<P> Dissatisfied with his stage name as Davy ( and Davie ) Jones , which in the mid-1960s invited confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees , Bowie renamed himself after the 19th - century American pioneer James Bowie and the knife he had popularised . His April 1967 solo single , `` The Laughing Gnome '' , using speeded - up thus high - pitched vocals , failed to chart . Released six weeks later , his album debut , David Bowie , an amalgam of pop , psychedelia , and music hall , met the same fate . It was his last release for two years . </P>
<P> Dissatisfied with his stage name as Davy ( and Davie ) Jones , which in the mid-1960s invited confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees , Bowie renamed himself after the 19th - century American pioneer James Bowie and the knife he had popularised . His April 1967 solo single , `` The Laughing Gnome '' , using speeded - up thus high - pitched vocals , failed to chart . Released six weeks later , his album debut , David Bowie , an amalgam of pop , psychedelia , and music hall , met the same fate . It was his last release for two years . </P>
when did david bowie 's first album come out
when did david bowie 's first album come out
April 1967
April 1967