Songs That Changed Music: David Bowie - Heroes

What other songs do you think changed music?

One of the most powerful vocals in rock. Not loud. Not bassy. Not heavy. Just incredibly driven and heartfelt.

I'm no expert, but as far as I can tell, this is a top notch, first class documentary on an amazing piece of art from an incredible place in time by an immortal artist. Superlatives fail me!

I still haven't quite come to terms with the fact that Bowie isn't around anymore, he'd always been there all my life. But his presence is still felt even 5 years after his passing, what a great man he was.

"You can't buy a pedal to make that sound, that's done by two very smart people"
Too right mate, too right.

I love it when Visconti says "That's done by two very smart people." Truer words were never spoken.

One of the best songs ever Imo.

I have a story with this song.
When I was born, my uncle came to pick me and my mother up from the hospital. And on his way over to the hospital, he was listening to a college radio here in Slovenia and when we got in the car the first song I ever heard was "Heroes". My uncle told me this story on my 18th birthday and how he always hoped for me to turn out a little bit like the lyrics. That I could even be a hero just for one day.

Heroes is perhaps my favorite Bowie song. That Robert Fripp sustained note along with Bowie's rich vocals on the verses does it for me. There is an emotional charge to this song as well. It just puts me in a certain state. There is so much to say about this song, it's undeniably great. Thanks for another superb video.

Bowie is like watching a musical art form. Facinating. Art in motion.

I am not one that enjoys hyperbole but I do think this may be greatest, most emotionally charged rock 'n roll songs ever recorded.

You can feel the anguish and divisiveness of Berlin through this song. The hugeness of this song literally influenced the actual history of Berlin. That's true and powerful art.

Can't believe this is free to watch! What a joy :) thanks!

Not only was Heroes one of my favorite albums ever, but it introduced me to Robert Fripp and Brian Eno.
I'm hugely influenced as a guitarist by Bowie's work, as well as King Crimson and Roxy Music and I'm not sure when or how I would've stumbled upon them or many other fantastic artists without Bowie's legendary musical casting abilities.

So cool you mentioned the 1987 concert in Berlin, it was part of a 3 day event called the Concert for Berlin. Seeing that concert is still one of the highlights of my life. Truly a magical evening. There were about 70,000 people there, and he had every single one of them in the palm of his hand. A gifted musician and will always be sadly missed.
For me this is the best video in this series so far. Thanks so much Warren.

My biggest memory of this song is a somber one........I probably heard it at some earlier date??, but on Jan 28th 1986, the day the space shuttle Challenger blew up....it left a big impact on me.
After watching the news all day, I turned on KLOS and the dj(Michael Benner) was talking about what happened. He then made a special dedication to all the astronauts who were lost that day.....he played Heroes.

I remember first seeing and hearing 'Heroe's on the Australian music show "Countdown" as a pre-teenager in 1977. It blew me away then and 45 years later it still continues to amaze me.

One the greatest songs ever written period!

This song is so beyond phenomenal. It's the kind of song that you listen to and it burrows deep in your head, playing non-stop for days, and you don't mind one bit. Bowie truly was a space oddity and a hero, there are simply not large enough superlatives and adjectives to describe how larger than life, ethereal, and sublime Bowie and his music is.

When you put Bowie, Fripp and Visconti in a room together - history will be made. The song stands the test of time. It transcends generations and trends, a universal salute to the wonder of human beings.

I’m a senior in high school. A few months ago, I was driving down a small-town road on a cold sunny day, listening to the song “Bad” by U2. I suddenly felt what could have been merge with what could be. Every missed opportunity and left turn and regret and agony over the disappointment of youth kind of danced with the astonishing revelation that everything might be not just okay, but maybe even perfect in the future; even if only for an incredibly short amount of time.
Just for a few seconds, everything seemed clear. I wanted to play a song, at that moment, that accurately represented that feeling, but I did not know of one. Now I do.

Everything about this song is amazing, I never get bored of it and I’ll never get bored of Bowie. ✌️☺️

The thing that really gets me about this song is that microphone spacing, to capture the depth of the song as it went on. That was ingenious

So critics panned the song when it was released but over time it went on to become legendary. This is a lesson that you should always trust your instincts and create art that feels right to you, and ignore what everyone around you thinks.

I will say, I did not fully understand how important a producer's choice in a recording studio, microphone tricks and the rest made songs sound so different and better (had to look up what a microphone gate is). The three microphones thing at 21:29 is truly brilliant, I feel like it added so much depth to the song, and I would never think of that if I lived to be a billion years old.
Thank you for a wonderfully enjoyable watch.

Thank you so much, Warren, for paying tribute to this masterpiece! Bowie was a visionary artist who had the wisdom of choosing hugely talented collaborators.

A day in the life (Beatles) - Harvest (Neil Young - whole album) - Your song (Elton John) - Dream on (Aerosmith) - Jeremie (Pearl Jam) - Espiritu Libre (Ray Baretto) - Bombtrack (Rage against the machine) - Father and son (Cat Stevens) - Sound of silence (Simon and Garfunkel)...
It's all for today, there's so many good songs out there...

I really enjoy this series. I'm learning a lot.

One of the greatest songs ever, and the emotional push in his voice has brought me to tears of pure joy more than any other song I've ever heard. This is genius on a level that will never be matched again. David Bowie makes me happy to be alive, and listening to Bowie music is eargasm beyond and forever

I heard this song the first time in "Wir kinder of Bahnhof Zoo/ Christiane F." It overwhelmed me and is one of my fav songs I always come back to.

I remember Bowie performing this song in NY for the charity event for the twin towers firefighters. Goosebumps.

Hearing the history behind these classic tracks is absolutely fascinating. Still can't quite believe Bowie is gone, there will never be another artist quite like him. Thanks for putting this video together Warren!

This is one of my favorite songs of all time. I found it from the movie "the perks of being a wallflower" and it paints the song as this mysterious song that represents freedom and love.

HEROES was a great work. David Bowie completely changed my ideas and taste in music. For me it was the Ziggy Stardust album. Almost every track is killer! Tracks like Star Man or Rock and Roll Suicide, Suffragette City were probably my faves, but Soul Love, Five Years, It Ain't Easy... these were amazing too. He had a great bunch of musicians and great production, or at least it seems so to me. We lost an amazing, incredibly prolific, and diverse artist when he left, and I truly felt the sting since his music was part of my life since a teenager. Thanks for a nice history of David during this period. I learned a lot in your presentation (he lived with a guy from Tangerine Dream!!) and enjoyed it start to finish. It was a great and interesting time in music and entertainment and pop culture in general. Thanks Warren.

Can’t believe my favorite song for years and still is, it is in this video

One of Bowie's best songs by far. It's to me a love song..the freedom of anticipation even just for one day..but that day to last a lifetime

The instrumental music on this album is a mind-blowing. Sense of Doubt is incredible....Bowie was the master of seting up recording situations and working off them, always getting something good.

The movie Christiane F (Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo) , really helped immortalizing this song, and also the album Heros and Low.

Hot tip: If you're visiting Hansa studios, there's a great and very inexpensive Indonesian restaurant around the corner called Mabuhay!

More Bowie, never enough Bowie

Besides "Absolute Beginners" and "When the Wind blows", the song "Heroes" is one of my favorites under Bowies songs. Thank you for bringing this up. And yes, "Heroes" changed music, perhaps the song changed the world.

Thanks, Warren! Bowie was SUCH a brilliant songwriter and artist. Thankfully we still have the recordings. Thank you and RIP, David. ❤

Almost every Bowie album brings something anew, a refresh, a non-stagnant element, a different direction, often viewed as a new trend, although few artists ever tried to copy Bowie or achieve their success by following Bowie's model, if he had one. The Heroes album is no different and doesn't disappoint those who look to Bowie for new creative endeavor. To me the album Heroes is completely different from Low, it is not an evolution, and so is Lodger (a very underrated album imo). No matter how much "non-commercial" an artist claims to be, great albums have really great hit singles to help the push into the market place, people actually listening (I mean, don't we all pretend that there are Led Zeppelin singles? Radio and streaming stations certainly do) and the song "Heroes" was, at the time, the perfect hit single for Bowie. To me it was instant radio success from the start and his album tour started almost immediately after the album release. For the "Mega Star" that David Bowie was, his record sales (world wide, he always struggled in the US) were comparatively low.
Many documentaries have been done on this song and album. They usually have long drawn out interviews with Tony Visconti and Brian Eno and, at length, try to report on Bowie's state of mind, his reclusive life style moving to Berlin and room mating with Iggy Pop and so on. This, short-ish, report takes a different approach and focuses on the precise location of the recording, it's close proximation to the Berlin Wall, the studio and how it all effected the song.
Great work, I like your videos and thank you for this one.
It's also a great choice for ""songs that changed music"", when Heroes released it sounded different from anything else.

The story is as incredible as the song - you couldn’t make this stuff up. Thank you Warren, very nicely done (story telling is in deed one more of your many gifts!)

You couldn’t have given me a greater joy!
Low and Heroes are the best albums ever made by anyone (imo).
I proposed and married on the song Heroes. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I started a Spotify playlist from other songs featured in this series called "absolute classics" and when it came time to put Bowie's "Let's dance" in it, I couldn't help but also feature Heroes -- one of my favorite songs of his.
It is great to now see this song being featured here!

As a hobbyist music producer, writer, musician audio engineer , bowie was reason of playing music

thank you for all your precious documentaries

I remember an interview in which he was describing how they hit upon the idea of the 2 additional gates that would trigger the mics when his voice hit a certain level. It wasn't until years later that I truly appreciated the power of his voice, along with the "oomph" that those extra mics gave to his "I!", then "YOU!". It still gives me chills.

"Heroes" was the only one recorded solely in Berlin
But Low is still my favourite album of all time

Marvellous

Tidbit worth mentioning in case some aren't aware; when tracks were 'bounced down' on tape, they couldn't be edited any further, ie, if you bounced a piano part, drums group, and backing vocals, (then recorded over their respective original stems) you couldn't change the individual levels of those instruments, only the entire channel/stem and could only tweak the EQ of the entire channel, it was mostly set it stone, so you'd better get the bounce right cause you can't change it without re-recording all the parts and bouncing them down again.

So many of his songs changed music, its a great artist to hear all his discography

Thanks Warren, back in the day “when people played from the start to the finish ” 👍

I love the songs that changed music. Fantastic. I learn so much from them. Thank You Warren!

I have seen other break downs of one of my favorite songs (Heroes) Tony's as you reference is a superb one. I was happy that you brought Carlos playing into this discourse. I was never aware of his particular contribution to the song, only knew he was in the mix. Eno's contribution is huge and he shares co writing on this and many more of the Berlin trilogy era songs. Jamie's break down and playing of the guitar parts is wonderful.
Cheers

Fripp's contribution set the mood, made the song.

One of those rare songs that over time transcended the artist who recorded it - and when that artist is David Bowie, that’s an almost unbelievable feat. Such incredible beauty and tenderness fused with lacerating sadness and fatalism, and ultimately a defiant sort of optimism in the face of hopeless oppression.
It’s worth noting that one might make a hard distinction between the album version and the single edit of the song. The problem when talking about the lack of success of the single in comparison to the revered status the song has now is that the original single was so heavily edited from the album version - from 6:12 down to 3:27 - that it just gutted the slow building burn and emotional catharsis and release that makes the original album track such a triumphant masterpiece. Specifically, cutting the first TWO verses, which Bowie delivered in a hushed, intimate croon, and which lyrically so perfectly frame the relationship of the two lovers ( second verse in particular), plus the first instrument,entail interlude ruins the tonal balance of the song. Instead we’re left with the intro instrumental followed by the verse about dolphins, which is confusing because the listener has no idea who the “we” he refers to are, and why he might wish to swim like a dolphin with them. And he’s already raised the dynamic of his delivery here, so it blunts the impact when he suddenly explodes with the wailing passion of the subsequent verses. Where the album track soared with a passionate intensity, the single lurches jarringly in comparison because the flow is disjointed and condensed so radically. Of course I’m coming at this from the point of view of having heard the album track several times before hearing the single. The single isn’t awful in its own right, just pale and anemic compared to the majestic album track. I don’t like single edits in general usually, and this is one of my least favorite.

Just WOW!!! The song of the songs from one of the best & most inspiring musicians ever! Thank you Warren for the fantastic insight!

My favorite Bowie song. My favorite album is Lets Dance with Stevie Ray Vaughn on lead guitar. Two legends

When I visited Berlin I stopped by Hansa studios and took my picture next to the big Bowie picture.... loved Heroes

I was waiting for this one, Warren! Great job by Jamie Humphries illustrating & explaining the Fripp & Alomar parts [haven't seen an eBow in a while!]. Flo & Eddie interviewing Bowie in 1977 was quite something as well. And Tony Visconti's 3-mic setup w/ the 2 gated distant mics
was genius born from necessity. According to him, there was only 1 free track left for the lead vocal so he couldn't comp it later from either multiple performances or from assigning each mic to a separate track. Fortunately, with Bowie's excellent mic technique & control, Visconti got exactly what they needed in the one performance onto the one track.
And let's not minimize Eno's use of the VCS3 synth on the track. The synth & guitar textures washing against each other throughout made for a texture that still sounds fresh. Between HEROES & DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, there'd better be a VCS3 in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
As for the German government's acknowledgment of the role Bowie, the song & the Berlin trilogy played in the wall coming down: who says music can't be a catalyst for change?

Forever and ever a Hero, David Bowie!

Quite a classic from an iconic artist! Always appreciate the work!

Thank you, Warren. It is amazing how some songs sound substandard on the first listen, but over time, the greatness of the song shine through. "Heros" was so ahead of its time, it had to take years for the rest of the world's ear to catch up.

Bowie Visconti and Eno plus Flo/Eddie in this video...Fripp ahhhhh that guitar line...wow the VU was again there in heart.

Stunning video, that almost moved me to tears Mr. Huart. Thank you so much for doing this.

Tony Visconti: [embraces his lover]
David Bowie [seeing them]: "I wish I could swim..."

Thanks Warren, I literally played the single in headphones on repeat over & over & over as a kid! Really special, amazing & magical song! And I never knew that Bass Drum fact, genius!

Brilliant. Thanks for this. All time favourite song xx

Talked like a pro. It’s great, as an amateur muso, to get the lowdown from such an erudite, experienced and knowledgeable industry insider. Truly educational and truly entertaining. Top man for sharing.

One of my heroes! Thanks, Sir Warren. Well done!

Just started watching this series man. Ansolutely feckin' love it. Thanks!

This song is a testament to the fact that studio experimentalism, in this case regarding the gated microphone technique, richly enhances the emotional impact of the song in the rousing crescendo at the end. The effect can be felt in the listener's gut as Bowie's vocals become louder and more impassioned. Inspirational!

What a great video! I was hoping for something like that ever since you had that video of your visit to Hansa Studios. And can I just say: Jamies guitar tone - I just love it!

The sound track of my life.

TOP awesome video! the guitar analysis..total GOLD!

The first single i ever bought. Great music.

Thank you Jamie!!!

So cool to see the guitar parts....just love the background info. Makes you look at the song differently once you know the details and history of the song.

Nothing less than fascinating! And the Chamberlin Mellatron (mentioned briefly in the narrative) intrigue is a story unto itself.

I had a lot of intense and varied phases as a music fan over the last 25 years or so and hopped from genre to genre but somehow I remained obsessed with Bowie throughout all of them. He's been the one constant.

You keep rolling out the classics! This was a great song, and with one of my favorite guitarists, Robert Fripp.

I was watching the analysis of the guitar solo at the same time that my daughter was practicing Shostakovich's Spring Waltz on the violin in the other room, and the main A/F#/B motif overlapped perfectly!

love it Warren... bought tears to my eyes _bless you and David

Wonderful series Warren. Thank you.

I’ve been obsessed with this song, especially since seeing Moonage Daydream. That live performance with Adrian Belew channeling Fripp’s performance has led me on an exploration of the various live interpretations of Heroes. Belew seemed to take it to ecstatic levels. Seems that could an interesting video exploring how different players bring that sonic texture to life.

Thanks for making such a great documentary - it's probably my all time favourite song, so I loved getting all this info about it

there are just some song you listen to and just get this weird feeling. you replay the song since you don't understand why the song made you feel that way. only to repeatedly listen to the song and pay attention to all the details and realize its greatness and every time you hear it, it only get's better and better. only 4 songs have does this for me: A Day In The Life - Beatles, Surf's Up - Beach Boys, Heroes - David Bowie, Cosmic - Avenged Sevenfold

He performed a sublime live vocal performance of Heroes on Top of the Pops 13 October 1977. It's here on RUclips.

First I want to Thank You Warren for all that You do for "We The People" around the World & Thank You Jamie for spending Your Valuable Time in this video. I am gutted though, for the first time out of hundreds of Warren's Produce Like A Pro Video's that I and many many others around the World have been gifted with to have as a resource to Watch & to Learn from, and especially because Warren is So Kind Hearted & Generous Spirited with His Knowledge & Ability, We get to Learn from the Best in the Business, " and He puts so much out Free".
So it is not easy writing this, but I am saddened and disappointed that Warren would allow an E-Bow to "Usurp" the Iconic Signature Robert Fripp Guitar Solo on David Bowie's Heroic Bloom Of Creativity "Heroes".
I rarely comment online but when I do it is almost always to leave Positive Vibrations, why make things worse. I Honestly Believe if I have not got something Good, Positive & Life Affirming To Say I would rather say nothing at all, and Leave the Moment as it is, and if I do have a negative reaction to, or opinion of something, I choose not to comment, unless I feel able to offer some constructive criticism, which in reality in rare, there are so many far more talented Musician's, Engineer's & Producer's out there than I, a reality which I Love and am continually inspired by to push myself to always try to do better with whatever I am engaged in doing at any particular time in my Life, with my God given portion.
But this is too important for me to not comment. Please Warren, a whole generation of Musicians, Producers & Engineer's will be bereft of the True Ingenuity of Robert Fripp's Guitar Technique if they just use an E-Bow.

His vocal in this is insane.
Such a talent.
Aphex twin set his vocal to Phillip glass' interpretation of the song and it bizarre and compelling .
That vocal track is so crazy when it's heard on its own.

Sir, you were reading my mind. Bowie's Berlin Period is my favorite part of his career. "Low" is my favorite Bowie album. Granted, Bowie went there as a way to get out of L.A. and try to get clean from a nasty cocaine habit, IIRC. Also mind bending that the album "Heroes" was recorded at Hansa Studio-100 yards or so from The Berlin Wall.
The Berlin Period showed how Bowie was ahead of the curve, as usual, and the great artistic chameleon/explorer that he was. From Major Tom to Ziggy Stardust to Thin White Duke to Berlin Bowie to Ashes To Ashes to "Let's Dance." All came from the same man.
Bowie also had the ability to bring in so many great artists as backing members. Luther Vandross as a young backing vocalist on "Young Americans." Robert Fripp as lead guitar on "Heroes." Nile Rodgers to produce and Stevie Ray Vaughan to play on "Let's Dance."
Bowie was one of a kind.

This was so good, thank you. I've been looking forward to this one for a few weeks.
I bought an ebow as a teenager in the 80s, hoping to pull off my favourite bits of the debut Big Country album at first, but it became a gateway tool to playing stuff that felt more like U2 and Bowie. I could watch Visconti et al talk about making these records forever.

One my all time favorite songs, thanks Warren, very good work!

He was such a great artist!

Thank you for covering my favorite Bowie song. I still have a 45rpm record of his German release, and a piece of mortar from the Wall. Both are prized possessions. :)

Info about the song and a guitar lesson. Very nice. Thank you.

Awesome Warren, great insight. True artist was David. Always love your vudeo goodbyes, maybe you could sing them, bring a bit if the Swiss alps lol 😊🙏

Could not hit the Like button fast enough. I had a feeling that this one would eventually make it to the series, and it did not disappoint. Thanks Warren!