David Bowie may be gone from this Earth, but his music will live on for centuries. The rocker and sometimes actor passed away on Sunday night after battling cancer for 18 months. Bowie’s 69th birthday was Friday and he released his final album, Blackstar, as a “parting gift” to fans, according to a statement from longtime friend and producer Tony Visconti.
While David Bowie may no longer be with us, his music will live on for centuries with hits like “Space Oddity” and “Under Pressure,” a collaboration with Queen. When he burst onto the music scene, Bowie wasn’t afraid to break boundaries and bring something new to the world he loved.
Bowie’s first album was released in 1967 and since then the star sold more than 140 million albums. According to BBC, he also had 111 singles, 51 music videos, and produced 25 studio albums. He was certainly an incredible artist who pushed boundaries with his glam rock, punk, and electronica hits.
Here are 12 moments where David Bowie inspired and changed us.
#13 – Space Oddity
Space Oddity was written by Bowie and released as a single in July 1969. The song also became the opening track of Bowie’s self-titled album. The singer later revisited his Major Tom character in songs like Ashes to Ashes, Hallo Spaceboy, and Blackstar, released just before his death.
#12 – Changes
Changes was released on the album Hunky Dory in December 1971. It was also released as a single in January 1972. While it missed the Top 40, Changes became one of David Bowie’s best-known songs. While The Man Who Sold the World was released in America two years prior, this single is cited as Bowie’s official North American debut.
#11 – Heroes
Heroes was written by David Bowie and Brian Eno in 1977, then produced by Bowie and friend Tony Visconti. While it wasn’t a huge hit in the U.S. or U.K. at the time, the song is now considered one of Bowie’s signature songs. Changes is Bowie’s second most covered song after Rebel Rebel.
#10 – Ziggy Stardust
Ziggy Stardust was written and recorded for Bowie’s 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The name was also used for David Bowie’s alter-ego, a flamboyant and androgynous person. While his Ziggy persona was relatively short-lived, it proved to be an important part of David Bowie’s career.
#9 – Magic Dance (as the Goblin King from Labyrinth)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4gABvUhhkg
Magic Dance was a featured song performed by David Bowie for Labyrinth in 2986. It is a dance number in the middle of the movie that takes focus away from Sarah to observe what happens in the castle at the center of the movie. Jareth, played by Bowie, amuses himself by singing to Sara’s little brother Toby.
#8 – Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes was released by David Bowie in 1980. It topped charts in the U.K. and became the first cut from his album Scary Monsters, which was also a No. 1 hit. Bowie stated in a 1980 interview that the song was “very much a 1980s nursery rhyme.
#7 – Dancing in the Street
Dancing in the Street was first recorded in 1964 by Martha and the Vandellas, but revived by David Bowie and Mick Jagger in 1985. the pair produced the remake to raise money for the Live Aid famine relief cause. The track was recorded in four hours and they produced the video in 13 hours. It played twice at the Live Aid event.
#6 – Modern Love
Modern Love was recorded by David Bowie for his album Let’s Dance in 1983. He claimed the song was inspired by Little Richard. The track was a popular encore on the Serious Moonlight Tour. The single reached No. 2 in the U.K. and No 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
#5 – The Man Who Sold the World
The Man Who Sold The World was released on David Bowie’s third album in November 1970 (U.S.) and April 1971 (U.K.). It was reworked by Bowie for performances between 1995 and 1997 but he went back to playing the original version in the 2000s.
#4 – Rebel Rebel
David Bowie released Rebel Rebel in 1974 as a single and on the album Diamond Dogs. It is Bowie’s most-covered track and was essentially the singer’s farewell to the glam rock movement.
#3 – Golden Years
Golden Years was recorded by David Bowie in 1975. It was released in a shortened form in November 1975, then released as a full-length version in January 2976 on the Station to Station album.
#2 – Blackstar
Blackstar is the lead single from David Bowie’s last album. It was released through iTunes on November 20 2015. It peaked at 129 on the U.K. Singles Chart. It was originally more than 11 minutes long, but Bowie and Visconti edited it down to 9:57 after learning that iTunes wouldn’t post singles over 10 minutes in length.
#1 – Lazarus
Lazarus was released just after Blackstar on December 17 2015. In addition to its release on Blackstar, it was used in Bowie’s off-Broadway musical of the same name. The official music video was released on January 7 2016. The song begins with the lyric, “Look up here, I’m in Heaven!” and will be viewed in a different light by fans now that the singer is gone.
