"There's a starman waiting in the sky"

Photo from Cleveland.com

People die. But if we are lucky, a few, like David Bowie, will share their talents with us before they go. Singer, song-writer, actor, and musical influencer, Bowie lost his battle with liver cancer on January 10, just days after his 69th birthday and the release of his latest album entitled Blackstar.   After hearing the sad news, his long-time friend and colleague Elton John posted on Facebook "I am still in shock. Never saw it coming. My deepest condolences to Iman and the family.  An amazing life.  An amazing career."

Indeed, the news of Bowie’s death was totally unexpected. How in an era of instant information dissemination did his fans not know about his illness? 

I was in high school when I first heard David Bowie’s music.  NASA had recently launched Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, when the local radio stations started playing Bowie’s song Space Oddity.   The eerie lyrics and haunting melody combined with Bowie’s unique voice captivated listeners who had just witnessed science fiction come to life when astronauts walked on the moon in July 1969.

But you don’t have to be a Bowie fan to be familiar with his music. His Little Drummer Boy duet with Bing Crosby is part of nearly every radio station’s Christmas playlist and his song Starman is on the sound track of the Oscar-nominated Ridley Scott film, The Martian. Not surprisingly, Bowie is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, class of 1996.

 

 

David Byrne of the Talking Heads inducted David Bowie into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ( from You Tube) 

 

 

Costume photos from Cleveland.com

I will always remember my first visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum back in 1998 when I got to see some Bowie memorabilia that is part of the permanent collection.  One of my favorite exhibits (then and when I visited again in 2009) is a collection of stage costumes worn by legendary performers.  The display includes the eccentric and androgynous jumpsuit worn by Ziggy Stardust, Bowie’s alter ego for many years. With his outrageous clothes, outlandish make-up, and bizarre hairstyles, Bowie pioneered what became known as glam rock, and along with artists like Elton John, he was a major influence for groups such as Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and Culture Club.   

Never static, Bowie adopted several other stage personas during his more than forty years of entertaining.  The costume collection at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame includes several other tour costumes, including the outfit he wore on stage during his A Reality Tour in 2003.  The display symbolizes the artistry Bowie brought to the stage in his performances and can be appreciated by both die-hard fans and neophytes. 

“Bowie didn’t just alter the sound of rock; he shaped the way it looked, and he expanded what it could achieve as a medium. In doing so, he inspired millions.” - Greg Harris, Rock Hall Blog

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH

The curators at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with a group of music critics and historians have compiled a list of some of the most significant rock and roll songs ever recorded.  They believe that these songs best exemplify  the development of rock music over the years.  While the complete list covers myriad artists, four of the songs on the list were composed by David Bowie. They are:

• Changes
• Fame
• Space Oddity
• Ziggy Stardust

In addition to his epic music career, Bowie appeared in several motion pictures including The Hunger, The Labyrinth, and Zoolander.   According to WWMX Radio, in 1985, he was offered a role as a villain in A View to a Kill but turned it down saying “I didn't want to spend five months watching my stunt double fall off cliffs."  His movie roles earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In spite of his prolific body of work,  Bowie only had two songs that reached the number one spot on the charts in the US - Fame in 1975 and Let’s Dance in 1983.  David Bowie made music a little more special for the world,  so instead of mourning our loss, we should celebrate the contributions he made to the evolution of rock and roll.  Rock on, Starman!