Song · David Bowie
“Lazarus” by David Bowie
Released 2015
“Lazarus” by David Bowie appears on 18 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 2016 and 2025. It was first released in 2015. Its best result is #1 on the WBER Listener Countdown 2016, and it was voted number one on two countdowns in total. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #68 alternative song of 2016.
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Video from YouTube (David Bowie). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Lazarus" came out on 17 December 2015 as the second single from Blackstar, David Bowie's final album, and it turned out to be the last single he released while alive. Bowie wrote it, played electric guitar and produced it with Tony Visconti, backed by Donny McCaslin's tenor sax, Ben Monder's guitar, Jason Lindner's organ, Tim Lefebvre's bass and Mark Guiliana's drums. It also sits in his off-Broadway musical of the same name.
It's slow and heavy, the saxophone moaning over a dragging groove, and it only grows eerier knowing that Johan Renck's video appeared on 7 January 2016, three days before Bowie died. He never sang it live. After his death it reached number 40 on the Hot 100, his first top-40 hit there in more than 28 years, and Pitchfork put it at number 5 among 2016's best songs.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 23 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2016 | 91 |
| 2016 | 52 | Lightning 100 Nashville, TN | Lightning 100 Top 100.1 Songs of 2016 | 101 |
| 2016 | 1 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2016 | 117 |
| 2016 | 3 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2016 | 89 |
| 2016 | 22 | WERS 88.9 Boston, MA | WERS Top 88 Songs of 2016 | 88 |
| 2016 | 11 | WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2016 | 104 |
| 2016 | 2 | WFUV New York, NY | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2016 | 90 |
| 2016 | 1 | WTMD Baltimore, MD | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2016 | 89 |
| 2016 | 21 | 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2016 | 107 |
| 2016 | 4 | 90.9 The Bridge Kansas City, MO | 90.9 The Bridge Top 100 Songs of 2016 | 90 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 111 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2018 | 11 | WTMD | WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 | 896 |
| 2023 | 1108 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2024 | 98 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 128 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 201 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 49 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
| 2025 | 212 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) | 714 |
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