Robert Jones, better known by his stage name, David bowie, died on January 10, 2016. Many will remember Bowie for his eccentric stage persona, others for his electrifying live performances. David Bowie is one of the most eclectic and innovative artists of all time. He helped define and redefine entire genres such as art rock, glam rock, and experimental rock throughout the 70’s. His influence isn’t restricted to the 70’s either, he was one of the most prolific artists of our time as well. Releasing 25 studio albums throughout his lifetime from the self titled David Bowie in 1967 all the way up to his death in 2016 with the fantastic Blackstar. David bowie was born David Robert Jones in Brixton, South London, England, on January 8, 1947. He …show more content…
However, after recording a solo album, which turned out to be a commercial failure, Bowie exited the music world for a temporary period. Like much of his later life, the hiatus proved to be incredibly experimental for him. Briefly in 1967, he lived at a Buddhist monastery in Scotland. Around this time, Bowie also met his first wife, Angela Barnett. They got married on March 20, 1970, and had one son together named Duncan. By early 1969, Bowie had returned to making music full time. He signed a deal with Mercury Records and that same year released "Space Oddity." Bowie later said the inspiration for the song came to him after seeing Stanley Kubrick's, 2001: A Space Odyssey. “Space Oddity” exponentially grew in popularity when BBC used it when covering the Apollo 11 moon …show more content…
He started embracing New Wave, ambient, and dance music. Albums such as Scary Monsters, Let’s Dance, and Tonight showed Bowie’s proficiency at dance and pop music while also maintaining his avante garde edge. In the early 2000’s after a string of projects which received lukewarm responses from critics and fans alike, Bowie went on hiatus. Although he did release soundtracks and a live album, he did release anything new again until 2013’s The Next Day, the album was a refreshing art rock album that called upon his earlier work. However, I believe Bowie saved his most creative project for last. In late 2015 he released the single “Blackstar” the lead single from his upcoming album of the same name at the time. The song was a 10-minute behemoth of free jazz, experimental, and art rock. It gave the world a glimpse into what would become his final album. Death was a major theme in Blackstar. I believe Bowie knew he was about to die and was desperate to put his last ideas and views into his music. It was beautiful and horrifying all at the same time. But that’s what great music does, it moves you and shows you things that just can’t be expressed in