Marvel Into David Bowie’s Isolated Vocals For “Changes”

David Bowie’s “Changes” is part of his 1971 release, Hunky Dory, and became one of his most popular songs despite not ranking well during its release.

The song talks about his creative adaptiveness, as Bowie was quite known for his character’s personas that varied vastly from one another. He had just started writing songs using a keyboard to assist him, which became instrumental in the development of “Changes”. It also helped that his wife, Angela, was carrying their child Duncan at the time of the song’s writing. Bowie himself was close with his father and was excited to share that bond with a child of his own.

As for the song’s creation, Bowie did the sax work while Rick Wakeman, who would become a member of Yes, played the piano to his own discretion. Mick Ronson arranged the strings for the song as well. The song is also known for the stuttered vocal style when Bowie utters “Ch-ch-changes.”

He said that the song started out as a parody of a nightclub tune and wasn’t really meant to be a serious track, but people apparently fell in love with the song and requested it at every chance they got. Take a listen to the isolated vocal track for “Changes” and you’ll know why it became such a hit with the crowd.