My 100 Favorite Charted Pop Songs: Young Americans

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Sandwiched in between two “mellow” singers at the end of this alphabetical list of my favorite charted singles is this. It makes an interesting switch between what came before it and what closes this out tomorrow. And, like yesterday’s song, it features someone who’ll sadly be on next month’s list of 2024 musical obits. Here’s today’s song. Young Americans - David Bowie The obituary in question is David Sanborn, the saxophonist’s saxophonist. He passed away this year, leaving a long list of great songs he played on (as well as his own music). This is definitely one of Sanborn’s go-to performances. Of course, everybody on this song was at the top of their game. You had Luther Vandross doing backing vocals and Willie Weeks on bass. Bowie called this “plastic soul,” but it was soulful enough to make him the first Caucasian to appear on Soul Train. (Of course, he mentioned Soul Train and Afro-Sheen in the song, so that might have helped, too. ) This didn’t do as well as Fame as far as singles go, but what the heck. It’s a killer song...and quite a list of sins of our country from a British perspective. Young Americans Written by David Bowie Recorded by David Bowie From Young Americans, 1975 Peak chart position: #28 Today’s country song: “A Wound Time Can’t Erase” Do you remember the bills you have to pay: