One of the most influential musicians of all time has just passed away will his musical legacy outlive him?
By: Ringo Bones
It is a sad day to everyone who virtually lived through his
musical career marked by trendsetting reinvention for over 40 years. According
to his official Facebook site, David Bowie passed away peacefully on Sunday, January
10, 2016, aged 69 surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month long
battle with cancer. Tributes around the world have already been expressed but
it is still a sad day to us who virtually grew up with his music.
David Bowie’s artistic and commercial breakthrough came in
1972 with Ziggy Stardust where the iconic Space Oddity was introduced to a new
generation of fans after Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield made his own version
and music video of it on the International Space Station a few years ago.
Astronaut Chris Hadfield’s version is also noted as the first music video made
entirely in the weightless environment of space.
David Bowie’s musical career is marked by continuous reinvention
and staying fresh and relevant in the rapidly evolving music scene of the 1970s
and the 1980s. His 1983 album Let’s Dance made well known by the title track
and the Billboard Top 40 singles Modern Love, China Girl and Blue Jean was not
only well loved by his fans around the world, is also probably his most
commercially successful album to date.
David also appeared in three feature films. The two most
notably known is the science fiction classic The Man To Fell To Earth and the World
War II era prisoner of war movie Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. During the
latter half of the 1990s, he made a pioneering effort to promote his Earthing
album and singles on the internet. Starting a trend which will shape how music
will be shared in a few years time. Even though there are plans for him to
perform at Glastonbury, he made his last public appearance in 2006. His album
Blackstar was released last week.
