THE JEAN GENIE

"'The Jean Genie'" is a single by David Bowie, released in November 1972. One of Bowie’s most famous songs, it was the lead single for the album ''Aladdin Sane'' (1973).

Contents

Music and lyrics

Video

Release and aftermath

Track listing

Production credits

Live versions

Other releases

Cover versions

Appearances in popular culture

Notes

References

Music and lyrics

The song's chugging R&B riff is often compared to The Yardbirds^4[1] while the lyrics have been likened to the "stylised sleaze" of The Velvet Underground. The subject matter was inspired in part by Bowie's friend Iggy Pop or, in Bowie's own words, "an Iggy-type character... it wasn't ''actually'' Iggy."⁶ The line "He's so simple minded, he can't drive his module" would later give the band Simple Minds their name.^[2] The title has long been taken as a pun on the name of the homosexual author Jean Genet. Bowie was once quoted as saying that this was "subconscious... but it's probably there, yes".⁶
"The Jean Genie" was composed and recorded in New York City, where Bowie spent time hanging out with the Warhol set's Cyrinda Foxe. In 2005 the singer described its genesis thus: "Starting out as a lightweight riff thing I had written one evening in NY for Cyrinda’s enjoyment, I developed the lyric to the otherwise wordless pumper and it ultimately turned into a bit of a smorgasbord of imagined Americana ... based on an Iggy-type persona ... The title, of course, was a clumsy pun upon Jean Genet".^[3]

Video

Mick Rock directed a film clip to promote the song, mixing concert and studio footage of Bowie performing with the Spiders From Mars, along with location shots of the singer posing at the Mars Hotel, San Francisco, with Cyrinda Foxe. Bowie wanted the video to depict "Ziggy as a kind of Hollywood street-rat" with a "consort of the Marilyn brand". This led to Foxe's casting, and she flew from New York to San Francisco especially for the shoot.

Release and aftermath

There was some controversy in the UK following the song's release as it utilised a riff very similar to fellow RCA act The Sweet's "Blockbuster!".^[4][5] Sweet's single, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, and recorded and released slightly later than Bowie's song, made #1 in the UK charts while "The Jean Genie" occupied #2. All parties maintained that the similarity was, in Nicky Chinn's words, "absolute coincidence". Chinn described a meeting with Bowie at which the latter "looked at me completely deadpan and said 'Cunt!' And then he got up and gave me a hug and said, 'Congratulations...'"^[6]
"The Jean Genie"'s 13 weeks in the UK charts, peaking at #2, made it Bowie's biggest hit to date. In the US it reached #71 (this time beating "Blockbuster!", which made #73). Though the song has its detractors, biographer David Buckley for instance describing it as "derivative, plodding, if undeniably catchy",^[7] it remains one of Bowie's signature tunes, and has often been played at his concerts since its release.

Track listing

# "The Jean Genie" (Bowie) – 4:02
# "Ziggy Stardust" (Bowie) – 3:13
The US release had "Hang on to Yourself" as the B-side, while the B-side of the Japanese release was "John, I'm Only Dancing".

Production credits

★ Producers:

★
★ Ken Scott

★
★ David Bowie

★ Musicians:

★
★ David Bowie: Vocals, Guitar

★
★ Mick Ronson: Guitar

★
★ Trevor Bolder: Bass

★
★ Mick Woodmansey: Drums

Live versions

★ A live version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 was released on ''Santa Monica '72''. This version also appeared on the Japanese release of ''RarestOneBowie'' and on the bonus disc of the ''Aladdin Sane - 30th Anniversary Edition'' in 2003.

★ The song was played at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on July 3 1973 but was left off the ''Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture'' album. This particular version featured Jeff Beck on guitar.

★ A live version from the 1974 tour was released on ''David Live''. Another live recording from the 1974 tour was released on the semi-legal album ''A Portrait in Flesh''.

★ Billy Corgan performed the song live with David Bowie on Bowie's 50th Birthday Bash concert in January 1997.

Other releases

★ The single edit of the song was released on the bonus disc of ''Aladdin Sane - 30th Anniversary Edition'' in 2003.

★ It also appeared on the following compilations:

★
★ ''The Best of David Bowie'' (Japan 1974)

★
★ ''ChangesOneBowie'' (1976)

★
★ ''Best of Bowie'' (1980)

★
★ ''ChangesBowie'' (1990)

★
★ ''The Singles Collection'' (1993)

★
★ ''The Best of 1969/1974'' (1997)

★ Picture disc versions were released in both the RCA ''Life Time'' picture disc set and the ''Fashion Picture Disc Set''.

Cover versions

★ The Diamonds - ''Million Copy Hit Songs Made Famous by Elton John & David Bowie''

★ Die Lady Di - ''Ashes to Ashes: A Tribute to David Bowie'' (1998)

★ Fernando - ''Crash Course for the Ravers - A Tribute to the Songs of David Bowie'' (1996)

★ Hothouse Flowers (& friends) - Live recording

★ The Rockridge Synthesiser Orchestra - ''Plays David Bowie Classic Trax''

★ Arno & Beverly Jo Scott - "La fille du père Noël meets Jean Genie"

★ Van Halen - Live recording

★ The Dandy Warhols - ''Come on Feel the Dandy Warhols''

★ Gustavo Cerati - Plays a few verses of the song while performing his own "Paseo Inmoral" live

Appearances in popular culture

★ The song is featured in the BBC television series ''Life on Mars'' (after another famous David Bowie song) and is mentioned by DCI Gene Hunt, who frequently refers to himself as 'the Gene genie'.

Notes

1. Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
2. Simple Minds website FAQs
3. David Bowie & Mick Rock (2005). ''Moonage Daydream'': pp.140-146
4. Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). ''Bowie: An Illustrated Record'': p.52
5. Mark Blake (Ed.) (2007). "Future Legend", ''MOJO 60 Years of Bowie'': pp.74-75
6. Nicholas Pegg (2000). ''The Complete David Bowie'': pp.110-111
7. David Buckley (1999) ''Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story'': p.184

References

★ Pegg, Nicholas, ''The Complete David Bowie'', Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5

★ Tremlett, George, ''David Bowie: Living on the Brink'', Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1996, ISBN 0-7867-0465-9