoretto Music/RZO Music

Before there was Ziggy Stardust, there was Arnold Corns…

Thanks to a legendary performance on Top Of The Pops 50 years ago, “Starman” became Bowie’s first hit since “Space Oddity” and proved he wasn’t a one-hit wonder. In this episode, we dig into the history of this song and the origin of Ziggy Stardust.

“Starman” (David Bowie) Copyright 1972 Chrysalis Music Limited, EMI Music Publishing Limited & Tintoretto Music/RZO Music

Here’s a few more Bowie episodes for your listening pleasure:

David Bowie – “Space Oddity”
David Bowie – “Station To Station”
David Bowie – “Time”

TRANSCRIPT:

Are you freaked out in a moon age daydream? Well, you better hang on to yourself, because here comes another episode of the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast on the Pantheon Podcast Network. I’m your host, Brad Page, and on this show, I pick one of my favorite songs and we listen to it together to discover all of the nuances and elements, those special moments that make the song work.

David Bowie is one of our favorite subjects here on this show, because he’s one of my favorite artists. This month marks the 50th anniversary of the song that introduced Ziggy Stardust to the world, and launched David Bowie into stardom. So let’s celebrate the release of that iconic single from April 28, 1970, 250 years ago. This is David Bowie with “Starman”.

By 1971, David Bowie had been making records for eight years. But critical acclaim eluded him. He had tried being a blues singer. He had tried being a folky. He finally had a taste of real success with “Space Oddity” in 1969, but he was on the verge of being a one hit wonder.

As a teenager, he worked for an advertising agency in London. He only lasted there a year, but he was there long enough to pick up some basic advertising and marketing skills that he would later put to good use. He knew how to present an image, and he believed he had finally landed on the right product: the ultimate rock star. He just needed to do some market testing.

In 1971, along with his own recording contract, he was also working as a songwriter for a publisher, trying to write hit songs for other people. He had recorded a couple of demos that he wanted to release, but because he was under contract to a different record label, he couldn’t release the songs under his own name. So, he invented a character and a band to go along with it. But it’s not who you think.

The name of this band was Arnold Corns, and their lead singer was named Rudy Valentino. Neither Arnold Corns nor Rudy Valentino really existed. Bowie had met a 19-year-old fashion designer named Freddie Burretti. Bowie thought Freddie had the look of a rock star and would be the perfect guinea pig and front man for this new fake band. The fact that Freddie couldn’t sing, that was no problem– Bowie would provide the voice.

So David gave Freddie the stage name of “Rudy Valentino” and created the fake band Arnold Corns to back him up. Bowie hyped them up in the press, saying that the Rolling Stones are finished and Rudy would be the next Mick Jagger. So Arnold Korns released two singles. One of them was “Moonage Daydream”, backed with “Hang On To Yourself”. Here’s a little bit of Arnold Korn’s version of “Moonage Daydream”.

And here’s some of the Arnold Korn’s version of “Hang On To Yourself”.

You can really hear the Lou Reed influence in that version. Well, fortunately for the Rolling Stones, Arnold Corns was no threat. Both singles flopped and sunk without a trace.

This experiment was not a success, but Bowie would learn from it and revisit it later. In the meantime, Bowie released the “Hunky Dory” album in December 1971. Still, I think one of his best albums, “Hunky Dory”, was a leap forward in his songwriting and another rung up the ladder of success. But Bowie still had bigger ambitions. He revisited his concept of the ultimate rock star and drew inspiration from Elvis Presley to Howard Hughes, from the legendary Stardust Cowboy to the self-destruction of Hendrix and Joplin, and from novels from Van Daniken’s “Chariots of the Gods” to “I Am Still The Greatest, Says John Angelo” by Nick Cohn.

He wrote new songs and resurrected old ones like “Moonage Daydream” and “Hang On To Yourself” to create the album that would finally make David Bowie a legend, “The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”.

The Ziggy Stardust album has been called a “concept album”. Fair enough… It has a concept, but not much of a coherent story. Essentially, it’s the ascent and decline of a rock star who may or may not be an alien. Bowie, of course, plays Ziggy Stardust, and in doing so, he’s commenting on the role of the rock star in our culture and challenging the ideas of authenticity.

The album was released in June 1972. Before the album was released, “Starman” was issued as a single on April 28, 1972. “Starman” was the introduction of Ziggy Stardust to the world.

“Starman” was one of the last songs written for the album. It’s a classic example of a record label executive saying “I don’t hear a hit” and forcing the artist to go back and write something new for a single. Luckily, Bowie delivered.

It’s possible Bowie might have been inspired by science fiction author Robert Heinlein’s book “Starman Jones”. Bowie’s real name, after all, was David Jones. Musically, he drew inspiration from a few sources, and we’ll explore those. “Starman” features the Spiders from Mars, Trevor Boulder on bass, Woody Woodmansey on drums, and the great Mick Ronson, one of my real guitar heroes, on guitar and backing vocals; David Bowie played acoustic guitar as well as lead vocal, and Mick Ronson also played mellotron and wrote the string arrangement. The song was produced by David Bowie and Ken Scott.

The song opens with Bowie’s twelve string guitar.

All right, let’s get into it. David’s twelve string guitar is in the right channel. There’s also a keyboard, probably that Mellotron holding a single note, one bass guitar note, a single strum of another guitar and guitar and bass again. David is singing there, but it’s just nonsense syllables. Though he did take the time to overdub a harmony on the first one. Then Woody Woodmansey’s drum fill kicks off the first verse.

Listen to how dry that drum sound is. No reverb on that at all. The instrumentation is pretty spare on the verse, just bass, drums and two acoustic guitars panned left and right.

Woody Woodmancy is laying down a nice groove on the drums. Let’s check that out.

I guarantee you David Bowie did not talk like that in real life. He’s channeling a character here.

Now, at this point, there’s a short transitional piece of music that links the verse to the chorus. Sounds like Morse code, or an old telegraph. It evokes the idea of messages being beamed through space. Could be the Starman letting us know he’s here. It paints an audio picture. Bowie actually got the idea from another song, “You Keep Me Hanging On” by The Supremes. Here it is.

Now let’s go back to “Starman” and hear how this section joins the verse and the chorus together.

That one, no DJ. That was high as it cosmic time.

Mick Ronson and David are singing the harmonies. The instrumentation is still just bass, drums and acoustic guitar, but the string section is added on the chorus and it’s filling in a lot of empty space.

“Let the children boogie”. Around this time, Mark Bolan and T Rex were probably the hottest act in the UK. T Rex were known for playing their own brand of boogie rock. Bolan was definitely bigger than Bowie at this point. They were friends, but they were also competitors, and Bowie clearly had Bolan in his sights when he made this album.  After Bowie says “let the children boogie”, the band goes into a riff that would have been right at home on a T Rex record. It’s a nod, a tip of the hat to Mark Bolan, but it’s also a little bit mocking and somewhat ironic too, as “Starman” marks Bowie’s ascent, the point where Bolan had plateaued and Bowie was about to eclipse him.

Notice the hand claps after the guitar boogie section, we have the second verse. The electric guitars disappear. It’s just the acoustics again. And Bowie turns in a restrained, almost delicate vocal as compared to the chorus. Where he’s really belting it out.

Trevor Boulder plays a nice bass part during the verse, so pay some attention to that.

The chorus begins with some vocal gymnastics by Bowie. From the word “star”, his voice leaps a full octave to the word “man”. Generations of songwriters have used that technique, as it immediately adds a sense of drama, both a literal and a figurative rise in the song. And Bowie was particularly inspired here by this classic song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, performed by Judy Garland and written by Harold Arlin and Edgar Harburg for “The Wizard of Oz”. I mean, it’s one of the greatest songs ever written. Of course, Bowie as a songwriter would be inspired by that. Here’s that same octave leap again.

Now, you might think that this is all speculation and that Bowie could have come up with it on his own, or he borrowed it from somewhere else. But listen to this version of Bowie performing “Starman” live at the Rainbow Theater in August 1972.

So there you go. In fact, you could add Judy Garland to the list of those who inspired the creation of Ziggy Stardust, another star whose rise and fall mirrors that of Ziggy. Judy Garland died of an overdose in 1969, less than three years before “Starman” was written.

They repeat the chorus here.

The boogie section is the only time electric guitars are featured in the song. There are two electric guitars here, the solo and the rhythm part in the left channel. And there’s still one acoustic guitar on the right.

 Here’s where everybody gets to sing along, where the listener becomes part of the experience.

Mick Ronson plays some lead guitar in the background and we begin a long fade out, which makes it feel like this sing along could go on forever.

In July 1972, Bowie appeared on the British tv show “Top of the Pops” to perform “Starman”. It was a watershed moment. Watching it now, it all seems so tame, but at the time it was almost revolutionary. Bowie, dressed in a multicolored outfit and that flaming red hairdo that is so identified with Ziggy now, but that was a brand new ‘do at the time. He never mugs for the camera in this performance, but he smirks and grins and just looks like he’s having a great time. When Mick Ronson approaches to share the mic with him, Bowie throws his arm around Mick and pulls him close. And that one move sent a shockwave across England. It seems so innocent now. It’s hard to believe something like that could ever be controversial, but for parents across the UK, the gay subtext was just too much. They were shocked. But for millions of kids watching at home, they saw something liberating. They saw freedom.

When he sings that line in the second verse, “I had to phone someone so I picked on you”, he points into the camera, and all those kids watching at home felt like he was singing directly to them. Robert Smith of the Cure, Bono, Gary Newman, Siouxie Sioux, Mick Jones of the Clash, Boy George. Adam Ant, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Johnny Marr… seems like everybody who formed a band in England remember seeing Bowie on “Top of the Pops” and consider this a pivotal moment in their lives. If you’ve never seen this clip from “Top of the Pops”, go watch it now. Bowie is absolutely magnetic in this performance. He’s every bit the ultimate rock star.

Thanks for listening and for being a part of the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast. You can continue the discussion on our Facebook page. Just search for the “I’m In Love With That Song” podcast and you’ll find us.

You can listen to our previous episodes on David Bowie, as well as the dozens of other songs and artists we’ve discussed on this show, on our website, lovethatsongpodcast.com. And there are plenty of other great music related podcasts on the Pantheon Podcast Network, so check those out too.

We’ll be back in two weeks with another show. Thanks for joining us for this episode on David Bowie and “Starman”. And remember to support the music you love by downloading it, streaming it, or buying it from wherever you find great music.

REFERENCES:

David Bowie
https://www.davidbowie.com/

Hunky Dory album
https://www.davidbowie.com/album/hunky-dory

Space Oddity
https://www.davidbowie.com/track/space-oddity-0

Robert Heinlein
https://www.heinleinsociety.org/

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album
https://www.davidbowie.com/album/the-rise-and-fall-of-ziggy-stardust-and-the-spiders-from-mars

Chariots of the Gods by Erich Von Daniken
https://www.erichvondaniken.com/en/

Judy Garland
https://www.judygarlandmuseum.com/

Top of the Pops
http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp

You Keep Me Hanging On” by The Supremes
https://www.motownmuseum.org/legacy/the-supremes/

Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland
https://www.judygarlandmuseum.com/

Sweet – “Fox on The Run”

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"Fox on The Run" (Andy Scott, Steve Priest and Brian Connolly) Copyright 1975 (Renewed) Sweet Publishing Ltd. All rights in the US and Canada Administered by WB Music Corp.

Picture this: You’re a successful chart-topping band, but your managers are writing all your hits and ignoring the songs you’re writing. You wrote a track on your latest album that has potential, but the record company thinks you can improve it. So, without your managers knowing about it, you re-record it & release it as a single– and it’s a hit. That’s the story of Sweet and “Fox On The Run”.

“Fox on The Run” (Andy Scott, Steve Priest and Brian Connolly) Copyright 1975 (Renewed) Sweet Publishing Ltd. All rights in the US and Canada Administered by WB Music Corp. 

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David Bowie – “Time”

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"Time" (David Bowie) Copyright 1973 Tinoretto Music (BMI) administered by RZO Music Inc Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc (BMI), Chrysalis Songs (BMI)

With this song, David Bowie practically invents the Goth-Punk-Cabaret genre.  It’s an epic song with brilliant piano by Mike Garson.  Let’s explore the track and see what makes this masterpiece tick.  And if you like the podcast, please share!

“Time” (David Bowie) Copyright 1973 Tinoretto Music (BMI) administered by RZO Music Inc Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc (BMI), Chrysalis Songs (BMI)  (phew, that’s a mouthful.)

TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome to I’m in Love with That Song, the podcast where we listen to a different song each show. This episode, we’re listening to “Time” by David Bowie.

Hi, my name is Brad Page, and I am a music junkie. There’s really nothing that moves me as much as a great song. So with this podcast, I pick one of my favorite songs and just try to understand why it moves me so much by listening attentively to the little elements and details that make up a great song. And in this episode, we’ve really got something: David Bowie and “Time.”

“Time” was recorded for David Bowie’s sixth studio album called Aladdin Sane, released in 1973. It was the sixth song on the album and, if you were listening to it on the original vinyl, it would have been the song that opens side two.

The song was written by David Bowie while on tour in New Orleans. And while it was completed in 1972, the song was actually started by Bowie in ’71 with the working title “We Should Be All On By Now.” And the earlier version was initially given to his friend, George Underwood.

After Bowie rewrote it, the song took on a distinctly European cabaret feel. And to me, this song is patient zero for all of the goth punk cabaret and burlesque rock bands that came after.

The song was produced by Ken Scott, and the band features David Bowie on vocals and acoustic guitar; Mick Ronson on electric guitar and backing vocals; Trevor Bolder on bass; Mick Woodmansey on drums; and Mike Garson on piano.

Now, Mick Ronson was Bowie’s ace in the hole. He had so much to do with shaping Bowie’s early sound, and I think he’s a really underappreciated guitarist. But on this whole album, especially the title cut and this song, I think you have to give the MVP award to Mike Garson on piano, who brought a whole new depth and soundscape to Bowie’s music at this time. This was Garson’s first album with the band, and his input is essential.

The song opens with the sound of Mike Garson’s piano off in the distance. Imagine you’re walking into a half-empty cabaret hall from the back and slowly, gingerly, walking to your seat at the front. The piano is heavy in the right channel with plenty of reverb to give it that sense of depth and distance. Here comes the bass and vocals.

Some echo on the lead vocal. Now backing vocals and acoustic guitar enter. The whole band is on board now. Instead of just playing guitar chords, listen to how Mick Ronson uses the electric guitar to play like an orchestra.

The lyrics to this verse—”Time in quaaludes and red wine, demanding Billy dolls and other friends of mine.” The Billy dolls he’s referring to is Billy Murcia, the drummer for The New York Dolls, who died in 1972. Bowie had partied with him just a few months before.

The piano starts to get heavier here. Backing vocals again. Sounds to me like Mick Ronson is using a little bit of wah-wah pedal on the guitar on that short part. Just that little part there.

And this is the chorus. This is the first appearance of the chant or sing-along section, and check out the great piano parts that play behind him.

Now we’re back in that dark cabaret, and I love Mike Garson’s piano here. It is so evocative. And David Bowie really plays up the part, the way he points to us with each line.

Let’s go back and listen to this part again and notice how the reverb on the vocals disappears when he says the word “You.” That word, and only that word, are dry, meaning that there’s no reverb on them. That makes the word even more in your face.

This is another part of the song that I love. How Bowie just stops. Time freezes. And all he does is breathe, like he’s at a loss for words or there’s nothing more to say. Let’s go back, listen to him breathe, and then Mick Ronson lets out a guitar solo that’s more of a wail or a howl than any traditional guitar solo. It’s intense, and it’s such an interesting choice from Ronson.

Listen to how nasty that guitar tone is—distorted and scratchy. The orchestrated guitar and piano really add to the drama here. Check out the electric guitar part.

And here’s more great guitar playing from Mick Ronson.

We’ve reached the wordless chorus again, and this is one of the all-time great epic refrains, like The Beatles on “Hey Jude.” But where the sing-along on “Hey Jude” is celebratory and kind of life-affirming, here we get a refrain with a sense of foreboding. It’s a steady, forward march like the progression of time itself. We know we can’t stop time. It’ll have its way with us. But we’ll raise our voices against the darkness anyway.

Listen to the backing vocals. And catch the bass lick here. The backing vocals get more intense.

I like the way the bass is holding down the groove at this point. And the song doesn’t fade out. Instead, David Bowie surrenders to the inevitability of time, and the piano adds an exclamation point. There’s also a little bit of saxophone there that you can hear at the end.

So that is David Bowie and “Time.” The concept of time was a frequent subject for Bowie. On his previous record, the song “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” opens with the line, “Time takes a cigarette and puts it in your mouth.” The song “Changes” references time and, well, really you can’t have change without the passage of time. In 1987, he wrote a song called “Time Will Crawl.” Those are just a few examples.

Time can be your friend, and it can be your enemy. Time can be fluid in the way that we perceive it. But more than almost anything else, time is the thing that defines our lives. Whether you try to ignore it, or outrun it, or make the best of it, we’re all limited by it. In the Buddhist philosophy of impermanence, nothing lasts forever.

Bowie created a body of work that will last as long as there are people to hear it. I’m a huge David Bowie fan, and there are few artists whose music means as much to me. I’m sure we’ll be dipping into his catalog again here on I’m in Love with That Song.

If you are looking for more info on David Bowie, there’s no shortage of great books on him. There’s at least a dozen that are worth checking out. I referred to Peter Doggett’s book, The Man Who Sold the World: Bowie and the 1970s, when I was prepping for this podcast.

So, that’s it for this episode. Thanks again for listening. My email is lovethatsongpodcast@gmail.com, and you can also find the podcast on Facebook. If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. I’ll see you again next time on I’m in Love with That Song.

Thanks for listening to this episode on David Bowie and “Time.” To listen to the song again, complete and uninterrupted, stream it, download it, or buy it, and support the music you love.