Person Biography:
David Bowie was a multifaceted artist who was born David Jones in 1947. He changed his name to Bowie in the 1960s to avoid confusion with the Monkees' lead singer Davy Jones. Bowie was a struggling artist in his early years, but he finally achieved commercial success in 1969 with the song "Space Oddity," which was released during the moon landing.
Bowie's breakthrough in the 1970s came with the album "Ziggy Stardust," which was a concept album about a space-age rock star. This was followed by other rock albums built around central characters and concerned with futuristic themes. In the mid-1970s, Bowie was a heavy cocaine abuser and sometime heroin user.
In 1975, Bowie changed his musical direction and released "Young Americans," a soul album that produced his first number one hit in the US, "Fame." He also appeared in his first major film, "The Man Who Fell to Earth," in 1976. With a permanently-dilated pupil and skeletal frame, he certainly looked the part of an alien.
In the late 1970s, Bowie finally kicked his drug habit and recorded the album "Scary Monsters," which is considered by many fans to be his best work. Around this time, he appeared in the title role of the Broadway drama "The Elephant Man" and to considerable acclaim.
The next few years saw a drop-off in Bowie's musical output as his acting career flourished, culminating in his acclaimed performance in "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" in 1983. In 1983, he released "Let's Dance," an album that proved an unexpected massive commercial success and produced his second #1 hit single in the United States.
In the late 1980s, Bowie turned his back on commercial success and formed the hard rock band Tin Machine, who had a deliberate limited appeal. By the 1990s, Bowie's acting career was in decline, and he focused on his solo career, releasing the album "Black Tie White Noise" in 1992, a wedding album inspired by his recent marriage to Iman.
In 1995, Bowie renewed his working relationship with Brian Eno to record "Outside." After an initial hostile reaction from the critics, this album has now taken its place with his classic albums. In 2003, Bowie released an album entitled "Reality," which was followed by a tour that was extended into 2004.
In 2006, Bowie gave what turned out to be his final live performance in a three-song set with Alicia Keys at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. He also returned to acting, appearing in the movie "The Prestige" and having a small cameo in the comedy "David Bowie" for fan Ricky Gervais.
In 2007, Bowie did a cartoon voice in "SpongeBob SquarePants" and had a brief cameo in the movie "Bandslam." After a ten-year hiatus from recording, he released a new album called "The Next Day" in 2013, featuring a homage cover to his earlier work "Heroes."
In 2014, Bowie won British Male Solo Artist at the 2014 Brit Awards, 30 years since last winning it, and became the oldest ever Brit winner. Bowie wrote and recorded the opening title song to the television miniseries "The Last Panthers" in 2015, which aired in November 2015.
In January 2016, Bowie released his final album, "Blackstar," which was met with critical acclaim. Following his death two days later, on January 10, 2016, producer Tony Visconti revealed Bowie had planned the album to be his swan song, and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death.
