Bonus: "David Bowie: Starman"

One of music's most influential artists -- and frequently misunderstood characters -- is David Bowie. His influence may run deeper than many realize as a result of all the changes that got him dubbed the "Chameleon" of rock. His influence on glam rock in the 1970s influenced a lot of those kids who ended up putting on glitter and makeup and being hitmakers during the 1980s. Likewise, his 1980s hits like "Let's Dance" influenced a new generation to explore the concept of "dance" music.

A new book arrives this week called David Bowie: Starman that covers his life and times. Culling together interviews over a period of years by those who knew Bowie the best, Paul Trynka tries to help explain the Bowie phenomenon. For 1980s music fans, it includes details behind the making of the Let's Dance LP (including Stevie Ray Vaughan's contribution to it), as well as his movie career, Band Aid, the day of the Live Aid concert, the duet with Mick Jagger on "Dancing in the Street" and the Tin Machine project that rose out of the disappointing results of his Glass Spider tour.

If you'd like to check out the book for yourself, here's a link to it on Amazon:

I'll use this as an excuse to feature a David Bowie song that didn't make it into the Hot 100. From 1980, here's "Ashes to Ashes":