David Sanborn, Jazz Saxophonist Who Played on David Bowie’s ‘Young Americans,’ Dead at 78
The musician, who won several Grammys and also collaborated with the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and others, had been battling prostate cancer
SMOOTH JAZZ SAXOPHONIST David Sanborn, who played on recordings by Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and Carly Simon and performed live with David Bowie and the Rolling Stones, died in Tarrytown, New York, on Sunday afternoon. A rep confirmed the news to Rolling Stone. A message on Sanborn’s social media cited complications after an extended battle with prostate cancer. He was 78.
“Mr. Sanborn had been dealing with prostate cancer since 2018 but had been able to maintain his normal schedule of concerts until just recently,” the message said. “Indeed he already had concerts scheduled into 2025.”
Earlier this month, Sanborn canceled a number of dates set to take place throughout the rest of May. “For the last weeks I’ve been dealing with unbelievable pain in my spine that prohibited me from walking, let alone playing my horn,” Sanborn wrote in a statement. “We were finally able to diagnose the issue as two stressed fractures in my spine.” He underwent spinal surgery and doctors told him he could recover after taking six to eight weeks off. Sanborn wrote that abandoning the dates was difficult for him: “Playing for all of you, friends, fans, staff, and supporters, is what keeps me alive. You have my assurance that as soon as I’ve healed … I will be back.” He signed off with “heartfelt apologies.”
As a solo artist, Sanborn made a blend of jazz, pop, and R&B his trademark sound. Throughout his career, he released more than two dozen albums, nine of which went gold or platinum, and won six Grammys. It was a miracle since Sanborn, who grew up near St. Louis, survived a polio diagnosis at age 3. “I wasn’t like the other kids,” Sanborn told JazzTimes in 2008. “My mantra was, ‘Hey, guys, wait up.’ I used to lie in bed a lot, listening to the radio, which was my theater of the imagination.”
Playing saxophone was an important part of his recovery, according to his official bio, and by the time he was a teenager he was playing alongside blues legends like Albert King and Little Milton. He released his debut solo album, Taking Off, in 1975, when he turned 30.
Before he was a solo artist, though, he joined the Butterfield Blues Band and was a part of that group’s lineup when it performed at Woodstock. Sanborn toured with Stevie Wonder and played on the musician’s Talking Book album. In addition to touring with Bowie, he played the saxophone solo on “Young Americans.”
“On the Young Americans tour, Bowie would sometimes let the band play for 20 minutes before he came on,” Sanborn told Downbeat in 2017. “I remember we had a week at the Universal Amphitheater in L.A. It was a great rhythm section with Doug Rauch on bass and Greg Enrico on drums. On the Young Americans album, there was no lead guitar, so I played the role of lead guitar. I was all over that record.”
Throughout the Seventies, Sanborn effortlessly bounced back and forth between jazz, blues, and pop music, recording with B.B. King, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen (contributing to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” on Born to Run), Elton John, Chaka Khan, Ron Carter, George Benson, Kenny Loggins, and Eagles, to name but a few. The Eighties found him playing alongside Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Roger Water, Eric Clapton, and Mick Jagger, among others.
From 1988 to 1990, Sanborn hosted Night Music, which Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels produced. It featured archival performances by Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, Billie Holiday, and others. He also contributed music to the films Psycho III and the second through fourth installments of the Lethal Weapon franchise. Sanborn also performed the sax solo on “The Seduction (Love Theme),” a hit instrumental off the soundtrack to American Gigolo written by Giorgio Moroder and credited to James Last.
He has also hosted a syndicated radio program, The Jazz Show, and produced a YouTube series called Sanborn Sessions with his nephew and brother-in-law, and guests like Sting and Christian McBride, and a podcast called As We Speak. During Covid-19 lockdowns, Sanborn offered master classes in saxophone over Zoom.
“I’m not so interested in what is or isn’t jazz,” Sanborn told Downbeat. “The guardians of the gate can be quite combative, but what are they protecting? Jazz has always absorbed and transformed what’s around it. … Real musicians don’t have any time to spend thinking about limited categories.”
They pulled in just behind the bridge He lays her down, he frowns "Gee, my life's a funny thing Am I still too young?" He kissed her then and there She took his ring, took his babies It took him minutes, took her nowhere Heaven knows, she'd have taken anything, but
(All night) She wants the young American (Young American, young American) (She wants the young American) (All right) She wants the young American
Scanning life through the picture window She finds the slinky vagabond He coughs as he passes her Ford Mustang But Heaven forbid, she'll take anything But the freak, and his type, all for nothing He misses a step and cuts his hand, but Showing nothing, he swoops like a song She cries "Where have all Papa's heroes gone?" See R&B shows near Tampa Get tickets as low as $84
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(All night) She wants the young American (Young American, young American) (She wants the young American) (All right) But she wants the young American
[Verse 3] All the way from Washington Her bread-winner begs off the bathroom floor "We live for just these twenty years Do we have to die for the fifty more?"
All night He wants the young American (Young American, young American) (He wants the young American) (All right) All right He wants the young American
Do you remember, your President Nixon? Do you remember, the bills you have to pay? Or even yesterday?
Have you been the un-American? Just you and your idol sing falsetto 'bout Leather, leather everywhere And not a myth left from the ghetto Well, well, well, would you carry a razor In case, just in case of depression? Sit on your hands on a bus of survivors Blushing at all the Afro-Sheeners Ain't that close to love? Well, ain't that poster love? Well, it ain't that Barbie doll Her heart's been broken just like you and
(All night) All night, you want the young American (Young American) young American (You want the young American) All right All right You want the young American
You ain't a pimp and you ain't a hustler A pimp's got a Caddy and a lady got a Chrysler Black's got respect, and white's got his soul train Mama's got cramps, and look at your hands ache (I heard the news today, oh boy) I got a suite and you got defeat Ain't there a man who can say no more? And ain't there a woman I can sock on the jaw? And, ain't there a child I can hold without judging? Ain't there a pen that will write before they die? Ain't you proud that you've still got faces? Ain't there one damn song that can make me break down and cry?
All night I want the young American (Young American) young American (I want the young American) All right I want the young American, young American
(Young American, young American) (I want the young American) (All night) You want I, I want you (Young American, young American) (I want the young American) (All right) All I want is the young American (Young American, young American) (I want the young American) (All night)