Tuesday Tribute: David Bowie

Musician, actor, and producer extraordinaire, David Bowie has always been one of the more interesting characters in the music world since his break into the business in 1969. From there, Bowie has become a symbol for glam rock, funk, punk, psychedelic and alternative rock. Much of Bowie's early success was sparked from his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, where his concept album Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars produced such hits as "Starman," "Suffragette City," and "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide." In the mid-70's Bowie successfully re-emerged with a new funky sound with hits like "Fame," "Young Americans," and "Golden Years." Bowie pushed on through the eighties with such hits as "Let's Dance," "Under Pressure," which was a collaboration with Queen, and a version of "Dancing In The Street" with Mick Jagger. He was one of the many big names to grace the stage at Wembley Stadium for Live Aid in 1985 and even broke into acting in the eighties, most notably in the Jim Henson movie "Labyrinth." Bowie has become a huge pop-culture icon over the years, both for his achievements, as well as his style and sexuality. He was an important part of one of the more notable Flight of the Conchords episodes as well a the inspiration behind The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou soundtrack. He has become a go-to for artsy and creative people everywhere for inspiration and ideas. For his contributions to culture and entertainment, we will explore the achievements of David Bowie.

First up this week is one of the funkier tunes to ever come out of a white person. "Fame" was one of the hits that defined Bowie's soul/funk era and despite a pretty basic bassline, the guitar riffs are just phenomenal.



Here's some in your face rock from Bowie with "Queen Bitch." Gotta love his get-up in this one. Nothing out of the ordinary for a man who prided himself on kind of looking like a girl.



For a change of pace, here's a Portuguese cover of "Life on Mars?" by Brazilian acoustic guitar player Seu Jorge. The song was done for the soundtrack of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou along with various other Bowie covers. I recommend checking it out.



Last up is Bowie hitting the stage at Soul Train for a version of "Golden Years." Once again, he gets feet moving on the dance floor with a disco-like funk groove. One for the ages!