The city of Detroit fascinated David Bowie and inspired one of the defining songs of his glam rock period, “The Jean Genie.” It wasn’t just the grit of Detroit that inspired Bowie, but his friend, and Michigan’s own, Iggy Pop, whom he called a “trailer park kid.” Meanwhile, the success of the 1972 rock opera The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars had thrust Bowie to stardom. And his record label was eager for a follow-up.
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