MUSIC N'AT

    When I awoke on Monday morning to the news of David Bowie's passing I was mildly shocked. Bowie had just celebrated his 69th birthday last week with his latest release, "Blackstar". I didn't even know he was sick. Then came the news that he had privately battled cancer for the past 18 months. On Sunday night Bowie lost that battle as he was surrounded by his family at his home in New York.

     I felt sorrow at Bowie's passing but it didn't hit me the way John Lennon's or George Harrison's or Jerry Garcia's deaths did. Or did it? You'd never hear me say "Oh, I have to get the new David Bowie album" or "I wish Bowie would tour again". I was just never that big of a fan. As someone that doesn't care for science fiction, the whole Life on Mars/space-thing didn't thrill me. But then I got to thinking....I could hear Bowie's music in my head. I pulled up several tunes on the computer, everything from "Ashes to Ashes" to "Rebel Rebel", to "Fame" to "Let's Dance" to "Blue Jean" and many others in between. Dammit, I was a Bowie fan. I just didn't know it. Sure, I don't know any of his obscure tunes, just the hits. But he sure did have alot of them.

     With a career that spanned 6 decades, it's difficult to look back at it from beginning to end. What do we REALLY know about Bowie? He'd been a celebrity all these years but, much like his illness, he managed to keep his private life relatively private. What we do know is that he was born David Jones but changed his surname to Bowie to avoid confusion with the Monkee Davy Jones. At the time of his death, he was married to supermodel Iman. They were married since 1992. He leaves behind 2 children. He once performed on Soul Train. He owned a company that developed the New York Yankess original website. His eyes were 2 different colors.

       Clearly he was more than a voice on the car stereo and he refused to be pigeonholed. He was singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, artist, visionary. Bowie did it all and he did it his way, constantly re-inventing himself so that you never knew what to expect. Whether it was Ziggy Stardust, Major Tom, Starman or the Thin White Duke, Bowie was an original. He blazed an adrogynous, gender-bending trail before it became all the rage, influencing countless others across multiple genres. Alice Cooper, Kiss, Marilyn Manson, Talking Heads, Nirvana and Madonna are just a few that owe the Thin White Duke a debt of gratitude. Working with the likes of Brian Eno, John Lennon, Nile Rodgers, Bing Crosby, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Iggy Pop, David stormed his way through rock, pop, soul, punk and grunge like Ziggy Stradust flying across the cosmos.

     There won't be another David Bowie. But we fans can take solice in the fact that he may have lost his battle with cancer but his legacy will span generations. Rest In Peace, Mr. Bowie and may God's love be with you.