Song · David Bowie
“Queen Bitch” by David Bowie
From the album Hunky Dory (1971)
“Queen Bitch” by David Bowie appears on 7 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2002 and 2022. It was first released in 1971 on the album Hunky Dory. Its best result is #103 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,582 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (David Bowie). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Tucked into David Bowie's Hunky Dory at the end of 1971, "Queen Bitch" is the album's loud, leering exception. Most of the record sits at the piano; this one is all guitar, Mick Ronson slashing away while Bowie chops at a 12-string and sneers through the vocal. He makes no secret of the debt: the song is his open valentine to the Velvet Underground, glam rock with a proto-punk switchblade in its boot.
Bowie co-produced it with Ken Scott, and the band is the Spiders from Mars before anyone had given them the name: Ronson, Trevor Bolder on bass, Mick Woodmansey on drums. The story is a sulky little street drama of rejection, drag queens and pickups. It came back as the UK flip side of "Rebel Rebel" in 1974, and in 1997 Bowie played it with Lou Reed himself at his 50th birthday bash.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1968 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1695 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2012 | 276 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) | 885 |
| 2014 | 795 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2018 | 429 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2019 | 105 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2022 | 103 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Queen Bitch" by David Bowie.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.