Biography:One of the most popular musicians for over five decades, Bowie sold over 140 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In his career he released eleven number-one albums.
Bowie began his career in 1963, and in 1969 released the song "Space Oddity". Following this he became associated with the glam rock era of the 1970s, adopting his persona Ziggy Stardust and releasing several influential albums, including The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. In 1975 he moved into a genre he termed 'plastic soul', releasing the acclaimed albums Station to Station, Low and Heroes.
In the 1980s he reached his peak commercial success, with "Let's Dance", a transatlantic number one hit from 1983 and his collaboration with Queen, "Under Pressure", becoming a number one in the UK in 1981. In 2013, he returned from a decade-long recording hiatus and released The Next Day, and in 2016 released Blackstar, before dying of liver cancer two days after its release.
He was also acclaimed as an actor on stage and screen, with roles in "The Man Who Fell To Earth", "The Elephant Man", "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence", "Labyrinth", and "Absolute Beginniers".
He was married twice - first, in a "marriage of convenience" to aspiring actress Angie Barnett (1970-80), and later, from 1992 until his death, to Somali supermodel Iman.
Born:January 8, 1947 Birthplace:London, England, United Kingdom
1970-03-20 British snger David Bowie (23) weds British model Angie Barnett, (20) at Bromley Register Office in Beckenham Lane, London; divorce in 1980
1980-02-08 Model Angie Bowie (30) divorces British singer David Bowie (33) after just under 10 years of marriage
1992-04-24 British rock star David Bowie (45) weds Somali supermodel Iman (37) in civil ceremony at city hall in Lausanne, Switzerland
1992-06-06 British rock star David Bowie (45) weds Somali supermodel Iman (37), this time in a formal ceremony at St. James Episcopal Church in Florence, Italy
Historical Events
1964-06-05 Davie Jones & King Bees release debut single "I Can't Help Thinking About Me"; group disbands but Davie Jones goes on to success as David Bowie
1965-09-16 British singer Davie Jones changes his stage name to "David Bowie" to avoid confusion with the Monkee of the same name
1966-01-14 David Bowie releases his 1st single "Can't Help Thinking About Me"
1969-07-11 David Bowie releases the single "Space Oddity" 9 days before Apollo 11 lands on the moon
1971-06-20 Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: David Bowie headlines; other performs include: Joan Baez, Hawkwind, Melanie, Traffic, Fairport Convention, and Quintessence
1972-06-16 RCA releases David Bowie's fifth studio album "The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"; it is considered his artistic breakthrough
1972-09-28 David Bowie sells out his 1st show at NYC's Carnegie Hall
1973-11-16 Singer David Bowie performs on TV's "Midnight Special", set includes duet with Marianne Faithfull covering Sonny & Cher's hit "I Got You, Babe"
1974-05-24 RCA releases "Diamond Dogs", David Bowie's 8th studio album, recorded in London and the Netherlands, with cover design by artist Guy Peellaert, it peaks in the U.S. charts at No. 5, and goes to No. 1 in the U.K. and Canada
1974-07-08 David Bowie's begins 6 consecutive nights of his "Diamond Dogs" tour at Tower Theatre in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania; several shows were recorded and released as the double LP "David Live" later in the year
1975-03-07 RCA releases "Young Americans", David Bowie's 9th studio album, recorded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York City; featuring appearances by John Lennon on two tracks, it peaks in the U.S. charts at No. 9, and No. 2 in the U.K.
1975-07-25 RCA releases David Bowie single "Fame", with cameo appearance by John Lennon
1975-09-20 David Bowie's "Fame," single goes #1 for 2 weeks
1976-01-23 RCA releases "Station to Station", David Bowie's 10th studio album, recorded in Los Angeles; it peaks in the U.S. charts at No.3, and No. 5 in the U.K.
1977-01-14 RCA releases David Bowie's 11th studio album, "Low"; the album is the first collaboration with Brian Eno, in what becomes known as his 'Berlin trilogy'
1977-08-29Iggy Pop releases his second album "Lust for Life", a collaboration with David Bowie
1977-09-11 American crooner Bing Crosby and British singer David Bowie record duet "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" at ATV Elstree Studios near London for television special "Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas"
1977-10-14 RCA releases David Bowie's 12th studio album, "Heroes"; his second collaboration with Brian Eno in what becomes known as his 'Berlin trilogy' features contributions from guitarist Robert Fripp
1979-05-25 RCA releases David Bowie's 13th studio album, "Lodger"; his third collaboration with Brian Eno in what becomes known as his 'Berlin trilogy' features contributions from guitarist Adrian Belew
1979-12-15 British rocker David Bowie performs three songs on American television program Saturday Night Live - "The Man Who Sold the World", "TVC-15" and "Boys Keep Swinging"
1980-07-29 David Bowie stars in dramatic stage play "The Elephant Man" at the Auditorium Theater in Denver, Colorado
1981-10-26 British rock band Queen and David Bowie release their serendipitous collaborative single "Under Pressure"
1983-04-09 David Bowie's single "Let's Dance" becomes his 1st song to hit #1 in both the US and the UK
1983-04-14 EMI America Records releases David Bowie's 15th studio album, "Let's Dance"; co-produced by Bowie and Nile Rodgers, it becomes his biggest commercial success with sales of nearly 11 million units, topping the charts in 9 countries, and introduces guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan to a larger audience
1983-05-21 David Bowie's "Let's Dance" single goes #1
1984-09-14 1st MTV Video Music Awards: The Cars win with "You Might Think", and David Bowie wins with "China Girl"
1984-12-04 6th ACE Cable Awards: "David Bowie: Serious Moonlight" by Anthony Eaton and HBO win
1985-03-23 David Bowie is special surprise guest at Tina Turner concert at NEC arena in Birmingham, England; they perform duets of Bowie's "Tonight" and a medley of Chris Montez' "Let's Dance" and Bowie's song of the same name
1992-08-30 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 1 (Low), based loosely on David Bowie's 1977 album "Low", premieres with the Junge Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, in Munich, Germany
1993-11-08 Arista Records releases David Bowie's 19th studio "The Buddha of Suburbia", based on the novel of the same name by Hanif Kureishi, in the UK and Europe only; it is not released in US until nearly 2 years later
1995-09-25 Virgin Records releases David Bowie's 20th studio album "Outside"
1996-01-17 11th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: David Bowie; Jefferson Airplane; Little Willie John; Gladys Knight and the Pips; Pink Floyd; The Shirelles; The Velvet Underground; Pete Seeger; and Tom Donahue
1997-05-15 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 4 ("Heroes"), based loosely on David Bowie's 1977 album "Heroes", premieres with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields conducted by Martn Brabbins. at the Crouch End Festival in North London, England
2000-06-23 Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: The Chemical Brothers, Travis, and David Bowie headline; other performers include G. Love & Special Sauce, David Gray, Willie Nelson, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Macy Gray
2003-09-15 ISO/Columbia Records releases David Bowie's 23rd studio album, "Reality"; he supports it with what becomes his final concert tour
2006-05-29 Singer David Bowie joins guitarist David Gilmour as special guest during encore at Royal Albert Hall, London concert; they perform "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb" in what becomes Bowie's final UK appearance
2006-11-09 British rocker David Bowie performs on stage for the final time - three songs at a charity concert in New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom: "Wild Is the Wind", "Fantastic Voyage", and a duet of "Changes" with Alicia Keys
2015-12-07 David Bowie’s final public appearance, at the opening of his musical "Lazarus" at New York Theatre Workshop, NYC
2016-01-08 ISO/Columbia Records/Sony Music release David Bowie's 26th and final studio album "Blackstar" on his 69th birthday; enters charts in US and UK at #1
2019-01-10 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 12 (Lodger), based loosely on David Bowie's 1979 album "Lodger" premieres with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by John Adams, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California
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