Skip to main content
RETURN TO Return to WETA website Donate
Boundary Stones logo

Main navigation

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • Video
  • About

Dulles

DC
David Bowie's First Visit to America Started in D.C. Area

David Bowie's First Visit to America Started in D.C. Area

01/11/2016 in DC by Patrick Kiger

Rock superstar David Bowie, who died at age 69 on January 10, 2016, sold 140 million albums in a career that spanned more than four decades and earned fame as perhaps the genre's most flamboyantly inventive performer.

But back on Jan. 27, 1971, when he arrived on a flight from London at Dulles International Airport, Bowie was still a largely unknown 24-year-old singer-songwriter, hoping somehow to break through. His album The Man Who Sold the World, had been released in England three months before and sold disappointingly. But his label, Mercury Records, hoped that he would make a bigger splash if he went to the U.S. and had a chance to meet rock journalists and radio disc jockeys. So Bowie, despite his fear of flying, had gotten on the jet and endured a flight across the Atlantic for the first time.

But instead of flying to New York or Los Angeles, the twin capitals of the American music industry, Bowie's first stop on American soil was in the D.C. area. 

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

Read More

Surprise Me!

Not sure where to start reading? Let us pick a story for you!

Categories

  • DC (561)
  • Maryland (105)
  • Virginia (146)

Latest Posts

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

01/27/2023

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

Metro Mythbusting: Georgetown's Nonexistent Metro Stop

01/20/2023

Metro Mythbusting: Georgetown's Nonexistent Metro Stop

Hulks like Huge Flower Pots: The Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay

12/16/2022

Hulks like Huge Flower Pots: The Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay

Most Popular

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

01/27/2023

How Ethel Barrymore Helped Bring Theater to Olney, Maryland

The Less-Known Unknown

11/13/2012

The Less-Known Unknown

D.C.'s Own "Brown vs Board"

12/13/2012

D.C.'s Own "Brown vs Board"

Tags

1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990sAlexandriaArlingtonBlack HistoryBygone DCCivil WarGeorgetownMusic HistorySports HistoryWhite HouseWomen's HistoryWorld War IWorld War II
More
Historical D.C. Metro Map
Tweets by BoundaryStones
WETA

Footer menu

  • Support WETA
  • About WETA
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 3939 Campbell Avenue
    Arlington, VA 22206 | Map
  • 703-998-2600
  • boundarystones@weta.org

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

Bottom Footer

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Guidelines