Shan JayaweeraDavid Bowie
November 3rd 2006 03:01
David Bowie (born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and audio engineer, whose work spans more than four decades. An occasionally camp figure, he is recognised as one of the more accomplished and inspired artists in popular music. Throughout the 1970s he took cues from art, philosophy and literature and appeared to elevate pop and rock to a more sophisticated level. He is also a film and stage actor, music video director and visual artist.
Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in the autumn of 1969, when his space-age mini-melodrama "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK singles chart. The song was reissued in 1975 where it reached #1 in the UK. It is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who mysteriously becomes lost in Outer Space.
In 1975 Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" and the hit album Young Americans. While staying in New York Bowie met John Lennon. The pair socialised and jammed together, which led to a one-day session at The Power Plant studio in January 1975. Firstly a cover of The Beatles’ "Across the Universe" was recorded, then a new song called "Fame". Despite having only a minor contribution, Lennon was given a co-writing credit.
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, in 1980 Bowie had a UK number one "Ashes to Ashes" and its parent album, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). He paired with Queen for the 1981 UK chart-topper "Under Pressure", but consolidated his commercial – and, until then, most profitable – sound in 1983 with the album Let's Dance, which yielded the hit singles "China Girl", "Modern Love" and, most famously, the title track.
Heavily influenced by producer Nile Rodgers’ work with his band CHIC, “Let’s Dance" features a thumping bassline, combined with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar playing.
The music video, made with David Mallet on location in Australia, features Bowie watching an Aboriginal couple’s struggles against metaphors of Western cultural imperialism impassively while playing with his band.
Since the mid-80s only a handful of Bowie’s recordings have entered public consciousness. In the British Broadcasting Corporation's 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Bowie ranked 29. Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 136 million albums, and ranks among the ten best-selling acts in UK pop history.
*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia articles Let's Dance (David Bowie song), Fame (David Bowie song), Space Oddity and David Bowie.
Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in the autumn of 1969, when his space-age mini-melodrama "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK singles chart. The song was reissued in 1975 where it reached #1 in the UK. It is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who mysteriously becomes lost in Outer Space.
In 1975 Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" and the hit album Young Americans. While staying in New York Bowie met John Lennon. The pair socialised and jammed together, which led to a one-day session at The Power Plant studio in January 1975. Firstly a cover of The Beatles’ "Across the Universe" was recorded, then a new song called "Fame". Despite having only a minor contribution, Lennon was given a co-writing credit.
After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, in 1980 Bowie had a UK number one "Ashes to Ashes" and its parent album, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). He paired with Queen for the 1981 UK chart-topper "Under Pressure", but consolidated his commercial – and, until then, most profitable – sound in 1983 with the album Let's Dance, which yielded the hit singles "China Girl", "Modern Love" and, most famously, the title track.
Heavily influenced by producer Nile Rodgers’ work with his band CHIC, “Let’s Dance" features a thumping bassline, combined with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar playing.
The music video, made with David Mallet on location in Australia, features Bowie watching an Aboriginal couple’s struggles against metaphors of Western cultural imperialism impassively while playing with his band.
Since the mid-80s only a handful of Bowie’s recordings have entered public consciousness. In the British Broadcasting Corporation's 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Bowie ranked 29. Throughout his career he has sold an estimated 136 million albums, and ranks among the ten best-selling acts in UK pop history.
*This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia articles Let's Dance (David Bowie song), Fame (David Bowie song), Space Oddity and David Bowie.
| 72 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Kristen
Silly American