Happy Birthday, Bowie!
On behalf of everyone here at Ology, I’d like to extend a very, very special happy birthday greeting to everyone’s favorite thin white androgynous alien glam rock icon: Mr. David Bowie, who turns 64 today. A prolific writer, vocalist, and actor, Bowie’s chameleonic persona and ever-changing styles (visual and musical) have influenced the worlds of rock, pop, and electronic music more than any other artist of the past forty years. From Major Tom to Ziggy Stardust, from Thin White Duke to elder statesman, David Bowie is an indispensable figure in pop culture history and one of the greatest artists in the history of modern music. (Not to mention that he has banged both Mick Jagger and Iman—huge props!)
Born David Robert Jones in Brixton, London, Bowie was raised in a working class family, learning the saxophone in high school and going on to perform in a number of local mod-influenced groups. His debut, self-titled album was released in 1966, coinciding with his name change (a ploy to avoid confusion with Monkees singer Davy Jones). After spending some time in a Buddhist monastery and studying with a British mime troupe, Bowie released his second album Man of Words/Man of Music, which featured the smash breakout single “Space Oddityâ€. Bowie followed the single’s success with the hard rocking The Man Who Sold The World and music hall influenced Hunky Dory albums, but achieved superstardom with his flamboyant, otherworldly Ziggy Stardust stage persona and subsequent album with backing group The Spiders From Mars. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars was a smash hit on both sides of the Atlantic, followed swiftly the equally over the top Aladdin Sane and Diamond Dogs albums in 1973 and ’74, respectively. Out of Ziggy’s trademark white makeup, Bowie also found time to produce a handful of iconic ‘70s rock classics, including Lou Reed’s solo debut Transformer, Raw Power by The Stooges, and All The Young Dudes by Mott The Hoople, co-writing the album’s iconic title track.
The “plastic soul†of Young Americans and avant-pop leanings on Station To Station were tainted by the singer’s growing cocaine addiction, which contributed to his gaunt appearance and new stage persona, the Thin White Duke. Cleaning himself up and focusing on painting for several months, Bowie traveled to Hansa Studios in Berlin with former Roxy Music keyboardist Brian Eno. There, the duo recorded the “Berlin Trilogyâ€: Low, “Heroesâ€, and Lodger, released one year apart beginning in 1977. An early precursor and massive influence on ambient, electronic, and industrial music, the albums were a creative resurgence for Bowie, who released the critically lauded Scary Monsters in 1980, kicking off a decade that would bring commercial highs (Let’s Dance, Labyrinth, “Under Pressureâ€) and critical lows (Tonight, Never Let Me Down, Tin Machine) for the rock idol.
A trio of albums with guitarist Reeves Gabrels brought Bowie once again into the pop mainstream, beginning with the industrial rock opera Outside in 1995 (reuniting the singer with Brian Eno), followed by the drum & bass leaning Earthling (1997) and glossy modern pop of hours (1999). After re-uniting with producer Tony Visconti on the well-received post-millennial Heathen and Reality records, Bowie began his thusfar indefinite retirement, making a number of guest appearances (TV On The Radio, Arcade Fire) yet keeping a relatively low profile, focusing on his family with superstar model Iman, whom he married in 1992. They have one daughter, Alexandria Jones.
Whether we’ve seen or heard the last of David Bowie remains to be seen, yet his indelible artistic legacy inspires constant awe amongst each new generation turned onto his incredible music. For nearly forty-five years, Bowie has been a continually original, inspiring, sometimes controversial, but always entertaining force of artistic magnitude. No other artist makes us want to dance, wear make up, go into outer space, wear blue jeans, or put out fire with gasoline quite like you, Mr. Bowie. Happy 64th birthday from everyone here at Ology, you freaky bastard, you!
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