David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 â€" 10 January 2016), known
professionally as David Bowie (/ˈboʊi/ BOH-ee), was an English
singer-songwriter and actor. He was a leading figure in the music
industry and is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of
the 20th century. He was acclaimed by critics and musicians,
particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was
marked by reinvention and visual presentation, with his music and
stagecraft having a significant impact on popular music. During his
lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records
worldwide, made him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum album certifications, eleven
gold and eight silver, and released eleven number-one albums. In the
US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Rolling Stone
placed him among its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and
named him the "Greatest Rock Star Ever" following his death in
2016.Born in Brixton, South London, Bowie developed an interest in
music as a child. He studied art, music and design before embarking on
a professional career as a musician in 1963. "Space Oddity", released
in 1969, was his first top-five entry on the UK Singles Chart. After a
period of experimentation, he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock
era with his flamboyant and androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. The
character was spearheaded by the success of Bowie's single "Starman"
and album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from
Mars, which won him widespread popularity. In 1975, Bowie's style
shifted towards a sound he characterised as "plastic soul", initially
alienating many of his UK fans but garnering him his first major US
crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" and the album
Young Americans. In 1976, Bowie starred in the cult film The Man Who
Fell to Earth, directed by Nicolas Roeg, and released Station to
Station. In 1977, he further confounded expectations with the
electronic-inflected album Low, the first of three collaborations with
Brian Eno that came to be known as the "Berlin Trilogy". "Heroes"
(1977) and Lodger (1979) followed; each album reached the UK top five
and received lasting critical praise.After uneven commercial success
in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single
"Ashes to Ashes", its album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and
"Under Pressure", a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He reached his
commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance; its title track topped both
UK and US charts. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to
experiment with musical styles, including industrial and jungle. He
also continued acting; his roles included Major Jack Celliers in Merry
Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), Jareth the Goblin King in Labyrinth
(1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and
Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television
appearances and cameos. He stopped touring after 2004 and his last
live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie
returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with The Next Day. He
remained musically active until his death from liver cancer at his
home in New York City, two days after his 69th birthday and the
release of his final album, Blackstar (2016). Blackstar won British
Album of the Year at the 2017 Brit Awards and five Grammy Awards at
the 2017 Grammy Awards. David Bowie Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter