Black Tie White Noise (song)
Encyclopedia
"Black Tie White Noise" is the title track from David Bowie's 1993 album
. Featuring guest vocals by Al B. Sure!
, it was released as a second single from the album in June 1993.
The track was inspired by Bowie's stay in Los Angeles
in April 1992, when the city saw race riots in reaction to the Rodney King
incident. It is the epitome of its parent album's feelings towards conformity and corporations, with Benetton
and the saccharine charity single "We Are the World
" among the targets. Bowie would later explain that the track was concerned with the black community's own identity, and how it didn't need to be absorbed into the white community.
It is among the most jazz
and soul
influenced tracks on the album, highlighted by the key vocal of Al B. Sure!
, although Lenny Kravitz
was reportedly Bowie's first choice for the duet. Essentially a Rhythm and Blues
tune, the song ultimately reinforced the feeling of Bowie's tendency as a chameleon of musical styles.
Released as the album's second single, "Black Tie White Noise" was something of a disappointment commercially, stalling at #36 in the UK, and again failing to chart in America despite a concerted promotional push. Audiences were perhaps confused by Bowie's latest departure of style and already somewhat skeptical given the breakup of Tin Machine
, despite the promise that his solo career was over.
A music video for this piece was produced by Mark Romanek
, featuring a montage of African-American youth playing in urban Los Angeles, while intercut with scenes of Bowie in a blue suit with his saxophone
and Al B. Sure! singing. The music video attempted to capture Bowie's image behind the song: multiple ethnic groups coexisting with their own identities, and not attempting to absorb one another.
Tracks #1-3 re-produced, re-arranged and mixed by Marc 'Funkyman' Paley, Raul 'DJ EFX' Recinos & Jeremy 'DJ Digit' Cowan
Track # 2 remix and additional production by John Waddell
Track # 4 remix and additional production by Al B. Sure & Timar
Black Tie White Noise
Black Tie White Noise is an album by David Bowie. Released in 1993, it was his first solo release in the 1990s after spending time with his hard rock band Tin Machine, retiring his old hits on his Sound+Vision Tour, and marrying supermodel Iman Abdulmajid. This album featured his old guitarist from...
. Featuring guest vocals by Al B. Sure!
Al B. Sure!
Albert Jason Brown III is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He grew up in Leonia, New Jersey and Mount Vernon, New York. During the late 1980s under the stage name Al B...
, it was released as a second single from the album in June 1993.
The track was inspired by Bowie's stay in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in April 1992, when the city saw race riots in reaction to the Rodney King
Rodney King
Rodney Glen King is an American best known for his involvement in a police brutality case involving the Los Angeles Police Department on March 3, 1991...
incident. It is the epitome of its parent album's feelings towards conformity and corporations, with Benetton
Benetton Group
Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global luxury fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan....
and the saccharine charity single "We Are the World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
" among the targets. Bowie would later explain that the track was concerned with the black community's own identity, and how it didn't need to be absorbed into the white community.
It is among the most jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
influenced tracks on the album, highlighted by the key vocal of Al B. Sure!
Al B. Sure!
Albert Jason Brown III is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He grew up in Leonia, New Jersey and Mount Vernon, New York. During the late 1980s under the stage name Al B...
, although Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
was reportedly Bowie's first choice for the duet. Essentially a Rhythm and Blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
tune, the song ultimately reinforced the feeling of Bowie's tendency as a chameleon of musical styles.
Released as the album's second single, "Black Tie White Noise" was something of a disappointment commercially, stalling at #36 in the UK, and again failing to chart in America despite a concerted promotional push. Audiences were perhaps confused by Bowie's latest departure of style and already somewhat skeptical given the breakup of Tin Machine
Tin Machine
Tin Machine was a hard rock band formed in 1988, famous for being fronted by singer David Bowie. The group recorded two studio albums before dissolving in 1992, when Bowie returned to his solo career...
, despite the promise that his solo career was over.
A music video for this piece was produced by Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek is an American filmmaker, whose directing work includes feature films, music videos and commercials.He wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2002 film One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams...
, featuring a montage of African-American youth playing in urban Los Angeles, while intercut with scenes of Bowie in a blue suit with his saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
and Al B. Sure! singing. The music video attempted to capture Bowie's image behind the song: multiple ethnic groups coexisting with their own identities, and not attempting to absorb one another.
7" version
- "Black Tie White Noise (Radio Edit)" (Bowie) – 4:10
- "You've Been AroundYou've Been Around"You've Been Around" is a song written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels in 1993 for the album Black Tie White Noise.Like a few Bowie songs from the 1990s, this piece was originally a song written to be played by Bowie's hard rock band, Tin Machine to perform live; it was never released on a Tin...
(Dangers Remix)" (Bowie, GabrelsReeves GabrelsReeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, known for virtuosity, versatility, and originality. His compositions and improvisations defy genre and "explore sonic extremes with a great, adaptive intuition for what each song needs most."...
) – 4:24
12" version
- "Black Tie White Noise (Extended Remix)" (Bowie) – 8:12
- "Black Tie White Noise (Trance Mix)" (Bowie) – 7:15
- "Black Tie White Noise (Album Version)" (Bowie) – 4:52
- "Black Tie White Noise (Club Mix)" (Bowie) – 7:33
- "Black Tie White Noise (Extended Urban Mix)" (Bowie) – 5:32
CD version
- "Black Tie White Noise (Radio Edit)" (Bowie) – 4:10
- "Black Tie White Noise (Extended Remix)" (Bowie) – 8:12
- "Black Tie White Noise (Urban Mix)" (Bowie) – 4:03
- "You've Been Around (Dangers Remix)" (Bowie, GabrelsReeves GabrelsReeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, known for virtuosity, versatility, and originality. His compositions and improvisations defy genre and "explore sonic extremes with a great, adaptive intuition for what each song needs most."...
) – 4:24
US Commcercial CD (Savage 74785-50045-2)
- "Black Tie White Noise (Waddell's Mix)" - 4:12
- "Black Tie White Noise (3rd Floor Mix)" - 3:42
- "Black Tie White Noise (Al B. Sure! Mix)" - 4:03
- "Black Tie White Noise (Album Version)" - 4:52
- "Black Tie White Noise (Club Mix)" - 7:33
- "Black Tie White Noise (Digi Funky's Lush Mix)" - 5:44
- "Black Tie White Noise (Supa Pump Mix)" - 6:36
US Promo DJ CD (Savage SADJ-50046-2)
- "Black Tie White Noise (Chr Mix 1)" – 3:43
- "Black Tie White Noise (Chr Mix 2)" – 4:12
- "Black Tie White Noise (Churban Mix)" – 3:45
- "Black Tie White Noise (Urban Mix)" – 4:03
- "Black Tie White Noise (Album edit)" – 4:10
- 'CHR Mix 1' is the '3rd Floor Mix' on the regular US CD
- 'CHR Mix 2' is the 'Waddell's Mix' on the regular US CD
- 'Urban Mix' is the 'Al B. Sure! Mix' on the regular US CD
Tracks #1-3 re-produced, re-arranged and mixed by Marc 'Funkyman' Paley, Raul 'DJ EFX' Recinos & Jeremy 'DJ Digit' Cowan
Track # 2 remix and additional production by John Waddell
Track # 4 remix and additional production by Al B. Sure & Timar
Production credits
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
s:- Nile RodgersNile RodgersNile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...
- Nile Rodgers
- MusicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s:- David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
: Vocals - Al B. Sure!Al B. Sure!Albert Jason Brown III is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He grew up in Leonia, New Jersey and Mount Vernon, New York. During the late 1980s under the stage name Al B...
: Vocals - Nile RodgersNile RodgersNile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...
: GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Barry Campbell: BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Sterling CampbellSterling CampbellSterling Campbell in New York City, New York, is an American rock drummer who has worked with numerous high-profile acts. He rose to attention in 1986, touring with Cyndi Lauper on her her True Colors World Tour, in 1986, and in 1987, joined Duran Duran...
: DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Richard HiltonRichard HiltonRichard Howard "Rick" Hilton is an American entrepreneur and hotelier. He is the Chairman and co-founder of Hilton & Hyland, a real estate brokerages firm based in Beverly Hills that specializes in homes and estates in Beverly Hills, Holmby Hills, Bel-Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and...
: KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Lester BowieLester BowieLester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
: TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Reeves GabrelsReeves GabrelsReeves Gabrels is an American guitarist, known for virtuosity, versatility, and originality. His compositions and improvisations defy genre and "explore sonic extremes with a great, adaptive intuition for what each song needs most."...
: GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on "You've Been Around"
- David Bowie
Other releases
- On the bonus disc following the 10th anniversary edition of Black Tie White Noise the remixes "3rd Floor US Radio Mix" and "Here Come Da Jazz" appeared.