David Bowie dies at 69
NEW YORK — David Bowie, the musician who broke pop and rock boundaries with his creative musicianship, nonconformity, striking visuals and a genre-bending persona he christened Ziggy Stardust, died of cancer Sunday. He was 69 and had just released a new album.
Bowie, whose hits included “Fame,” “Heroes” and “Let’s Dance,” died “peacefully” and was surrounded by family, a representative said. The singer had fought cancer for 18 months.
Long before alter egos and wild outfits became commonplace in pop, Bowie set the music world on its ear with the release of the 1972 album, “The Rise of Ziggy Stardust and Spiders from Mars,” which introduced one of music’s most famous personas. Ziggy Stardust was a concept album that imagined a genre-bending rock star from outer space trying to make his way in the music world. The persona — the red-headed, eyeliner wearing Stardust — would become an enduring part of his legacy.
The singer, who was born David Jones in London, came of age in the glam rock era of the early 1970s.
He had some of his biggest successes in the early 1980s with the bombastic “Let’s Dance,” and a massive American tour.
