Little Wonder (song)
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"Little Wonder" is a song and single by David Bowie, from the 1997 album Earthling. It was the album's biggest hit, reaching number 14 in UK. At the 1998 Brit Awards the song was nominated for Best British Video.
Contents
Background
Bowie uses the names of all seven dwarfs in the lyrics.[1] The sampled spoken line "If it's good to ya, it's gotta be good for ya" during the instrumental break, comes from the spoken intro of a live Steely Dan song called "Bodhisattva" from the Citizen Steely Dan box.[citation needed] Two main interpretations to the lyrics are given by James E. Perone, who writes that the song may simply represent some characteristics of Bowie's own personality or, in another case, an alien observing aspects of the life on Earth.[2] The drum break is sampled from The Winston's instrumental, "Amen, Brother," a popular drum solo and sample commonly referred to as the "Amen Break." [3]
Track listings
UK CD version 1
- "Little Wonder (edit)" - 3:40
- "Little Wonder (Ambient Junior Mix)" - 9:55
- "Little Wonder (Club Dub Junior Mix)" - 8:10
- "Little Wonder (4/4 Junior Mix)" - 8:10
- "Little Wonder (Juniors Club Instrumental)" - 8:14
UK CD version 2 (limited edition)
- "Little Wonder (edit)" - 3:40
- "Telling Lies (Adam F Mix)" - 3:58
- "Jump They Say (Leftfield 12" Vocal Mix)" - 7:40
- "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Mix)" - 3:06
US CD version
- "Little Wonder (Album version)" - 6:02
- "Little Wonder (Ambient Junior Mix)" - 9:55
- "Little Wonder (Club Dub Junior Mix)" - 8:10
- "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Dance Mix)" - 5:30
European CD version 1
- "Little Wonder (Album version)" - 6:02
- "Little Wonder (Ambient Junior Mix)" - 9:55
- "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Mix)" - 3:06
- "Little Wonder (Club Dub Junior Mix)" - 8:10
- "Little Wonder (4/4 Junior Mix)" - 8:10
European CD version 2
- "Little Wonder (edit)" - 3:40
- "Little Wonder (Junior Club Mix)" - 8:10
- "Telling Lies (Adam F Mix)" - 3:58
European CD version 3
- "Little Wonder (edit)" - 3:40
- "Telling Lies (Adam F Mix)" - 3:58
Japanese CD version
- "Little Wonder (edit)" - 3:40
- "Little Wonder (Junior Club Mix)" - 8:10
- "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Mix)" - 3:06
- "Little Wonder (Club Dub Junior Mix)" - 8:10
- "Little Wonder (4/4 Junior Mix)" - 8:10
UK 12" version
- "Little Wonder (Junior Club Mix)" - 8:10
- "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Mix)" - 5:30
- "Telling Lies (Adam F Mix)" - 3:58
European 12" version
- "Little Wonder (Junior Club Mix)" - 8:10
- "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Mix)" - 5:30
An additional 3 promo singles was also released.
Production credits
- Producer
- David Bowie
- Mark Plati (co-producer)
- Reeves Gabrels (co-producer)
- Musicians
- David Bowie: Vocals, Samples
- Reeves Gabrels: Programming, Real and sampled guitars, Vocals
- Mark Plati: Drum Loops, Electronic Percussion, Programming, Loops, Samples
- Gail Ann Dorsey: Bass
- Zachary Alford: Drums
- Mike Garson: Keyboards, Piano
Live versions
- Bowie performed "Little Wonder" as the opening song at his 50th birthday celebration concert in New York City on 9 January 1997. This performance was included on the "Earthling in the City" CD.
- Bowie played the song live (along with "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)") on the 8 February 1997 episode of Saturday Night Live.[4]
- Bowie played the song at the GQ Awards in New York City on 15 October 1997. This performance was later released on the live album LiveAndWell.com in 2000.
- A live version recorded at BBC Radio Theatre, London, on 27 June 2000 was released on the bonus disc accompanying the first releases of Bowie at the Beeb in 2000.
Cover versions
- Haitian Hate Gods - .2 Contamination: A Tribute to David Bowie (2006)
Other releases
- The "Danny Saber remix" appeared on the soundtrack for the movies The Saint as well as the second soundtrack for the movie Hackers. This remix also appeared on the 4 track bonus disc that followed the live album LiveAndWell.com in 2000.
- A video edit was released on a Jukebox 7" release of the single "Dead Man Walking" in 1997.
- Three remixes, "Censored Video Edit", "Junior Vasquez Club Mix" and "Danny Saber Dance Mix", also appeared on the bonus disc of the Digibook Expanded Edition of Earthling from 2004.
- The single version is included on some editions of the 2002 compilation album Best of Bowie as well as appearing on the 2014 compilation album Nothing Has Changed.
Chart positions
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA Singles Chart) | 94[5] |
Belgium Singles Chart | 19[6] |
Finland Singles Chart | 10[6] |
Netherlands Singles Chart | 50[6] |
UK Singles Chart | 14[7] |
Notes
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External links
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- ↑ James E. Perone, The Words and Music of David Bowie, Greenwood Publishing Group, 30 June 2007, p.119.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ SNL Transcripts: 8 February 1997. Neve Campbell, Host http://snltranscripts.jt.org/96/96l.phtml
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- Pages with reference errors
- Use British English from January 2014
- Use dmy dates from January 2014
- Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015
- David Bowie songs
- 1997 singles
- Music videos directed by Floria Sigismondi
- Songs written by David Bowie
- Songs written by Reeves Gabrels
- Song recordings produced by David Bowie