What are David Bowie's 3 signature songs?

Space Oddity
Changes
Let's Dance

 

Funny I only see a couple signature songs in your list

golden years
Aladdin Sane
Station To Station
Young Americans


far too many 80's and newer songs listed here

have to choose - first three songs on your list

 

I went for
- Space Oddity
- Changes
- Heroes
- Ashes to Ashes

Probably others are more well known (Let's Dance comes to mind), and although I like those too, I think the ones above have the most Bowieness.

 

Actually I only see one signature song on your list, Young Americans.
Aladdin Sane is absolutely fantastic track but hardly a signature song, same with Station To Station.

 

Shocked this did not make the list when 25% of the list is tunes that are unknown to people who know him from radio/tv/jukebox play. If something is only known to your fans, it is not a signature song.

Suffragette is the first song I think of when I think of Bowie. By a mile.

 

Out of the whole album, surely "Starman" is the most well known at this point IMO.

 

Space Oddity, Heroes, Life On Mars.

 

"Space Oddity" and "Heroes" for sure. Everybody's grandma AND grandchildren know that these songs are by David Bowie.
As third song I picked "Life On Mars".

 

I see 12 songs on the list that couldn't touch a candle signature wise to what I've listed

We are talking Bowie fans not some casual listener who only knows 2 tunes off of Let's Dance


Definitely Golden Years and Young Americans - if you actually grew up in the 1970s

Life on Mars was always big in the UK but took on a new life in America over the years

 

Space Oddity
Fame
"Heroes"

 

How come 'Young Amis' was left off the roster of choices?

Not that it's Top 3 (it's not), but surely it's a on par as a signature song with many of the others on the list.

 

Easy!
Joe The Lion
Sound & Vision
It's No Game

Honorable mentions:
Yassassin
The Secret Life of Arabia
The Heart's Filthy Lesson
Cat People

 

Not necessarily my favorites, but I believe his signature songs have got to be "Space Oddity" (established his career, set the "spaceman" template), "Changes" (one the non-fans all know, also self-referential and meta in terms of how he approached his career), and ""Heroes"" (because, ""Heroes"").

 

Space Oddity, Rebel Rebel and "Heroes"...though I might swap Rebel with Changes.

 

Perhaps you should actually read what the OP is asking for before replying, this is how threads on a forum work.

 

"Space Oddity" is a given - first big hits almost always remain "signature songs", even when bigger hits follow

Picked "Rebel Rebel" and "'Heroes'" as well.

Least sure of "RR", but since that's the one a bunch of artists played as tributes in January, I felt it deserved a nod - even if they probably picked it mainly because it's easy to learn!

 

Possibly it wold be rude not to respond.

I tend not to give my personal opinion about musical preferences, but can see that this is meant to be an objective assessment with clear guidelines, so I suppose it about what the wider world connects with.

If it one has only one choice, I guess it has to be Space Oddity - for surely that is the one song that 'everyone' would identify the late David Bowie by. Not necessarily be name ( song or artist), but each would conjure up an image, something like a carrot top floating in space ( to partially borrow from his friend Jim) to images of spacemen and starbursts, or just a serious intonement "Ground Control to........"

If it's two, for the reasons that @karmaman outlined: Changes.

If we're after three, I think it's either "Heroes" or Let's Dance. I suspect Let's Dance has more universal connection, but DB seemed to be much more inclined to use "Heroes" in that mode.

 

?

I've already replied to the thread.

 

Agree.
For my 3rd though I picked China Girl. It was massive in the states during the MTV era. Changes didn't really get popular until bands started covering it in the late 90's - early 00's.

Now it deserves it's place in the top 3 but for a long time it's wasn't anywhere near Let's Dance and China Girl as far popularity goes.

 

From the list:

Life On Mars
Starman
"Heroes"

In the UK, the '72 Top of the Tops TV show performance of Starman has become mythical; oft quoted by Bowie's fans and influencees as being the performance that stirred their sexual / artistic awakening.

So over here, it's got to be in the running as a signature song.

Personally I wouldn't choose any of the above as my Bowie signature songs, but that's exactly how it should be.

 

Yes I agree with you, though personally it's not in my top 10.

 

Space Oddity
Changes
"Heroes"

 

Space Oddity
Heroes
Fame

Could easily have gone with Rebel Rebel, Ziggy, or Changes.
Sorry, but nobody outside this forum would call "Life on Mars" a signature song.

 

Really? Then you obviously haven't travelled much....

 

Read the OP. "Signature" doesn't mean "my favorite song by this artist." It means song most associated with that particular artist. It would be like calling "Warning Sign" Talking Heads' signature song. I like the song a lot more than "Burning Down the House" but that's not the point.