David Bowie (born David Robert Jones; January 8, 1947 – January 10, 2016) was an English singer, songwriter, actor, and producer, widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative musicians of the 20th century, often called the “chameleon of rock” for his constant reinvention of personas, styles, and sounds.
Born in Brixton, London, and raised in Bromley, Bowie adopted his stage name in 1967 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of The Monkees. He studied art, music, and design, played saxophone from his teens (inspired by jazz), and fronted various mod and R&B bands in the early 1960s before going solo. His early work included folk, mime, and experimental theater influences.
He achieved his breakthrough with the 1969 single “Space Oddity”, a sci-fi folk-rock hit timed with the Apollo 11 moon landing. The 1970s saw his rise to global fame through dramatic character-driven eras: the androgynous glam rock alien Ziggy Stardust (with the Spiders from Mars band), featuring the landmark album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) and hits like “Starman”, “Suffragette City”, and “Ziggy Stardust”; followed by the sleeker Aladdin Sane (1973), soul-influenced Young Americans (1975) with “Fame” (co-written with John Lennon), and the “Thin White Duke” persona on the groundbreaking Station to Station (1976).
In the late 1970s, he relocated to Berlin for the influential “Berlin Trilogy” (Low, Heroes, Lodger, 1977–1979), produced with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti, pioneering ambient and electronic rock. The 1980s brought massive commercial success with Let’s Dance (1983), including the title track, “Modern Love”, and “China Girl”, blending pop, funk, and new wave. Later decades included experimental works like 1. Outside (1995), industrial influences, and his final album Blackstar (2016), released just two days before his death.
Bowie was also an acclaimed actor (The Man Who Fell to Earth, 1976; Labyrinth, 1986) and visual artist. He sold over 100 million records, won multiple Grammys, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He died in New York City on January 10, 2016, at age 69, two days after his birthday and Blackstar‘s release, from liver cancer he had privately battled for 18 months. Bowie is remembered as a cultural icon whose fearless experimentation, gender-fluidity, and genre-blending reshaped music, fashion, and identity in popular culture.