In 1975, David Bowie Nabbed His First No. 1 Hit In The US With Help From This Beatle

September 20 is a red letter day for Beatles and Bowie fans. On that date in 1969, John Lennon told Paul, George, and Ringo he was quitting the band; on the same day exactly six years later, David Bowie scored his first No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. "Fame," the song that topped the American singles chart in September 1975, also connected the two men, as Lennon had a hand in its creation. But how did it happen?

Their relationship began at a 1974 party thrown by Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor. A couple of days later they met again, backstage at the Grammy Awards. Before Bowie presented one of the Grammys to Aretha Franklin, he told Lennon he didn't think America really understood him. The former Beatle assured him otherwise, and a warm friendship was born.

In 1975, Bowie, who was working on the "Young Americans" album at the time, invited Lennon to New York City's Electric Lady Studio to play on his cover of the Beatles' "Across the Universe." Later that same day, the two collaborated on an original song that would become Bowie's biggest U.S. hit up to that time. 

After "Across the Universe" was finished, the next order of business for David Bowie and John Lennon was supposed to be a cover of the Flares' "Foot Stompin'," which guitarist Carlos Alomar had already created a riff for. But the session took a different turn.

During conversations about the nature of celebrity, Lennon dissed Bowie's manager, Tony Defries, and advised him to hire specialists for particular jobs rather than all-purpose management services. Bowie told Bill DeMain in 2003 (via Performing Songwriter): "John was the guy who opened me up to the idea that all management is crap. ... You don't have to end up signing your life away to some fool who's just there kind of grabbing hold of the coattails." Bowie and Lennon paired those ideas, and their thoughts on fame in general, with Alomar's riff, and "Fame" was born. The lyrics in the third verse and chorus even appear to address Defries directly: "Is it any wonder I reject you first" and "Fame, bully for you, chilly for me." (Bowie cut ties with Defries in 1975, though Defries would continue to take a cut of Bowie's earnings for the next seven years.)

Lennon's influence on the song didn't end at co-writing — he also played guitar and provided backing vocals. He and Bowie remained friends until Lennon's murder in 1980, and horrifically, Mark Chapman had also targeted Bowie. Whether or not Lennon's input is the reason "Fame" was a hit in the United States (though curiously not so much in Europe), it remains a standout collaboration from two masters of their art.