David Bowie (David Robert Jones) was born January 8, 1947, in London, England, and died January 10, 2016, in New York City. From a young age, he showed interest in music. He started playing the saxophone at age thirteen. David was hugely influenced by his half brother, Terry, who was nine years older than him. Terry introduced David to the world of rock-and-roll music and beat literature, but Terry had many battles with mental illness and was committed to an institution. Terry committed suicide in 1985, and his tragic past haunted Bowie for the rest of his life, which he writes about in “Jump They Say.” David graduated from Bromley Technical High School at age sixteen and started working as a commercial artist. He continued to play music with other bands and even started his own group called Davy Jones and the Lower Third. Several singles came out during this time, but nothing led Bowie towards fame. With a fear of being confused with Davy Jones from The Monkees, he changed his name to David Bowie.

Finally, Bowie made the decision to go out on his own, but with no success, he left the music world for a temporary time. He was very experimental in these years and even lived at a Buddhist monastery in Scotland. Also, he met Angela Barnett and married on March 20, 1970. They had one son together, Duncan Jones, nicknamed “Zowie,” in 1971. The couple later divorced in 1980.

In 1969, Bowie also released the single “Space Oddity.” The song was a great success. Bowie became even more famous after The Man Who Sold the World in 1970. In 1971, Hunky Dory came out with two big hits that truly changed Bowie.

Bowie continued on to become Ziggy Stardust and release many more albums. He would also star on Broadway in The Elephant Man. Bowie starred in the Labyrinth and bounced around between music and film.

Overall, David Bowie released 26 albums and left a mark on the world that cannot be erased. He showed the beauty of individuality and creativity that had not yet been seen. His battle with cancer may be over, but his legacy will live on.