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Cover of Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
Cover: Aladdin Sane

Song · David Bowie

“Panic In Detroit” by David Bowie

From the album Aladdin Sane (1973)

“Panic In Detroit” by David Bowie appears on 28 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1999 and 2026. It was first released in 1973 on the album Aladdin Sane. Its best result is #94 on The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,056 alternative song of all time.

28countdowns
7stations
#94best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1999–2026years charted

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Panic in Detroit (2013 Remaster)

Video from YouTube (David Bowie - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

David Bowie wrote "Panic in Detroit" for Aladdin Sane in 1973, working from stories his friend Iggy Pop told him about the Michigan radicals he had known and about living through the 1967 Detroit riots. The result is pure nervous energy: a thumping groove, Warren Peace banging away on percussion and singing backup with Juanita Franklin and Linda Lewis, and Mick Ronson's guitar slashing through it all like a live wire. Bowie and Ronson arranged it, and Bowie produced it with Ken Scott.

Rolling Stone heard it as a paranoid heir to Martha and the Vandellas' "Nowhere to Run", and when the magazine ranked Ronson 64th among the greatest guitarists of all time in 2003, this was the track it picked as his essential recording.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1999 523 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 523 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 523 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1206 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 523 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 523 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 523 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 852 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 524 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 951 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 881 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 902 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 932 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 866 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 962 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2011 1046 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 1105 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 284 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 996 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 791 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 1047 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 871 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 798 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 555 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2021 95 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2022 587 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2023 94 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2026 788 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Panic in Detroit.

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