"Joe the Lion" is a song by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

in 1977 for the album '' "Heroes"''. It was produced by Bowie and

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

and features

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...

. "Joe the Lion" has been described by critic Chris O'Leary as "phenomenal" and "one of the high peaks of Bowie's late Seventies". ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' magazine listed it as Bowie's 94th best track in 2015.

Background

The track is in part a tribute to

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

Chris Burden Christopher Lee Burden (April 11, 1946 – May 10, 2015) was an American artist working in performance art, sculpture, and installation art. Burden became known in the 1970s for his performance art works, including ''Shoot (Burden), Shoot'' (1971) ...

, who was famous for having himself crucified to a Volkswagen in 1974 ("Nail me to my car and I'll tell you who you are") and for having an assistant shoot him in the arm at an art gallery in 1971 ("Guess you'll buy a gun / You'll buy it secondhand"). "Joe the Lion" has also been seen as reflecting Bowie's struggle to overcome the emotional numbness that appeared to permeate his previous album ''

Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

'' ("You get up and sleep"). Bowie rehearsed the song for the Isolar II tour of 1978, but it ultimately was not performed live until the first two dates on the 1983

Serious Moonlight Tour The Serious Moonlight Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the English musician David Bowie, launched in May 1983 in support of his album '' Let's Dance'' (1983). The tour opened at the Vorst Forest Nationaal, Brussels, on 18 May 1983 and ended ...

and more frequently on the 1995

Outside Tour The Outside World Tour was a tour by the English rock musician David Bowie, opening in September 1995 and lasting over a year. The opening shows preceded the release of the ''Outside (David Bowie album), 1. Outside'' album which it supported. T ...

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary: *

– lead and backing vocals, piano *

– lead guitar *

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any other musician. History The son of a Pentecostal mi ...

– rhythm guitar *

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

– EMS VCS 3

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, guitar treatments * George Murray – bass guitar *

Dennis Davis Dennis Davis (August 28, 1951 – April 6, 2016) was an American drummer and session musician best known for his work with David Bowie, playing on ten albums—including seven successive studio albums—during the singer's classic mid- and late ...

– drums *

– backing vocals, guitar treatments Technical * David Bowie – producer * Tony Visconti – producer, engineer *

Colin Thurston Colin Thurston (b. 1947 – 15 January 2007) was an English recording engineer and record producer, known for his work with David Bowie, Duran Duran and The Human League. Early life Born in Singapore in 1947, Thurston was a guitarist in se ...

– engineer

Other releases

* The song was released as the B-side of the US release of " John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)" in December 1979. * It appeared on the following compilations: ** '' Golden Years'' (1983) ** '' Sound + Vision'' box set (1989) * A remixed version, which replaced the distorted guitars and drums of the original with those reflecting late-1980s production values, was included in the

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...

reissue of ''"Heroes"'' in 1991. *A previously unreleased live soundcheck rehearsal of the song from the Isolar II Tour was released in February 2020, backing a picture disc, featuring a live recording of “

Alabama Song The "Alabama Song"—also known as "Moon of Alabama", "Moon over Alabama", and "Whisky Bar"—is an English version of a song written by Bertolt Brecht and translated from German by his close collaborator Elisabeth Hauptmann in 1925 and set to ...

“. *

Momus Momus (; Ancient Greek: Μῶμος ''Momos'') in Greek mythology was the personification of satire and mockery, two stories about whom figure among Aesop's Fables. During the Renaissance, several literary works used him as a mouthpiece for their ...

performed a cover version of "Joe the Lion" for his 2015 album ''

Turpsycore ''Turpsycore'' is a 2015 album by Scottish musician Momus (musician), Momus. It was released on 3 March 2015 by independent record label American Patchwork on Compact disc, CD and distributed by Darla Records. Background ''Turpsycore'' is a t ...

''.

Live versions

* A live version recorded in 1995 during Bowie's

was released as part of the live album '' Ouvre le Chien (Live Dallas 95)'' (2020).

References

Sources

* * * * {{authority control David Bowie songs 1977 songs Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti