David Bowie (1947–2016) was an English singer and songwriter whose five decades of reinvention — glam, soul, the Berlin Trilogy, art pop — shaped modern music like few others. Start with Ziggy Stardust (1972), then follow whichever era pulls you, right through to Blackstar. Dig into David Bowie vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
David Robert Jones was born in Brixton, London on January 8, 1947. He adopted the stage name David Bowie in 1965 to avoid confusion with Davy Jones of the Monkees. His career across more than five decades produced 27 studio albums and dozens of singles, with multiple eras of artistic reinvention defining his work. Key periods include the glam rock era (1971-1973, anchored by Ziggy Stardust), the soul/funk Young Americans period (1974-1975), the Berlin Trilogy with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti (Low, Heroes, Lodger, 1977-1979), the commercial pop peak of Let's Dance (1983), the Tin Machine project (1989-1992), and the late-career renaissance culminating in The Next Day (2013) and Blackstar (2016), released two days before his death from liver cancer on January 10, 2016.
Bowie's catalog moves through glam rock, art rock, soul, funk, electronic, ambient, post-punk, new wave, industrial, and art pop, with each major period typically marking a sonic and visual transformation. His collaborators across this work included Mick Ronson, Brian Eno, Tony Visconti, Carlos Alomar, Robert Fripp, Nile Rodgers, Reeves Gabrels, and many others. His influence on popular music, fashion, and visual presentation is widely regarded as one of the most far-reaching of any 20th century artist.
Original RCA pressings of the 1970s catalog are foundational items in classic rock and art rock collecting. The catalog has been extensively reissued through Parlophone, Rhino, and Sony, with multiple anniversary box sets (Five Years 1969-1973, Who Can I Be Now? 1974-1976, A New Career in a New Town 1977-1982, and others). The Bowie estate has continued posthumous archival releases including extensive live releases.
Listeners new to David Bowie typically start with The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972) or Hunky Dory (1971). Heroes (1977) and Blackstar (2016) are common entry points for his later work.
