In the history of rock and roll music, there have been many bands and artists who have come and gone, and have had a significant impact on the lives of young people promising musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Nirvana and many others. There was an artist from the '70s who not only made an impact musically, but also changed the rules of rock and roll and showed millions of fans that there's nothing wrong with being unique. Who is this guy? David Bowie was one of the greatest rockers and forward-thinking songwriters of all time. Most people call him a musical chameleon because he always changes his look and sound throughout his career. Over the years, Bowie helped create new musical trends and styles that not only gave rock its edge, but a sense of self-appreciation so that each artist could express their own feelings and emotions. David Bowie was born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947, in a poor suburb called Brixton in London, England. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Bowie began showing interest in music at an early age. He started playing the saxophone at the age of 13. He was heavily influenced by his half-brother Terry, who exposed him to the world of rock music and beat literature. From that point on, Bowie began to feel like he was playing rock music himself. After graduating from high school, he led a group called Davy Jones and the Lower Third. Bowie eventually left on his own. However, after recording an unsuccessful solo album, Bowie took a break from the music business. By early 1969, David had returned to music full-time. He signed to Mercury Records and that summer released arguably David Bowie's most famous song to date: "Space Oddity.": Ground Control to Major TomTake your protein pills and put on your helmetGround Control to Major Tom ( ten, nine, eight, seven, six) Countdown starting, engines running (five, four, three) Check the ignition and may God's love be with you (two, one, take off) This is the check down to Major Tom You've really reached the finish lineAnd the newspapers want to know what shirts you're wearing. Now is the time to leave the capsule if you dare. It was a remarkably intimate song that included a conversation between an astronaut and his ground control team. This song was about alienation and distancing yourself from people by being so caught up in your own mind that you are so above everyone else. It's about seeing the world as a sad place, but not being able to communicate that to anyone. The first verse "Ground Control to Major Tom, Ground Control to Major Tom", explains how he had lost all communication with those on the ground. The phrase "And the newspapers want to know whose shirts you're wearing", something so small and unimportant that no one would ever care about, is metaphorically like looking into space from Earth. These lyrics were inspired by a 1968 science fiction film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The song has a very acoustic sound. When this single was released, it was around the same time that American astronauts landed on the moon, leading many people to believe that this event inspired the song. In a 2003 interview with Performing Songwriter magazine, David Bowie commented: “In England, it was always thought that it was written about landing in space because he became famous around the same time. But it wasn't. It was written because I was going to see the movie 2001, which I foundsurprising. I was freaked out anyway, I was very high when I went to see it, several times, and for me it was a revelation. It made the song flow.” From that point on, Bowie continued to release even more successful albums. The album "The Man Who Sold the World" was released a year later, in 1970. It was not as successful as the first, but it brought him further to stardom. He showed people that David had potential and that he was on his way to becoming a breakthrough artist. This album had more of a massive, abrasive hard rock sound, something that even Bowie had not amassed. Most people considered him a prototype of punk rock. Furthermore, his fans considered this album to be the beginning of his classic era. The collection also included the song "All the Madmen": Day after day They send my friends away In cold gray buildings At the edge of town Where the skinny men wander the streets While the sane stay underground Day after day They tell me that I can go They tell me I can blow the other side of town, where it's no use getting high, cause the road is so long, this song is about someone who's mostly about to go crazy. In a way it offers perspective on Bowie's attitude towards mental asylums. It idealises life and the people who are locked up in mental institutions. In the first line “Day after day they send my friends away”, the speaker expresses how all his friends suddenly leave to be locked up in these houses. Then it continues to repeat itself in the first verse. “While the sane remain underground,” expresses how those who are not mentally ill live healthy lives on Earth, while those who are mentally ill are found above because their minds are different from ours. The song was inspired by his half-brother Terry, who had a mental illness. He was locked up in a mental hospital where he later committed suicide. His next song, "Hunky Dory" was released in 1971. It demonstrated his maturity as a singer and songwriter. It also included songs titled "Andy Warhol" and "Song for Bob Dylan", which shows that these two artists greatly influenced him. The highlight of the album was the song "Life on Mars", which contained a truly powerful ballad: It's a terribly small little thing For the girl with mousy hair But her mama's screaming no And her daddy told her to go But her friend is nowhere to be seen Now she walks through her sunken dream To the place with the clearest view And she's fascinated by the big screen The song had probably one of the strangest lyrics Bowie ever wrote. It started with a really amazing piano sound, and then connected with an electric guitar and drums. This song is about how our entertainment has become so all-encompassing and important that our lives have started to imitate it. The first line of the song says "the mousy haired girl", which shows that the girl has a lot of problems in her life that involve dealing with her parents. The song was released in 1971, when teenagers were becoming rebellious against their parents. After being kicked out by her parents due to her drama-filled life, her friend is nowhere to be found, so she has no one. To deal with his drama, he relies on fun to escape. This song helped the album achieve huge chart success in Great Britain and even the United States. Another song, "Changes": Still, I don't know what I've been waiting for And my time was ticking by A million dead ends and Every time I thought I'd make it It seemed like the taste wasn't so sweet So, I turned to face meBut I never glimpsedHow they mustsee others the fakerI'm too quick to take that testThis song is about growing up and doing wild things, but that doesn't realize what he's doing at that moment moment. Then people grow up and see others (teenagers) doing the same; there is not much that can be done to control them. “I still don't know what I was waiting for, and my time was running wild” He remembers his younger years, and how he let them slip away without worrying too much about time. This song personified Bowie because there was some speculation about his sexual orientation and whether he was gay, due to his androgynous appearance. He did not provide a response to the statement. The following year Bowie would do something no other musician would ever think of doing, and he would forever change the way others viewed rock and roll music. In 1972, David Bowie released one of his most famous and significant albums entitled “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars”. He wanted to create a concept based on an alien rock star, Ziggy Stardust, who had come to earth in hopes of becoming a big superstar until he decides to end his career in England and return to space. Ziggy had become Bowie's new character, and from then on he would present himself like this in all his concerts. The name Ziggy Stardust was chosen by his friend Iggy Pop and a cowboy named Stardust. His main inspiration for the character was a pre-Beatles British rock musician named Vince Taylor. Bowie now led the glam rock movement. Ziggy Stardust was a huge success in England and also in some parts of America. Songs like "5 Years", "Starman" and "Suffragette City" are considered some of the best work Bowie ever made along with "Space Oddity". The album was a huge success and was seen as a turning point in Bowie's career. Also, Bowie's song "Heroes": Even if nothing, nothing will keep us together We can beat them, forever Oh, we can be heroes just for one day For a long time, David told people that the song was about two lovers who were both close at Berlin Wall, but the song was inspired by Bowie's producer/engineer Tony Visconti and his girlfriend. Because of their secret relationship, he had never been able to explain the true meaning of the song "Heroes" until now, and the lyrics spoke for themselves: "Even if nothing, nothing keeps us together, we can beat them, forever and ever ". “This meant that they would not stop fighting until they were together at the end. Both lovers had a huge desire for happiness and love, despite their flaws and the feeling that the world would keep them apart. Bowie's albums” The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust” and “The Spiders from Mars” were just one of the first albums that allowed him to realize his ideas regarding the combination of rock music and theater. From the beginning of his career David Bowie has tried to represent rock as theatre, and this is one of the main reasons for the continuous change of his stage appearances. According to Philip Auslander (2009), he noted: "Bowie not only imagined the rock concert as a staged, costumed performance. theatrical, but understood his performances and his relationship with the audience in actorly terms [...] Rather than developing a coherent personality, Bowie sang in many voices and from many thematic positions without clearly identifying with any of them.” Bowie's interest in theater has always been the cornerstone of his career. Bowie wrote his own lyrics, which were later seen as dramas like those seen in a theater, and these lyrics would tie in with whatever new characters struck his imagination. He felt that the world had.