{{Short description|1972 single by David Bowie}} {{Use British English|date=January 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox song | name = The Jean Genie | cover = JeanGenie7.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = David Bowie | album = Aladdin Sane | B-side = Ziggy Stardust | released = {{start date|1972|11|24|df=yes}} | recorded = {{start date|1972|10|6|df=yes}} | studio = RCA, New York City | genre = {{flatlist| * Glam rock<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/01/20-best-glam-rock-songs-all-time |title=The 20 best glam-rock songs of all time |work=The Guardian |date=1 February 2013 |access-date=5 February 2016 |last=Savage |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Savage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826005937/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/feb/01/20-best-glam-rock-songs-all-time |archive-date=26 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> * blues rock<ref name="Douglas">{{cite web |last=Wolk |first=Douglas|author-link=Douglas Wolk |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21066-five-years-1969-1973/ |title=David Bowie: ''Five Years 1969–1973'' |website=Pitchfork |date=1 October 2015|access-date=21 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206231305/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21066-five-years-1969-1973/|archive-date=6 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> * {{nowrap|hard rock<ref name="song-allmusic-review"/>}} * pop rock<ref name= "Stanley 2013">{{cite book|first=Bob |last=Stanley|title=Yeah Yeah Yeah: The Story of Modern Pop|chapter= Deluxe and Delightful: Glam|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9emZAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT7|date=13 September 2013|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-28198-5|page=341}}</ref> }} | length = {{Duration|m=4|s=07}} | label = RCA | writer = David Bowie | producer = {{flatlist| *Ken Scott *David Bowie }} | prev_title = John, I'm Only Dancing | prev_year = 1972 | next_title = Drive-In Saturday | next_year = 1973 | misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|kMYg_Ra4cr8|"The Jean Genie"}}}} }}
"'''The Jean Genie'''" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released in November 1972 as the lead single to his 1973 album ''Aladdin Sane''. Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie recorded it with his backing band the Spiders from Mars − comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. According to Bowie, it was "a smorgasbord of imagined Americana", with a protagonist inspired by Iggy Pop, and the title being an allusion to author Jean Genet. One of Bowie's most famous tracks, it was promoted with a film clip featuring Andy Warhol associate Cyrinda Foxe and peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.
==Background and recording== "The Jean Genie" originated on the Ziggy Stardust Tour as an impromptu jam, titled "Bussin'", on the tour bus between the first two concerts in Cleveland and Memphis, when Mick Ronson began playing the Bo Diddley-inspired guitar riff on his new Les Paul.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} It subsequently became the first song Bowie composed for ''Aladdin Sane'', in autumn 1972 during his 1972 US tour, completing the song in New York City, where he spent time with the Warhol set's Cyrinda Foxe.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} Bowie later asserted, "I wrote it for her amusement in her apartment. Sexy girl."<ref name=EW02>{{cite magazine |last=Gordinier |first=Jeff |title=Loving the Aliens |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |issue=656 |date=31 May 2002 |pages=26–34}}</ref> Bowie later in the 1990s described the song as "a smorgasbord of imagined America" and "my first New York song."{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}}
The recording took place at New York's RCA Studios on 6 October 1972.{{sfn|Cann|2010|p=270}} "I had a really great conversation with [bassist] Trevor Bolder," recalled Def Leppard's Joe Elliott. "I said, 'You remember when you were doing The Jean Genie?' He said, 'No. We did it in an hour and a half.'"<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Mick |last=Wall |title=A wild ride over stony ground |magazine=Classic Rock |date=May 2018 |issue=248 |page=39}}</ref>
Mixing occurred the following week at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee;{{sfn|Cann|2010|p=271}} the original single mix is in narrow stereo, while the stereo soundscape is wider in the album mix.
==Music and lyrics== The song's chugging R&B riff is often compared to the Yardbirds, especially their cover of Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man",<ref name="song-allmusic-review">{{cite web |last=Thompson |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Thompson (author) |title='The Jean Genie' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/the-jean-genie-mt0052219407 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=8 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607011956/https://www.allmusic.com/song/the-jean-genie-mt0052219407 |archive-date=7 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Carr|Murray|1981|p=52}} but was most probably inspired by French singer Jacques Dutronc's ''La Fille du Père Noël'' (1966), while the lyrics have been likened to the "stylised sleaze" of the Velvet Underground.{{sfn|Carr|Murray|1981|p=52}} The subject matter was inspired in part by Bowie's friend Iggy Pop or, in Bowie's own words, "an Iggy-type character{{nbsp}}... it wasn't ''actually'' Iggy."{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} The line "He's so simple minded, he can't drive his module" later gave the band Simple Minds their name.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}}
The title has long been taken as an allusion to the author Jean Genet.{{sfn|Carr|Murray|1981|p=52}} Bowie was once quoted as saying that this was "subconscious{{nbsp}}... but it's probably there, yes".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} In his 2005 book ''Moonage Daydream'', he stated this less equivocally: "Starting out as a lightweight riff thing I had written one evening in NY for Cyrinda's enjoyment, I developed the lyric to the otherwise wordless pumper and it ultimately turned into a bit of a smorgasbord of imagined Americana ... based on an Iggy-type persona ... The title, of course, was a clumsy pun upon Jean Genet".<ref name="MD">David Bowie & Mick Rock (2005). ''Moonage Daydream'': pp.140–146</ref>
==Music video== thumb|Bowie at the Mars Hotel, 192 Fourth Street, San Francisco, California, 1972 Mick Rock directed a film clip to promote the song, in October 1972 in San Francisco,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/photography/all/24361/facts.mick_rock_david_bowie_with_cyrinda_foxe_1972.htm |title=Mick Rock. David Bowie with Cyrinda Foxe, 1972 – TASCHEN Books |publisher=Taschen |website=www.taschen.com|access-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307112311/https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/photography/all/24361/facts.mick_rock_david_bowie_with_cyrinda_foxe_1972.htm|archive-date=7 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> mixing concert and studio footage of Bowie performing with the Spiders from Mars, along with location shots of the singer posing at the Mars Hotel with Cyrinda Foxe.<ref name=EW02/> Bowie wanted the video to depict "Ziggy as a kind of Hollywood street-rat" with a "consort of the Marilyn brand". This led to Foxe's casting, and she flew from New York to San Francisco especially for the shoot.<ref name="MD"/>
Bowie also recorded "The Jean Genie" for BBC's ''Top of the Pops'', the performance being broadcast on 4 January 1973. Unusual for the era, the four-piece band performed live, and included an extended guitar solo by Ronson.<ref name="TOTP">{{cite episode |title=Top of the Pops 2 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018w5wh |access-date= 21 December 2011 |series=Top of the Pops |series-link= Top of the Pops |network=BBC |airdate=2011-12-21 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111227171235/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018w5wh |archive-date= 27 December 2011 |url-status= live}}</ref> Tapes of this edition of ''Top of the Pops'' were subsequently wiped, but a copy was made by BBC cameraman John Henshall, who had utilised the then new fisheye lens camera techniques for the performance. Henshall was contacted to share his historic material, and was surprised to find he was the only one with a surviving copy. The film has since been preserved and was shown at the British Film Institute in December 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-16150178 |title=David Bowie Top of the Pops footage found by cameraman |access-date= 14 December 2011 |work=BBC News |date=13 December 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111213233804/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-16150178 |archive-date= 13 December 2011 |url-status= live}}</ref> The BBC re-broadcast the clip in its ''Top of the Pops 2'' Christmas Special on 21 December 2011, for the first time since the original broadcast in January 1973.<ref name="TOTP"/>
==Release and reception== "The Jean Genie" was released on 24 November 1972 by RCA Records (as RCA 2302) as the lead single to Bowie's 1973 album ''Aladdin Sane'', with the 1972 song "Ziggy Stardust" as the B-side.{{sfn|Cann|2010|p=276}}{{sfn|O'Leary|2015|loc=Partial Discography}} On the album, it appears as the ninth and penultimate track.<ref name="Erlewine AllMusic">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=''Aladdin Sane'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/aladdin-sane-mw0000247727 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=8 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424115455/https://www.allmusic.com/album/aladdin-sane-mw0000247727 |archive-date=24 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> It spent 13 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 2, making it Bowie's biggest hit until that time; it was kept off the top spot by Little Jimmy Osmond's "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} In the US, it reached No. 71 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} While biographer David Buckley has described it as "derivative, plodding, if undeniably catchy",{{sfn|Buckley|1999|p=184}} it remains one of Bowie's signature tunes and was often played at his concerts.
Upon release of the single in the U.S., ''Record World'' found the song "disappointing", saying that "Bowie, usually a master of melody and dynamics, has used an ancient riff on this more rhythmic number."<ref name=rw>{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=November 11, 1972|accessdate=2023-03-28|title=Single Picks|page=12|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/72/RW-1972-11-11.pdf}}</ref>
Some controversy arose in the UK when fellow RCA act the Sweet issued the song "Block Buster!", utilising a riff very similar to "The Jean Genie".{{sfn|Carr|Murray|1981|p=52}}<ref>{{cite magazine |editor-last=Blake |editor-first=Mark |year=2007 |title=Future Legend |magazine=Mojo |series=60 Years of Bowie |pages=74–75}}</ref> The Sweet's single, written by Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn, and recorded and released slightly later than Bowie's song, made No. 1 in the UK charts and No. 73 on the US charts while "The Jean Genie" was still in the UK Top 10. All parties maintained that the similarity was, in Nicky Chinn's words, "absolute coincidence". Chinn described a meeting with Bowie at which the latter "looked at me completely deadpan and said 'Cunt!' And then he got up and gave me a hug and said, 'Congratulations...'"{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}}
"The Jean Genie" has appeared on lists ranking Bowie's best songs by ''Uncut'' (11),<ref name="Uncut">{{cite journal |title=David Bowie's 30 best songs |journal=Uncut |orig-date=March 2008 |date=19 February 2015 |issue=133 |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/david-bowies-30-best-songs-66458/ |access-date=26 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422035230/https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/david-bowies-30-best-songs-66458/ |archive-date=22 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' (19),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Petridis |first1=Alexis |author-link=Alexis Petridis|title=David Bowie's 50 greatest songs – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/19/david-bowie-50-greatest-songs-ranked |website=The Guardian |access-date=23 March 2020 |date=19 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322224635/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/mar/19/david-bowie-50-greatest-songs-ranked |archive-date=22 March 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''NME'' (33),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barker |first1=Emily |title=David Bowie's 40 greatest songs – as decided by ''NME'' and friends |url=https://www.nme.com/photos/david-bowie-s-40-greatest-songs-as-decided-by-nme-and-friends-1418012 |website=NME |access-date=16 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103063248/https://www.nme.com/photos/david-bowie-s-40-greatest-songs-as-decided-by-nme-and-friends-1418012 |archive-date=3 November 2019 |date=8 January 2018}}</ref> ''Mojo'' (64) and ''Consequence of Sound'' (67).<ref name="MojoBest">{{cite journal|last=Gilbert|first=Pat|title=David Bowie – The 100 Greatest Songs|journal=Mojo|date=February 2015|issue=255|pages=82–83}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=David Bowie's Top 70 Songs |url=https://consequence.net/2017/01/david-bowies-top-70-songs/ |website=Consequence of Sound |access-date=19 September 2021 |date=8 January 2017 |archive-date=20 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212659/https://consequence.net/2017/01/david-bowies-top-70-songs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Live versions and subsequent releases== With 1974's "Rebel Rebel", "The Jean Genie" was one of Bowie's most performed songs, featuring during all of his solo tours except for the 1999 Hours Tour and 2002 Heathen Tour.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} A live version recorded at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 appeared on the bootleg album ''Santa Monica '72'' (1994),{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=423}} which received an official release as ''Live Santa Monica '72'' in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thornton |first1=Anthony |title=David Bowie – 'Live: Santa Monica '72' review |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-david-bowie-9770-308284 |website=NME |access-date=10 March 2020 |date=1 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004181122/http://www.nme.com/reviews/david-bowie/9770 |archive-date=4 October 2012}}</ref> This live take was also included on the bonus disc of ''Aladdin Sane'' in 2003.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} The song was often used for experimentation by the musicians, incorporating other rock songs into the guitar breaks. One such version, recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on 3 July 1973, featured Jeff Beck on guitar and incorporated "Love Me Do" by the Beatles and "Over Under Sideways Down" by the Yardbirds.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} During the Diamond Dogs Tour, "The Jean Genie" was rearranged as a slow cabaret number, sometimes incorporating "Love Me Do" during the later shows;{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} performances from this tour have featured on ''David Live'' (1974),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |title=''David Live'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/david-live-mw0000033632 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424115457/https://www.allmusic.com/album/david-live-mw0000033632 |archive-date=24 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)'' (2017) and ''I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)'' (2020).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/david-bowie-cracked-actor-live-los-angeles-74/ |title=David Bowie: ''Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)'' Album Review |website=Pitchfork |date=29 June 2017 |access-date=10 July 2017 |last=Randle |first=Chris |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711225233/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/david-bowie-cracked-actor-live-los-angeles-74/ |archive-date=11 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=I'm Only Dancing for Record Store Day 2020 |url=https://www.davidbowie.com/blog/2020/2/19/im-only-dancing-for-record-store-day-2020 |website=David Bowie Official Website |access-date=31 October 2020 |date=19 February 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418032903/https://www.davidbowie.com/blog/2020/2/19/im-only-dancing-for-record-store-day-2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
During the 1976 Isolar Tour, the song was used as the final encore, extending into lengthy guitar jams, false endings and ad-libbed vocals.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} A live take recorded on 23 March 1976 was included on ''Live Nassau Coliseum '76'', released as part of the 2010 reissues of ''Station to Station'',{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=460–461}} in the 2016 box set ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'',<ref>{{cite AV media notes|title=Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)|others=David Bowie|year=2016|publisher=Parlophone|location=UK, Europe & US|type=Box set booklet|id=0190295989842}}</ref> and as a stand–alone album in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Live Nassau Coliseum '76'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-nassau-coliseum-76-mw0003015315 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=3 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117143208/https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-nassau-coliseum-76-mw0003015315 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Further performances from the 1978 Isolar II tour were included on the 2017 edition of ''Stage'' (1978) and ''Welcome to the Blackout'' in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidbowie.com/news/new-career-new-town-1977-1982-57146 |title=A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) |website=David Bowie |date=12 July 2016 |access-date=21 February 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713014523/http://www.davidbowie.com/news/new-career-new-town-1977-1982-57146 |archive-date=13 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |title=''Welcome to the Blackout (Live London '78)'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/welcome-to-the-blackout-live-london-78-mw0003173016 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117143206/https://www.allmusic.com/album/welcome-to-the-blackout-live-london-78-mw0003173016 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The song again appeared during the 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour into the same cabaret style as the 1974 tour. For the 1987 Glass Spider Tour, guitarists Peter Frampton and Carlos Alomar used the song for duets, incorporating the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction";{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} one performance appeared in the concert video ''Glass Spider'' (1988/2007).{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=459}} A variety of standards were incorporated into performances of "The Jean Genie" during the 1990 Sound+Vision Tour, most prominently Them's "Gloria".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} Bowie debuted a slower, acoustic version of the song at the October 1996 Bridge School benefit concert, while Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins joined him for a more conventional rendition during Bowie's fiftieth birthday concert in 1997.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} A live version from the Earthling Tour the same year was released on ''Look at the Moon! (Live Phoenix Festival 97)'' in 2021.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/david-bowie-brilliant-live-adventures-look-at-the-moon-1120853/ |title=David Bowie's 'Brilliant Live Adventures' Series Continues With 1997 Festival Gig |date=29 January 2021 | access-date=29 January 2021 |first=Daniel |last=Kreps |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref>
"The Jean Genie" has appeared on the compilation albums ''Changesonebowie'' (1976),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |title=David Bowie: ''Changesonebowie'' Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21896-changesonebowie/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=15 March 2020 |date=24 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910112248/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21896-changesonebowie/ |archive-date=10 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The Best of Bowie'' (1980),<ref>{{Cite AV media notes|title=The Best of Bowie|others=David Bowie|year=1981|publisher=K-tel|location=Europe|type=LP record sleeve|id=BLP 81.001}}</ref> ''ChangesBowie'' (1990),<ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |title=''Changesbowie'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/changesbowie-mw0000207736 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=15 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728150152/https://www.allmusic.com/album/changesbowie-mw0000207736 |archive-date=28 July 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Singles Collection'' (1993),<ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |title=''The Singles: 1969–1993'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-singles-1969-1993-mw0000526484 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501155129/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-singles-1969-1993-mw0000526484 |archive-date=1 May 2021}}</ref> ''The Best of David Bowie 1969/1974'' (1997),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |title=''The Best of David Bowie 1974/1979'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-david-bowie-1974-1979-mw0000041367 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006124441/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-david-bowie-1974-1979-mw0000041367 |archive-date=6 October 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Best of Bowie'' (2002),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |title=''Best of Bowie'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-bowie-mw0000694821 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=15 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401192732/https://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-bowie-mw0000694821 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''The Platinum Collection'' (2006),<ref>{{cite web |last=Monger |first=James Christopher |title=''The Platinum Collection'' – David Bowie|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-platinum-collection-mw0001022492 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=28 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508195203/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-platinum-collection-mw0001022492 |archive-date=8 May 2019}}</ref> The single mix has also appeared on ''Nothing Has Changed'' (2014) and ''Legacy (The Very Best of David Bowie)'' (2016).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.popmatters.com/review/188662-david-bowie-nothing-has-changed/ |title=David Bowie: ''Nothing Has Changed'' |first=Evan |last=Sawdey |website=PopMatters |date=10 November 2017 |access-date=11 August 2017 |archive-date=14 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714155355/http://www.popmatters.com/review/188662-david-bowie-nothing-has-changed/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Monroe|first1=Jazz|title=David Bowie Singles Collection ''Bowie Legacy'' Announced|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/68602-david-bowie-singles-collection-bowie-legacy-announced/|website=Pitchfork|date=28 September 2016|access-date=29 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926222203/https://pitchfork.com/news/68602-david-bowie-singles-collection-bowie-legacy-announced/|archive-date=26 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=New David Bowie greatest hits album 'Bowie Legacy' set for release|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/david-bowie-447-1194836|website=NME|last=Trendell|first=Andrew|access-date=19 October 2016|date=28 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811101718/https://www.nme.com/news/music/david-bowie-447-1194836|archive-date=11 August 2020}}</ref> This mix was also released on the bonus disc of ''Aladdin Sane'' in 2003,{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}} and on ''Re:Call 1'', part of the ''Five Years (1969–1973)'' boxed set, in 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidbowie.com/news/five-years-1969-1973-box-set-due-september-54571 |title=Five Years 1969 – 1973 box set due September|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218235114/http://www.davidbowie.com/news/five-years-1969-1973-box-set-due-september-54571 |archive-date=18 February 2016 |website=David Bowie Official Website |access-date=16 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/five-years-1969-1973-mw0002857381 |title=''Five Years (1969–1973)'' – David Bowie |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=12 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127180954/https://www.allmusic.com/album/five-years-1969-1973-mw0002857381 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Personnel== According to Chris O'Leary:{{sfn|O'Leary|2015|loc=chap. 6}} * David Bowie – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica * Mick Ronson – lead guitar, backing vocals * Trevor Bolder – bass * Mick "Woody" Woodmansey – drums, tambourine
'''Production''' * Ken Scott * David Bowie
==Charts== {|class="wikitable sortable" |+Chart performance for "The Jean Genie" ! scope="col"|Chart (1972–1973) ! scope="col"|Peak<br/>position |- |align="left"|Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="auchart">{{Cite book |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |last=Kent |first=David |author-link=David Kent (historian) |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=St Ives, NSW |year=1993 |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref> |align="center"|18 |- {{single chart|Flanders|26|artist=David Bowie|song=The Jean Genie|rowheader=false}} |- {{single chart|Wallonia|7|artist=David Bowie|song=The Jean Genie|access-date=12 September 2020|rowheader=false}} |- |align="left"|Canadian ''RPM'' Top Singles<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4252.pdf |title=RPM Top 100 Singles |work=Library and Archives Canada |date=13 January 1973 |access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref> |align="center"|75 |- {{Single chart|France|22|artist=David Bowie|song=The Jean Genie|access-date=12 September 2020|rowheader=false}} |- |align="left"|Irish Singles Chart<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |title=The Jean Genie in Irish Chart |publisher=IRMA |access-date= 19 July 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090602061251/http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement |archive-date= 2 June 2009 |url-status= live}} Only one result when searching "Jean Genie"</ref> |align="center"|3 |- {{single chart|Dutch40|7|artist=David Bowie|song=The Jean Genie|access-date=12 March 2023|rowheader=false}} |- {{single chart|Dutch100|5|artist=David Bowie|song=The Jean Genie|access-date=12 March 2023|rowheader=false}} |- |align="left"|Spanish Singles Chart<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQkEAAAAMBAJ&q=David+Bowie |title=Hits of the World – Spain |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |date=12 May 1973 |page=64|access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> |align="center"|8 |- {{single chart|UK|2|date=19730113|access-date=12 March 2023|rowheader=false}} |- |align="left"|UK (''Melody Maker'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Melody Maker Pop 50|magazine=Melody Maker|date=20 January 1973|page=2}}</ref> |align="center"|1 |- |align="left"|UK (''NME'')<ref>{{cite magazine|title=NME Pop 50|magazine=NME|date=17 January 1973|page=2}}</ref> |align="center"|1 |- {{single chart|Billboardhot100|71|artist=David Bowie|song=The Jean Genie|access-date=12 March 2023|rowheader=false}} |- {{single chart|West Germany|37|artist=David Bowie|song=The Jean Genie|songid=10022|year=1973|access-date=14 February 2019}} |}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "The Jean Genie"}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=David Bowie|title=The Jean Genie|type=single|relyear=1972|certyear=2025|award=Gold|source=radioscope|access-date=5 September 2025}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=David Bowie|title=The Jean Genie|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2022|id=17847-2269-1|access-date=4 February 2022}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
==Appearances in popular culture== * The song is featured in the BBC television series ''Life on Mars'' (named after a David Bowie song) and is mentioned by DCI Gene "the Gene Genie" Hunt, who periodically refers to himself as 'The Gene Genie'. In the episode "A Conflict of Interests" it is playing as they enter the club; in a later scene, while they escort Stephen Warren from his club, Sweet's "Block Buster!", with its comparable riff, is played. Hunt refers to himself as the Gene Genie more frequently in the sequel series, ''Ashes to Ashes'' (also named for a Bowie song) and his individual theme music on the latter programme is an instrumental version of "The Jean Genie" (retitled "Gene Genie"), created by series composer Edmund Butt. * The song appears in Anton Corbijn's 2007 Ian Curtis biopic ''Control''. In the film a young Curtis sings along to the song as it plays on a record player in his bedroom; the song continues to play as the scene changes to Curtis and Debbie going to a Bowie concert.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=139–142}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.davidbowie.com/2007/2007/08/24/four-bowie-compositions-on-control-soundtrack |title=Four Bowie Compositions on Control Soundtrack |website=David Bowie |date=23 August 2007 |access-date=8 February 2020}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
===Sources=== *{{cite book |last=Buckley |first=David |year=1999 |title=Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story |publisher=Virgin Books |isbn=978-1-85227-784-0}} *{{cite book |last=Cann |first=Kevin |year=2010 |title=Any Day Now – David Bowie: The London Years: 1947–1974 |publisher=Adelita |isbn=978-0-95520-177-6}} *{{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=Roy |author-link1=Roy Carr |last2=Murray |first2=Charles Shaar| author-link2=Charles Shaar Murray |year=1981 |title=Bowie: An Illustrated Record |publisher=Eel Pie Pub |isbn=978-0-38077-966-6}} *{{cite book |last=O'Leary |first=Chris |title=Rebel Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie from '64 to '76 |year=2015 |publisher=Zero Books |location=Winchester |isbn=978-1-78099-244-0}} *{{cite book |last=Pegg |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Pegg |title=The Complete David Bowie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LqFkDQAAQBAJ |publisher=Titan Books |location=London |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78565-365-0 |edition=Revised and Updated}} *{{cite book |last=Perone |first=James E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C6bz2BFdPawC&pg=PA57 |title=The Words and Music of David Bowie |location=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-27599-245-3}}
{{David Bowie singles}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jean Genie, The}} Category:1972 singles Category:1972 songs Category:David Bowie songs Category:RCA Records singles Category:Song recordings produced by David Bowie Category:Song recordings produced by Ken Scott Category:Songs written by David Bowie Category:British blues rock songs Category:British hard rock songs