The David Bowie song that inspired a classic Paul McCartney album

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The significant influence David Bowie had on pop culture is evidenced by the fact that many contemporary musical giants list him as an influence. The Londoner's work has such a profound impact on the diverse world of contemporary popular music that it is simple to discover examples of his influence, such as Chris Cornell, Shirley Manson, or Gary Numan.

Undoubtedly, Paul McCartney, a former member of the Beatles, was David Bowie's biggest influence. Ironically, the future "Starman" was dropped from his previous label Decca after a run of economic and critical failures, and was then rejected by the famed but notoriously unstable label of the Liverpool band, Apple Records, in 1968.

The label was not interested in David, he said, citing Bowie's former manager Kenneth Pitt, who also made fun of Apple's Head of A&R, Peter Asher, in his book. It took me some time to get in touch with him, but when I did, he informed me of this. "As we informed you on the phone, Apple Records is not interested in signing David Bowie," he wrote on July 15. I requested a letter to that effect from him and inquired whether he would authorize it. The explanation is that we don't believe he is what we are looking for at this time. Thank you for your time. Peter Asher was unable to dedicate any of his own time to physically sign the brief letter, so a secretary with the initials CO inscribed his name on it.

Bowie persisted despite being turned down by the sexiest record company of the day, and eventually achieved the fame he so much desired. He polished his craft after 1969's "Space Oddity," which was a hit, and with 1972's glam-rock masterpiece Ziggy Stardust, he finally became a true fame. After this historic release, the decade would be all his, and he would continue to evolve stylistically, keeping both fans and critics guessing.

With the release of the disco-inspired album Let's Dance in 1983, which was produced by Chic frontman Nile Rodgers and included Stevie Ray Vaughan's jarring guitar licks, Bowie, who had already achieved enormous success in Europe, conquered America and rose to fame internationally. Unsurprisingly, Paul McCartney was motivated by the song's popularity and was impacted in the creation of Press to Play, one of his classic albums, in 1986.

McCartney expressly hired Hugh Padgham, a prominent producer well known for his work with Phil Collins and XTC, to give the album a contemporary feel. In a 2017 interview with The Washington Post, he admitted that "Let's Dance" by David Bowie and "Drive" by The Cars were the two songs that inspired Press to Play.

This may come across as a flippant comment from the artist, but Bowie's transition from the experimental 1970s to the flashy side of pop music in the 1980s was extremely successful and probably influenced McCartney, who aspired for a similar climb in popular culture.