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At the end of the first leg of the Diamond Dogs tour and armed with some new material, David Bowie booked into Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios in August 1974 to lay down some tracks for a new album. For this album, David let go of the influences he had drawn from in the past, replacing them with sounds from local discoteques and dance halls, which, at the time, were blaring with lush strings, sliding hi-hat whispers, and swanky R&B rhythms of Philadelphia Soul. David is quoted describing the album as “…the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak rock, written and sung by a white limey”. Because of the strong influence of black music during the album’s recording sessions, David used the term “plastic soul” (originally coined by an unknown black musician in the 1960s) to describe his new sound. Although David was an English musician bringing up touchy American issues, the album was still very successful in the United States; reaching the top ten in the US, with the single ‘Fame’ hitting the number-one spot the same year the album was released.

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At the end of the first leg of the Diamond Dogs tour and armed with some new material, David Bowie booked into Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios in August 1974 to lay down some tracks for a new album. For this album, David let go of the influences he had drawn from in the past, replacing them with sounds from local discoteques and dance halls, which, at the time, were blaring with lush strings, sliding hi-hat whispers, and swanky R&B rhythms of Philadelphia Soul. David is quoted describing the album as “…the squashed remains of ethnic music as it survives in the age of Muzak rock, written and sung by a white limey”. Because of the strong influence of black music during the album’s recording sessions, David used the term “plastic soul” (originally coined by an unknown black musician in the 1960s) to describe his new sound. Although David was an English musician bringing up touchy American issues, the album was still very successful in the United States; reaching the top ten in the US, with the single ‘Fame’ hitting the number-one spot the same year the album was released.
In order to create a more authentically soulful sound, David brought in musicians from the funk and soul community, including Andy Newmark, drummer of Sly and the Family Stone, and an early-career Luther Vandross. Luther brought along two of his backing singers, Anthony Hinton and Diane Sumler, who together with Ava Cherry joined David during the sessions.

www.davidbowieworld.nl

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