The hallmark of rock and rolls greats often lies in the
chameleon like ease with which each persona and
musical foray continues to evolve.
David Bowie, as a musician, performer and
songwriter, continually reinvented himself and his art.
After living each legendary character to the utmost,
he deconstructed that which made him singular, then
a new element would arise to confound and entice
the masses who thought they had just figured out his
latest incarnation. Bowie exemplifies the 70s
aesthetic....from his humble folkie beginnings to the
glitter and glam of Ziggy Stardust, to the elegance of
the Thin White Duke, at each twist and turn of his
career, created more than one myth to harken back
to his creative visions.
David Robert Jones was born in Brixton on January
8, 1947. At age fifteen, inspired by the jazz of the
West End, he picked up the saxophone and called up
Ronnie Ross for lessons. Early bands that he played
with, the Kon-Rads, the King Bees, the Manish Boys,
and the Lower Third provided him with an
introduction into the showy world of pop and mod,
and by 1966 he was David Bowie, with long hair and
aspirations of stardom rustling about his head.
Kenneth Pitt signed on as his manager, and his
career began with a handful of mostly forgotten
singles. It wasnt until 1969 that the splashdown into
the charts would begin, with the legendary Space
Oddity (which peaked at number 5 in the U.K.).
Amidst his musical wanderings in the late 60s, he
experimented with mixed media, mime, Tibetan
Buddhism, acting, and love. His first album, originally
titled Man of Words, Man of Music, pays homage to
all the influences of the London artistic scene, and
shows the early songwriting talent that was to yield
some of rock and rolls finest works, even if it would
take the rest of the world a few years to catch up with
him.
And Bowie continues to break new ground with the
Internet-only release of his latest single Telling
Lies. More than 30 years after his debut, the
question of what David Bowie will do next remains
one of the most compelling in rock.
