Has a musician ever meant more to you than as just a person who makes music? He, she or they may have become an inspiration or role model, and perhaps even become a part of your identity and how you see yourself.
David Bowie, who died on Sunday at the age of 69, was one of those rare musicians who “earned admiration and emulation across the musical spectrum — from rockers, balladeers, punks, hip-hop acts, creators of pop spectacles and even classical composers,” writes Jon Pareles in this Times obituary.
He continues:
Mr. Bowie was his generation’s standard-bearer for rock as theater: something constructed and inflated yet sincere in its artifice, saying more than naturalism could. With a voice that dipped down to baritone and leapt into falsetto, he was complexly androgynous, an explorer of human impulses that could not be quantified.
In “Tributes to David Bowie in the Place Where It All Started,” Dan Bilefsky and Madeleine Kruhly write that his fans described him as a “master of reinvention,” a “genius” and the “first post-modern pop star.”
Singers across the world expressed admiration for a man whose eclectic musical incarnations — jazz, pop music, rock — proved inspiring across genres and geography.
Madonna said that she was devastated and noted that a David Bowie show was the first concert she had ever seen in Detroit. “This great Artist changed my life!” she wrote on Twitter.
“Talented. Unique. Genius. Game Changer. The Man who Fell to Earth. Your Spirit Lives on Forever!” she also wrote.
The rock musician Billy Idol wrote on Twitter: “Nearly brought to tears by sudden news of @DavidBowieReal David Bowie’s passing RIP.”
The musician and rapper Kanye West lauded Mr. Bowie’s boldness and courage: “David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations, so fearless, so creative, he gave us magic for a lifetime,” he wrote on Twitter.
Students: Read the entire essay, then tell us …
— What musicians or bands mean the most to you? Why?
— What is it about their music or personality that you admire?
— Do they inspire you? Are they role models for you? Do they help define what’s “cool” in your mind?
— Were you familiar with David Bowie before reading the article? How did you react to his death?
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