Changes ( David Bowie song ) - wikipedia Changes ( David Bowie song ) `` Changes '' Single by David Bowie from the album Hunky Dory B - side `` Andy Warhol '' Released 7 January 1972 Format 7 '' single Recorded Trident Studios, London, summer 1971 Genre Art pop, glam rock Length 3 : 33 Label RCA Records 2160 Songwriter ( s ) David Bowie Producer ( s ) Ken Scott, David Bowie David Bowie singles chronology `` Moonage Daydream '' ( 1971 ) `` Changes '' ( 1972 ) `` Starman '' ( 1972 ) `` Moonage Daydream '' ( Arnold Corns ) ( 1971 ) `` Changes '' ( 1972 ) `` Starman '' ( 1972 ) Hunky Dory track listing `` Changes '' ( 1 ) `` Oh ! You Pretty Things '' ( 2 ) Alternative cover Music video `` Changes '' ( Live ) on YouTube `` Changes '' is a song by David Bowie, originally released on the album Hunky Dory in December 1971 and as a single in January 1972. Despite missing the Billboard top 40, `` Changes '' became one of Bowie 's best - known songs. The lyrics are often seen as a manifesto for his chameleonic personality, the frequent change of the world today, and frequent reinventions of his musical style throughout the 1970s. This single is cited as David Bowie 's official North American debut, despite the fact that the song `` The Man Who Sold the World '' was released in North America two years prior. This was the last song Bowie performed live on stage before his retirement from live performances at the end of 2006. The song ranked number 128 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is one of four of Bowie 's songs to be included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. On 27 November 2016, the Grammy Hall of Fame announced its induction, along with that of another 24 songs. It charted for the first time on the UK Singles Chart on 15 January 2016 at number 49 following Bowie 's death. Contents 1 Music and lyrics 2 Release and aftermath 3 Track listing 4 Production credits 5 Charts 6 Live versions 7 Other releases 8 Cover versions 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links Music and lyrics Bowie has said that the track `` started out as a parody of a nightclub song, a kind of throwaway ''. The musical arrangement featured the composer 's saxophone, Rick Wakeman 's keyboards and Mick Ronson 's strings, while the stuttering chorus has been compared to The Who. David Bowie `` Changes '' ( 1971 ) 21 second sample from David Bowie 's `` Changes ''. Problems playing this file ? See media help. The lyrics focused on the compulsive nature of artistic reinvention ( `` Strange fascination, fascinating me / Changes are taking the pace I 'm going through '' ) and distancing oneself from the rock mainstream ( `` Look out, you rock ' n ' rollers '' ). The song has also been interpreted as touting `` Modern Kids as a New Race '', a theme echoed on the following album track, `` Oh ! You Pretty Things ''. Rolling Stone 's contemporary review of Hunky Dory considered that `` Changes '' could be `` construed as a young man 's attempt to reckon how he 'll react when it 's his time to be on the maligned side of the generation schism ''. Release and aftermath The composer having agreed to Peter Noone covering `` Oh ! You Pretty Things '', which later commentators have argued was the obvious single from Hunky Dory, `` Changes '' was chosen for a 45 release in January 1972. Like the album, it generated good reviews but negligible chart action, peaking just outside the US Top 40 and failing in Britain. The song was a regular feature of Bowie 's live performances as Ziggy Stardust in 1972 -- 73, appearing again on the Diamond Dogs tour in 1974 and the Station to Station tour in 1976. According to Bowie, `` it turned into this monster that nobody would stop asking for at concerts : ' Dye - vid, Dye - vid -- do Changes ! ' I had no idea it would become such a popular thing. '' The song is ranked at number 127 on Rolling Stone magazine 's 2004 list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2016, the song was ranked at number 74 by internet radio station WDDF Radio in their first top 76 of the 1970s countdown. Track listing `` Changes '' ( Bowie ) -- 3 : 33 `` Andy Warhol '' ( Bowie ) -- 3 : 58 Production credits Producer : Ken Scott David Bowie Musicians : David Bowie : vocals, saxophone Mick Ronson : string arrangement, Mellotron Trevor Bolder : bass guitar Mick Woodmansey : drums Rick Wakeman : piano Charts Chart ( 1972 ) Peak position US Billboard Hot 100 66 US Cash Box Top 100 59 Chart ( 1975 ) Peak position US Billboard Hot 100 41 US Cash Box Top 100 38 Canadian Singles Chart 32 Chart ( 2016 ) Peak position France ( SNEP ) 84 UK Singles Chart 49 US Billboard Rock Songs 10 Live versions This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) Bowie played the song for the BBC 's Johnny Walker Lunchtime Show on 22 May 1972. This was broadcast in early June 1972 and eventually released on Bowie at the Beeb in 2000. A performance recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 was released on Santa Monica ' 72 and Live Santa Monica ' 72. This version also appeared on the Japanese release of RarestOneBowie. A previously unreleased live version from Boston Music Hall on 1 October 1972 was released in 1989 on the original Sound + Vision box set, but was not included in subsequent versions of this compilation. The same track was issued, however, on the bonus disc of the Aladdin Sane -- 30th Anniversary Edition in 2003. A live performance recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on 3 July 1973 was released on Ziggy Stardust -- The Motion Picture in 1983. A live version from the first leg of Bowie 's 1974 tour was released on David Live ; it was notable for Bowie singing the words `` children that you shit on '' as opposed to `` spit on ''. This version was also released on the album Rock Concert ( Netherlands 1979 ) and as a B - side of the Spanish version of the single `` Knock on Wood ''. A live recording from the second leg of the 1974 tour ( previously available on the unofficial album A Portrait in Flesh ) was released in 2017 on Cracked Actor ( Live Los Angeles ' 74 ). A live performance recorded on 23 March 1976 was included on Live Nassau Coliseum ' 76, which was released as part of the 2010 reissues of the Station to Station album, on the 2016 collection Who Can I Be Now ? ( 1974 -- 1976 ), and as a stand -- alone album in 2017. A November 2003 live performance from the A Reality Tour is included on the A Reality Tour DVD, released in 2004, as well as the A Reality Tour album, released in 2010. Other releases Bowie hit compilations rarely omit `` Changes '' despite its lack of chart success -- indeed, the retrospectives Changesonebowie ( 1976 ), Changestwobowie ( 1981 ) and Changesbowie ( 1990 ) have taken their titles from the song. It has appeared on the following Bowie compilations : The Best of David Bowie ( Japan 1974 ) Changesonebowie ( 1976 ) Fame and Fashion ( 1984 ) Sound + Vision ( 1989 ) Changesbowie ( 1990 ) The Singles Collection ( 1993 ) The Best of David Bowie 1969 / 1974 ( 1997 ) Best of Bowie ( UK, US, Australia 2002 ) The Platinum Collection ( 2006 ) Nothing Has Changed ( 2014 ) Bowie Legacy ( 2016 ) It was released as the B - side of the UK rerelease of `` Space Oddity '' in 1975. It appeared on two picture disc sets, Fashion and the RCA Life Time Disc Set. Cover versions This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( August 2017 ) Butterfly Boucher -- recorded for the Shrek 2 soundtrack ( 2004 ), featuring Bowie on additional vocals. Seu Jorge -- a Portuguese version for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in 2004. Lindsay Lohan has covered the song for the 2004 film Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. Shawn Mullins -- released on The Faculty soundtrack, The First Ten Years and as single in 1998. Piano rock band Jack 's Mannequin has performed the song live. Bananarama recorded this song in 1993 with producers Mike Stock and Pete Waterman but never officially released it. The Puppini Sisters released this song on their 2016 album The High Life Their version was also remixed twice by Fill - Y and Martin Kolarides. Notes Jump up ^ Butler, Jim ( 14 June 2016 ). `` Turn and Face the Change ''. Produce Business UK. ^ Jump up to : Buckley, David ( 1999 ). Strange Fascination -- David Bowie : The Definitive Story. p. 116. Jump up ^ `` Watch that Man '' by Tina Clarke, Music Express magazine, March 1990, page 9 Jump up ^ Gilmore, Mikal ( 2 February 2012 ), `` How Ziggy Stardust Fell to Earth '', Rolling Stone magazine ( 1149 ) : 36 -- 43, 68 Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 2008 - 01 - 12. Jump up ^ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nirvana-bowie-rem-songs-added-to-grammy-hall-of-fame-w452651 Jump up ^ Raggett, Ned. `` Review of Changes ''. Allmusic. ^ Jump up to : Loder, Kurt Loder ; Bowie, David ( 1989 ). Sound + Vision : CD liner notes ^ Jump up to : Carr, Roy ; Murray, Charles Shaar ( 1981 ). Bowie : An Illustrated Record. pp. 40 -- 44. Jump up ^ Blake, Mark ( ed. ) ( 2007 ). `` Future Legend '', MOJO 60 Years of Bowie : pp. 74 - 75 Jump up ^ Mendelsohn, John ( 6 January 1972 ). `` Hunky Dory ''. Rolling Stone. Jump up ^ `` Best of the 70 's & 80 's ''. WDDF Radio. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 06. Jump up ^ Library and Archives Canada : Top Singles, 15 February 1975, retrieved 10 April 2016 Jump up ^ `` Lescharts.com -- David Bowie -- Changes '' ( in French ). Les classement single. Retrieved 17 January 2016. Jump up ^ It can be found at www.jacksmannequin.org Jump up ^ Daw, Robbie ( January 12, 2016 ). `` Bananarama 's Unreleased 1993 Cover Of David Bowie 's `` Changes '' Has Leaked, And It 's Guilty - Pleasure Gold ``. www.idolator.com. SpinMedia. Jump up ^ https://www.musicglue.com/the-puppini-sisters/products/the-high-life-deluxe-edition-signed-cd/ References Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1 - 903111 - 14 - 5 External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics David Bowie singles 1960s `` Liza Jane '' `` I Pity the Fool '' `` You 've Got a Habit of Leaving '' `` Ca n't Help Thinking About Me '' `` Do Anything You Say '' `` I Dig Everything '' `` Rubber Band '' `` The Laughing Gnome '' `` Love You till Tuesday '' `` Space Oddity '' `` Ragazzo solo, ragazza sola '' 1970s `` The Prettiest Star '' `` Memory of a Free Festival '' `` Holy Holy '' `` Moonage Daydream '' `` Hang On to Yourself '' `` Changes '' `` Starman '' `` John, I 'm Only Dancing '' `` The Jean Genie '' `` Drive - In Saturday '' `` Time '' `` Life on Mars '' `` Let 's Spend the Night Together '' `` Sorrow '' `` Rebel Rebel '' `` Rock ' n ' Roll Suicide '' `` Diamond Dogs '' `` 1984 '' `` Knock on Wood '' `` Rock ' n ' Roll with Me '' `` Young Americans '' `` Fame '' `` Golden Years '' `` TVC 15 '' `` Suffragette City '' `` Stay '' `` Sound and Vision '' `` Be My Wife '' `` ' Heroes ' '' `` Beauty and the Beast '' `` Breaking Glass '' `` Boys Keep Swinging '' `` DJ '' `` Yassassin '' `` Look Back in Anger '' `` John, I 'm Only Dancing ( Again ) '' 1980s `` Alabama Song '' `` Crystal Japan '' `` Ashes to Ashes '' `` Fashion '' `` Scary Monsters ( And Super Creeps ) '' `` Up the Hill Backwards '' `` Under Pressure '' `` Wild Is the Wind '' `` The Drowned Girl '' `` Cat People ( Putting Out Fire ) '' `` Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy '' `` Let 's Dance '' `` China Girl '' `` Modern Love '' `` Without You '' `` White Light / White Heat '' `` Blue Jean '' `` Tonight '' `` This Is Not America '' `` Loving the Alien '' `` Dancing in the Street '' `` Absolute Beginners '' `` Underground '' `` As the World Falls Down '' `` Magic Dance '' `` When the Wind Blows '' `` Day - In Day - Out '' `` Time Will Crawl '' `` Never Let Me Down '' `` Under the God '' `` Heaven 's in Here '' `` Tin Machine '' / `` Maggie 's Farm ( live ) '' `` Prisoner of Love '' 1990s `` Fame ' 90 '' `` You Belong in Rock n ' Roll '' `` Baby Universal '' `` One Shot '' `` Real Cool World '' `` Jump They Say '' `` Black Tie White Noise '' `` Miracle Goodnight '' `` The Buddha of Suburbia '' `` Ziggy Stardust '' `` The Hearts Filthy Lesson '' `` Strangers When We Meet '' / `` The Man Who Sold the World ( live ) '' `` Hallo Spaceboy '' `` Telling Lies '' `` Little Wonder '' `` Dead Man Walking '' `` Seven Years in Tibet '' `` Pallas Athena '' `` I 'm Afraid of Americans '' `` I Ca n't Read '' `` Without You I 'm Nothing '' `` Thursday 's Child '' `` The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell '' 2000s `` Survive '' `` Seven '' `` Slow Burn '' `` Everyone Says ' Hi ' '' `` I 've Been Waiting for You '' `` Shadow Man '' `` New Killer Star '' `` Just for One Day ( Heroes ) '' `` Never Get Old '' `` Rebel Never Gets Old '' 2010s `` Where Are We Now ? '' `` The Stars ( Are Out Tonight ) '' `` The Next Day '' `` Valentine 's Day '' `` Love Is Lost '' `` ' Tis a Pity She Was a Whore '' `` Sue ( Or in a Season of Crime ) '' `` Blackstar '' `` Lazarus '' `` I Ca n't Give Everything Away '' `` Life on Mars ? ( 2016 Mix ) '' Discography Book : David Bowie Book : Bowie singles and songs Category : David Bowie Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Changes_(David_Bowie_song)&oldid=799817108 '' Categories : 1972 singles David Bowie songs Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Ken Scott Song recordings produced by David Bowie Art pop songs RCA Records singles 1970s ballads Songs from animated films Hidden categories : Use British English from January 2014 Use dmy dates from January 2014 Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for France Articles needing additional references from August 2017 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Norsk nynorsk Português Русский Svenska Türkçe Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 10 September 2017, at 01 : 20. 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Question: who wrote the song changes by david bowie
Answer: David Bowie