David Bowie Caricature 1968

David Bowie Caricature 1968, shown here in late December, age 21 on the eve of his breakthrough single “Space Oddity” which he recorded as a demo in January, 1969.

David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He is often considered to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. He was a leading figure in popular music and was acclaimed by critics and fellow musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s.

“Space Oddity”, was first released as a 7-inch single on July 11, 1969. The song is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut, and was released during a period of great interest in space flight. The United States’ Apollo 11 mission would launch five days later and would become the first manned moon landing another five days after that.

“Space Oddity” was David Bowie’s first single to chart in the UK.

After a period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The character was spearheaded by the success of his single “Starman” and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie’s style shifted radically towards a sound he characterised as “plastic soul”, initially alienating many of his UK devotees but garnering him his first major US crossover success with the number-one single “Fame” and the album Young Americans.

Throughout his career, he went from music genre to genre, experimenting with Rock, Minimalist, Pop, Electronic and NeoClassic.

He performed live for over 40 years with such hits as: “Space Oddity”, “Changes”, “Golden Years”, “Heroes”, “Young Americans”, “Ziggy Stardust”, “Rebel, Rebel”, “Modern Love”, “Fame”, “All The Young Dudes” and “Let’s Dance” amongst a host of others.

During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million albums worldwide, made him one of the world’s best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, releasing eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

On January 10, 2016, two days after his 69th birthday and the release of the album “Blackstar”, Bowie died from liver cancer in his New York City apartment.