After an 18 month battle with cancer, music icon David Bowie has passed away.
The news was confirmed late last night in a post on his Facebook page which read: “David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer. While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family’s privacy during their time of grief.”
The singer and actor had just celebrated his birthday on Friday with the release of his 26th album, titled Blackstar.
Born in Brixton, London as David Jones, he released his first self-titled album in 1967 and then landed on people’s radars in a big way with the 1969 single “Space Oddity.”
Generally considered to be one of the most influential and iconic musicians of the past several decades, Bowie carved out a very distinctive space for himself in the cultural zeitgeist.
Bowie was not only known for his music, but his theatricality as well. He created the Ziggy Stardust persona in 1972 with the release of his album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
In the movie business, he was perhaps most well known for playing Jareth in Labyrinth, but he also appeared in films like The Hunger and The Prestige. He headlined on Broadway as the star of The Elephant Man in 1980.
In 1996, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone ranked him 39th on their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and 23rd on their best singers of all time.
There’s no denying the impact and influence his music has had on people all across the world. His loss is felt deeply, and the cultural landscape is forever changed, both by his contributions and person and now his absence.
David Bowie’s last photo. Photograph by Jimmy King, taken on January 7, 2016.
