Jean Genie

Zoo Freaks, get ready to groove with the Zoo Crew as they spin "Jean Genie" by David Bowie from the iconic Aladdin Sane album! This track, released in November 1972 as the lead single, is a gritty blues-rock anthem with a Bo Diddley-inspired riff that Bowie cooked up during a jam session on the Ziggy Stardust Tour bus between Cleveland and Memphis. According to Bowie, the song is a "smorgasbord of imagined Americana," with its protagonist loosely based on his pal Iggy Pop, capturing the wild, rebellious spirit of the early '70s. The title itself is a playful nod to French author Jean Genet, though Bowie later admitted this reference might’ve been subconscious. Recorded in a brisk hour and a half at RCA Studios in New York on October 6, 1972, the song’s raw energy was captured with his backing band, the Spiders from Mars, featuring Mick Ronson’s searing guitar. Fun fact: the single’s promo video starred Andy Warhol associate Cyrinda Foxe, adding a dose of New York underground cool. In a 1973 interview, Bowie revealed he wrote the lyrics to amuse Foxe in her apartment, calling her a "sexy girl." The song climbed to No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, only blocked from the top spot by Little Jimmy Osmond’s "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool."

Another tidbit for you Zoo Freaks: "Jean Genie" has a curious chart rivalry. Its chugging riff, often compared to the Yardbirds or Jacques Dutronc’s 1966 track "La Fille du Père Noël," accidentally mirrored the glam band The Sweet’s "Block Buster!," released around the same time. Both singles battled it out, with The Sweet edging out Bowie to No. 1 in the UK. Bowie’s handwritten lyrics for "Jean Genie" also made headlines when they sold for £57,000 at auction in 2023. The 18-line sheet, scribbled on A4 paper, was a gift to Neal Peters, founder of the first David Bowie fan club in New York in 1973. Live performances of the song were a playground for experimentation—during a 1973 Hammersmith Odeon show, Jeff Beck joined Bowie onstage, and the band wove in snippets of the Beatles’ "Love Me Do" and the Yardbirds’ "Over Under Sideways Down." The track’s enduring legacy even seeped into pop culture, inspiring the band name Simple Minds (from the lyric "He’s so simple-minded, he can’t drive his module") and appearing in the BBC series Life on Mars, where DCI Gene Hunt dubs himself "The Gene Genie."

Now, let’s rewind to how David Bowie, born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947, in Brixton, London, became a music legend. Growing up in post-war England, young David was drawn to music early, inspired by his older half-brother Terry, who introduced him to jazz and rock ‘n’ roll. By age nine, he was hooked on Little Richard and Elvis Presley, learning to play the ukulele and saxophone. In his teens, he formed bands like The Konrads and The King Bees, gigging around London while working day jobs, including as a butcher’s delivery boy. His first single, "Liza Jane," dropped in 1964 under the name Davie Jones, but it flopped. To avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees, he adopted the stage name Bowie, inspired by the American pioneer Jim Bowie and his famous knife. The late ‘60s were a grind—several singles and his 1967 debut album tanked—but his 1969 breakthrough "Space Oddity," timed with the Apollo 11 moon landing, put him on the map. By 1972, with The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Bowie’s flamboyant alter ego Ziggy and his glam-rock swagger made him a superstar, blending theatricality, androgyny, and raw musical talent.

Zoo Freaks, you can dive deeper into Bowie’s world through his official channels. Check out his official website for news, discography, and more. Follow the legacy on Facebook, Instagram, and X for updates, rare photos, and fan chatter. For community vibes, join fan-driven spaces like the David Bowie Fan Club on Facebook or explore Bowie Wonderworld, a fan site packed with archives, forums, and tributes. Another gem is The David Bowie Archive, where devotees share everything from concert bootlegs to memorabilia. So, crank up "Jean Genie," let the Zoo Crew guide your vibe, and keep celebrating the eternal Starman!