Music Legends - Featured Artist David Bowie
On January 08 1947, David Robert Jones entered the world in Brixton, South London. I am sure no one suspected that he would one day become a superstar in the world of music.
David Jones was inspired to explore music by his older brother Terry, and at 13 he began playing the saxophone tutored by Ronnie Ross. Playing in bands such as The Kon-Rads, The King Bees and The Mannish Boys David was exposed to the rock and pop world.
In 1966 not wanting to be confused with Davy Jones of The Monkees, David changed his last name to Bowie, a name that was inspired by the knife developed by the 19th century American pioneer Jim Bowie
With Kenneth Pitts as his manager he released several singles none of which gained much recognition. After his first album was unsuccessful, Bowie turned away from music for a while, entering a monastery in Scotland for a few weeks. At around this time he met Angela Barnett who he later married (1970) and together they had a child nicknamed Zowie.
By 1969 Bowie was back into music fulltime and released his 2001: Space Odyssey inspired Space Oddity
Space Oddity introduced David Bowie to the world, and the start of his extraordinary career gathered momentum
“As was the case with Miles Davis in jazz, Bowie has come not just to represent his innovations but to symbolize modern rock as an idiom in which literacy, art, fashion, style, sexual exploration and social commentary can be rolled into one.” Rolling Stone magazine
Bowie’s first album was ‘The Man who sold the world’ (I confess I know nothing about this album) , released by Mercury in 1971. In 1972 David signed up with RCA and produced the album Hunky Dory and then in quick succession The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars
Changes … from the Hunky Dory album
Life on Mars also from Hunky Dory
David Bowie continued to reinvent himself, always pushing creative boundaries. In the summer of 1972 Bowie entered the studio to produce Lou Reed’s album Tranformer (‘Walk on the Wild Side’ was a smash hit from that album) as well as albums for Iggy and the Stooges.
Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side
From www.davidbowie.com/bio
1972 was certainly the year that Bowie began to get a glimpse of the power of pop.GQ editor Dylan Jones said of the landmark 1972 Top of The Pops appearance on 6th July “This is the performance that turned Bowie into a star, embedding his Ziggy Stardust persona into the nations consciousness.” The sound of the suburbs suddenly got a whole lot louder. Previewed in London that spring, his rock-n-roll creation Ziggy Stardust staged one of the most spectacular and innovative live shows to date, and the craze that followed was the beginning of his superstar myth.
Released in 1973 Alladinsane contained songs inspired by his trip through America. The Jean Genie was the biggest hit off the album (Mick Ronson on guitar is awesome)
Ziggy Stardust – weird lyrics but hectically good number .
By the mid 1970s Bowie had undergone a full-scale makeover. Gone were the outrageous costumes and garish sets. In two short years he released the albums David Live (1974) and Young Americans (1975). The latter album featured backing vocals by a young Luther Vandross and included the song "Fame," co-written with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar, which became Bowie’s first American number one single. credit
Space Oddity
Collaborating with John Lennon, Bowie recorded Fame in 1975…. His first number one hit in the US of A, where Bowie was now living (New York). Shortly after the release of this album Bowie was off to Los Angeles and played the lead in the cult movie “The Man who fell to Earth” a Nic Roeg science fiction classic.
Suffragette City
There is so much to tell about David Bowie’s life, I have hardly scratched the surface. Some highlights… He was inducted into the Music Hall of Fame in 1995. He made his stage debut in 1980 in the Broadway show The Elephant Man to rave reviews. He continued recording, producing and acting right through to the second decade of the 21st century, sadly passing away in January 2016
Young Americans
Take the time to explore this extraordinary talented individual’s life. He is TRULY A MUSIC LEGEND. I really do not believe I have done him justice
Performing Under Pressure with Queen, live !!
Credits:
http://www.biography.com/people/david-bowie-9222045#more-changes
http://www.davidbowie.com/bio
www.youtube.com
I am featuring artists from the 60’s and 70’s from diverse genre’s over the next few months. If you love music … FOLLOW and take the journey with me..it is going to be one thrilling ride !! Furthermore I will only be featuring artists from MY vinyl collection, and I shall start all of the posts with a photo of an album cover to authenticate
This post only requires Steem Power
Previous Music Legends
Leonard Cohen
The Doors
Bob Dylan
The Rolling Stones
60’s Protest Artists
Janis Joplin
Jimi Hendrix
Neil Young
Deep Purple
Led Zeppelin
Van Morrison
Black Sabbath
Thin Lizzy
Another cool post about a great musician. I also knew nothing of his The Man Who Sold the World, the track I only remember the Nirvana version.
Until he died and I seen video of his version on some tv show, really cool to see how he had the song and just his original version and vision of it.
Thanks for the feedback and the video's ... I will go check them out. I could break his life up into 4 part series. Just as difficult as Bob Dylan to try and capture in just a few words.