Released 17 December 1971 | Length 3:56 | |
Genre Glam rock, art rock, psychedelic folk | ||
"Andy Warhol" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. It is an acoustic song about one of Bowie's early artist inspirations, the American pop artist Andy Warhol.
Contents
The album track opens with a series of strange electronic tones which fades into studio chatter in which producer Ken Scott mispronounces Warhol's name and Bowie repeatedly demonstrates how to say it properly. Scott then solemnly reintroduces the take with the correct pronunciation, and Bowie asks if the tape is rolling. Upon realising he is indeed being recorded, Bowie bursts into laughter and the song proper begins.
The song is memorable for a distinctive repeated flamenco-sounding riff played by Mick Ronson on acoustic guitar. This riff was borrowed by Metallica for the midsection of their song Master of Puppets, as confirmed by Kirk Hammett in an interview with journalist Mitch Lafon shortly after Bowie's death.
Originally the song was written for Dana Gillespie, who recorded it in 1971, but her version of the song was not released until 1973 on her album Weren't Born a Man. Both versions feature Mick Ronson on guitar.
Bowie, an admirer of Warhol, sent the artist an advanced copy of Hunky Dory and performed Andy Warhol for him in person at Warhol's The Factory in New York in September 1971, before the album had been released. But due to Warhol's typically minimal reaction, Bowie was never sure if he liked it or not.