He was born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947 in South London, and he influenced pop culture and music for four decades, creating an alien rock star and eventually selling 140 million records.
A BBC poll in 2002 of the 100 Greatest Britons ranked David Bowie 29th. Rolling Stone ranked him 39th on its list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.
There seemed to be no end to his talents. He was a singer and songwriter and he could play any instrument in the band. He was a record producer and arranger. He danced, painted, and he could act.
In 1996 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
David Bowie died Sunday after fighting cancer for a year.
Here’s a well-known clip from Extras with Bowie composing (hilariously), singing, playing the piano, and not taking himself (or Ricky Gervais) too seriously.
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Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here.
2 Comments
[Human, all too human:] why Bowie, and not – e.g. Boulez ?
Thank you for posting this tribute and thereby acknowledging that we all are multi-dimensional, if not as multi-talented as David Bowie, and can appreciate great talent and humor even while we fight corruption.
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