One of the truly greats has passed on. David Bowie has died too young at 69.
There was no one like him. So innovative, such a talent. Any one of his personas would be worth celebrating but he did so many different things so well. He is already missed and will be missed for a long, long time.
As you might have noticed, I read another David Bowie bio recently. I enjoyed that one, but this one is better.
Christopher Sanford, the author, is very thorough. And I do mean very. I learned so much about Bowie by reading this book. I will say that the author is not just a Bowie fan-boy, he offers an extensive portrait of the star, warts and all, through all of Bowie’s personalities and personas. Bowie is no saint and that is made clear here. On the other hand, he is a musical superstar, deserved so, and that is made clear too.
From the Amazon web site:
Based on interviews with family members, colleagues, lovers, and the previously silent William Burroughs, this unsparing yet evenhanded biography guides the reader through the many personas, crises, and musical metamorphoses of David Bowie—also known as Davy Jones, the Laughing Gnome, Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke, a drug-addled grandfather of punk, actor, art aficionado, political activist, one of rock’s most resonant icons, and a totem of modern pop culture. Nowhere else is the man and musician so convincingly deconstructed and so compellingly humanized.
My biggest regret about this book is that chronologically it ends at 1997, with the “Earthling” album. I enjoyed the book and would have liked to know more about the later years and the subsequent albums.
That said, this is a really well-written and comprehensive book about David Bowie and does a great job of chronicling his life and music. Recommended.
The seventies were a weird time for music. On the one hand there was the great new wave and punk movement, on the other there was the horribleness of disco. Yeah, but throughout the decade there was also the amazing and varied music of David Bowie.
The book I just finished, “The Man Who Sold The World: David Bowie And The 1970s” by Peter Doggett is a lengthy but interesting account of Bowie in arguably his most productive and interesting decade. Nothing against his other work, I am a huge fan of his, but from Space Oddity through Scary Monsters in the seventies (roughly) there was also Ziggy Stardust, Young Americans, Hunky Dory, Diamond Dogs and a number of other ground-breaking albums and ever-shifting personnas and identities.
David Bowie celebrated his 66th birthday recently, by releasing a new single and also a new album (finally) is due soon. Great news for those of us who had heard that he’d retired from music.
So that made me think of his classic songs (there are SO many) and I decided to feature this gem from forty years ago! Is it dated? Well maybe, but not for me. I still love his look back then and it’s a really well-written song. And sung too of course. Enjoy the video, circa 1973, for “Life On Mars”:
What do you think, feel free to leave a comment…
David Bowie web site | wikipedia | music and video
Turn and face the strange.
This song keeps running through my head. Life has held many changes lately. They say it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react to it that matters. Do you think that is true? Anyway, here’s the fantastic David Bowie. Check it out!
You could always leave a comment below…????
