16A: David Bowie
David Bowie was born in London in 1947. He is considered one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. He was a trendsetter in fashion, music, film, and art. He dabbled in glam, punk, electronica, jazz, and everything else. One constant was that visual presentation always played a big role in his music. (Oh, you don’t know what “glam rock” is? It was formed in England in the 1970s by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, platform shoes, and glitter.)
His dad loved music. When David heard “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard, he said he “heard God.” He learned to play several instruments, including ukulele, tea-chest bass, piano, and sax. He also took dance lessons. In college he studied art, design, and music. (There’s a video about a tea-chest bass at the end of this lesson.)
Young David Bowie
David Bowie was known for constantly re-inventing himself. He developed several personas over the years. (Question 1 – What’s a persona?) Here are some of his looks over the years. Crazy, huh?
One of his first personas was “Ziggy Stardust,” a fictional character from outer space. Here’s one of his performances from that era.
His next era, in the mid to late 1970s, was known as “Plastic Soul.” (Question 2 — What’s an “era”?) Here’s “Fame.”
Here’s another from that same period, called “Fashion.”
David Bowie acted in about 28 films during his lifetime, many of which developed a cult following. (Remember what “cult following” means? The band Big Star had one.) In addition to acting, he often wrote and performed the music in his movies. Here he is playing on the TV show Saturday Night Live. This includes clips of his films.
Countless artists over the years have been fans of David Bowie. Among them were 1990s superstars Nirvana. Here they are, with acoustic instruments, performing the song we just heard.
Bowie hit his commercial peak in the mid 1980s. (“Commercial” means he was really popular — he sold a lot of records, was played on the radio, and performed for huge crowds.) This persona was known as the “Thin White Duke.” Here’s an awesome song called “Modern Love.”
He wrote some songs that became big hits for other people. One of his best-known songs is “All the Young Dudes,” made popular by the band Mott the Hoople. Check this out. It’s a great example of glam rock. (See if you can glimpse the bass player’s boots.)
Doing okay? We’re almost done.
Here’s Bowie later in his career, in 2000, singing “All the Young Dudes” at an outdoor show in England. Still super cool, isn’t he?
After he died in 2016, Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed him “The Greatest Rock Star Ever.” The next morning, the TV show Good Morning America ran this remembrance.
Answers:
1 — A “persona” is a personality or character, usually developed for the public.
2 — An “era” is a period of time.
Oh, and here’s that bonus video — a demonstration of how to make and play a tea-chest bass.