Without a doubt, West Philly’s Gail Ann Dorsey will always be known for her longtime connection to David Bowie. From 1995 through to 2004 when she played his last tour for his then-new Reality album, the bassist-vocalist and Bowie were thick-as-thieves collaborators (she also recorded with Bowie for his 2013 release The Next Day). Bowie would have had to have placed great trust (and awe) in this musical partner, entrusting Dorsey as he did to sing Freddie Mercury’s part during their “Under Pressure” duet while on tour.
Dorsey too has long-standing credits playing bass, singing, and even composing alongside Tears for Fears, as well as touring and recording with Lenny Kravitz, The National, Gwen Stefani, Khaled, Gang of Four, and more. Throughout those sessions and tours, however, and into the present, Dorsey maintained personal balance and a singular aesthetic by releasing her own solo albums spread throughout three decades – The Corporate World, Rude Blue, and I Used to Be… – and running her own tours, the latest of which brings her home to Philadelphia’s City Winery on Friday, March 28. Dorsey has a big, broad-ranged singing voice and refuses to be limited by musical genre or sonic trend.
Gail Ann Dorsey and Philadelphia
I can’t pretend that I knew Dorsey coming up in West Philadelphia, or what the full story was between her and the late, great local multi-instrumentalist Jay Medley (the Science Fiction/ Mel’s Rockpile guitarist used to call Dorsey his cousin; in a Rumpus mag interview, Dorsey stated that she and Medley were best friends and bandmates in one of his many bands). Yet, from watching her career beyond Bowie gigs, loving her solo albums, and hearing compositions such as this track, “Philadelphia”, Dorsey undoubtedly has her head in her hometown, and wears Philly pride on her usually-wide sleeves.
“Philly is a music city, so there was music everywhere, especially in the ’60s and ’70s,” Dorsey said to Rumpus. “The radio was amazing… and there were so many great musicians. There was the Philly sound, and just all of this great stuff going on, a rich culture that I was steeped in. I loved it. I just couldn’t have had a better education.”
In 2024, she spent time, live, working on the Bowie-related Blackstar Symphony as its bassist-singer, and recorded on new albums for AniDeFranco and Rissi Palmer. And while there isn’t hard news or fresh information on new solo compositions or recordings, from having witnessed Gail Ann Dorsey gigs in the past, her City Winery Philadelphia gig (tickets available here) will surely feature the voice and rhythms everyone came to love on Bowie records and tours.
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