Here’s a look at the life of British singer, songwriter and actor David Bowie.
Personal:
Birth date: January 8, 1947
Death date: January 10, 2016
Birth place: London, England
Birth name: David Robert Hayward Jones
Father: Hayward Jones, a publicist
Mother: Margaret Mary (Burns) Jones
Marriages: Iman (1992-his death); Angela Barnett (March 20, 1970-1980)
Children: with Iman: Alexandria, August 15, 2000; with Angela Barnett: Duncan, 1971
Other Facts:
His stage personas included Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, and the Thin White Duke.
His left eye was permanently dilated after he injured it in a fight as a teenager.
Studied mime and theater in his youth.
Overcame drug addiction in the 1970s and gave up drinking alcohol.
Nominated for 18 Grammy Awards, won 2 – a Lifetime Achievement award in 2006 and an award for Best Video, Short Form in 1985 for “Jazzin’ for Blue Jean.”
Nominated and won one Daytime Emmy Award.
Timeline:
1964 – Forms his first band, David Jones and the King Bees. Other early bands include The Manish Boys, The Lower Third and The Buzz.
1965 – Changes his name to David Bowie to prevent being confused with Davy Jones, who was the lead singer of The Monkees.
1967 – Releases a solo album with Deram Records.
1969 – “Space Oddity” becomes a Top 10 hit in Britain.
1970 – Releases first solo album, “Man of Words, Man of Music.” It was re-released in 1972 in the U.S. as “Space Oddity.”
1971 – The album “The Man Who Sold the World” is released. Bowie appears on the cover wearing make-up and a dress.
1971 – Bowie is signed by RCA. Releases “Hunky Dory,” which includes the single “Changes.”
1972 – Releases “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.”
1970s – Releases “Aladdin Sane,” “Diamond Dogs,” “Young Americans,” “Station to Station,” “Low,” “Heroes,” and “Lodger.”
1976 – Stars in the film “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”
November 1977 – “Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas” special airs. Bowie and Crosby sing “The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth” together.
1980 – Plays on Broadway in “The Elephant Man.” Also stars in the vampire film “The Hunger.”
1983 – Leaves RCA for EMI and releases “Let’s Dance,” which featured the hits “Let’s Dance,” “Modern Love,” and “China Girl.”
1984 – Wins a Grammy for Best Short Form Video for “David Bowie.”
1980s – Releases “Scary Monster,” “Tonight,” and “Never Let Me Down.”
1988 – Appears in “The Last Temptation of Christ.”
1989 – Forms the group Tin Machine. The band releases two albums.
1992 – Tin Machine breaks up.
January 17, 1996 – Is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
1997 – Releases the song “Telling Lies” over the Internet.
June 25, 2004 – While on tour, visits a hospital in Hamburg, Germany, for treatment of pain in his arm. Doctors later discover a blocked artery and perform an angioplasty.
2006 – Receives the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
2013 – Releases a new album entitled “The Next Day.”
December 7, 2015 – “Lazarus,” written by Bowie and Edna Walsh, opens off-Broadway at the New York City Workshop. The musical is based on the science fiction novel “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” in which Bowie played the lead role in the 1976 movie version.
December 18, 2015 – Bowie releases the title track from the musical. “Lazarus” is one of the tracks on Bowie’s newest album “Blackstar” and is digitally available on NPR music.
January 8, 2016 – The album “Blackstar” is released.
January 10, 2016 – Bowie dies at age 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer.
December 6, 2016 – Bowie receives four posthumous Grammy nominations for “Blackstar.” The album’s art director also gets a nod for best recording package.