David Bowie (1947–2016) was a British musician, and one of the most iconic rock stars with a widely diverse career where he frequently changed his appearance and musical style, resulting in an acclaimed discography comparable to other stalwarts such as The Beatles and Bob Dylan. In 1966 David Robert Jones chose the surname “Bowie” (as in a Bowie knife, or a Jagger) to cut out any association with teen idol Davy Jones. Enduring many early missteps, his music had a seminal lift-off with “Space Oddity”, used in the BBC’s coverage of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.

The single rose to #5 in the UK charts as a result of his Top of the Pops performance. The sci-fi rubric of the song about a fictional character, Major Tom, foreshadowed his future 1972 breakthrough. In the meantime, Bowie remained a cult figure. 1971’s landmark album, Hunky Dory went largely unnoticed, despite being his first Major RCA release.

By early 1972, Bowie not only commanded notice, he set the plaform(s) for a genre. His alter-ego, an androgynous alien that dazzled and shocked, did not mask the brilliance of his musical acumen: it put the public spotlight on it. Cut from the punk rock performance debauchery of Iggy Pop with the alternative underground, aloof artistry of Lou Reed, Ziggy Stardust was the main-man-alien lead in his conceptual breakthrough album, and the public persona which haunted him beyond Ziggy’s expiration date. Ziggy’s “fall” in the plot of the album’s theme took on an ambiguous direction, which drove Aladdin Sane’s zigzagging broader musical strokes without a conceptual framework. And yet it framed, over time, the penultimate image of Ziggy, as an icon, emblem, fashion-plate, rock-saint, emoji, etc.

Bowie used his new-found popularity to move to America, and dabble with new musical directions and cocaine. Diamond Dogs and Young Americans continue to divide critics, but Station To Station found Bowie at a new creative peak, despite escalating drug use and related health issues.

Moving back to Europe helped Bowie reach even greater musical heights. He recorded his iconic “Berlin Trilogy” – Low, “Heroes”, and Lodger, with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti (despite the name, only Heroes was recorded in Berlin), and produced Iggy Pop’s first two solo albums. This was followed by the hard-rocking Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), and disco-influenced Let’s Dance.

Bowie entered a period of critical apathy during the 1980s, as albums like Tonight and Never Let Me Down fell relatively flat (despite hit singles). These led to his Tin Machine band (“garage-band” rock) which paved the way for a renaissance of musical acumen, with albums such as 1. Outside, Earthling, Heathen, and Reality reclaiming his status as a number one pop star. Radio silence then ensued for much of the 2000s, until he surprisingly issued 2013’s The Next Day, recorded in secret and released to critical acclaim.

David Bowie passed away on January 10, 2016, due to cancer, two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar.