David Bowie’s Unreleased Bob Dylan & John Lennon Covers Will Be Released for His 74th Birthday on Jan. 8

Somehow, it’s almost been five years since David Bowie passed away on Jan. 10, 2016 — just two days after his 69th birthday.

This coming Jan. 8 would have been Bowie’s 74th birthday, and the Bowie estate will commemorate it with a pair of previously unreleased recordings from the music/cultural icon … covers of John Lennon‘s “Mother” and Bob Dylan‘s “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven.”

To mark what would have been David Bowie’s 74th birthday, two previously unreleased cover versions, John Lennon’s MOTHER and Bob Dylan’s TRYIN’ TO GET TO HEAVEN, will be released as a limited edition 7” single on 8th January next year. Full press release: https://t.co/cW5mqivAdI pic.twitter.com/dctlfk2T5P

— David Bowie Official (@DavidBowieReal) December 16, 2020

In addition to appearing on digital streaming platforms on Jan. 8, the two tracks are also in line for special limited-edition physical runs. Per the Bowie website:

The 7” single is limited to 8147 numbered copies, 1000 of which will be on cream coloured vinyl available only from the official David Bowie store and Warner Music’s Dig! store (the remainder will be black). Both tracks will be available to stream and download.

Originally recorded by Lennon for his 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Bowie’s version of MOTHER was produced by Tony Visconti in 1998 for a Lennon tribute that never came to fruition. Bob Dylan’s original TRYIN’ TO GET TO HEAVEN was released on his 1997 Album of the Year GRAMMY winning Time Out Of Mind. David’s version was recorded in February 1998 during the mixing sessions for the ‘LiveAndWell.com’ album.

For reference, here’s Lennon’s original version of “Mother”:

And here’s Dylan’s “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven”: