David Bowie, one of the most legendary rock musicians, died of cancer this Sunday, Jan. 10. It was just two days after his 69th birthday when he released his final album “Blackstar”. This loss shocked the whole world as Bowie’s disease was not publicly announced.
David Bowie had a huge impact on music, including Seattle music scene. Shortly after the news about his death was announced, many of famous Seattle musicians started posting their tributes on social media. Krist Novoselic of Nirvana called Bowie “legendary” and thanked him for the music. Chris Cornell of Soungarden said that 140 characters (Twitter limit) “will not suffice (nor will ten thousand words)”. Carrie Brownstein compared losing Bowie to losing “an entire color”.
The legendary musician impacted Seattle grunge greatly – just as the music world in general on so many levels. He influenced many Seattle bands in the 80s, such as Pearl Jam and Mother Love Bone.
Kurt Cobain, a Seattle rock legend, owned Bowie’s albums. Nirvana’s cover of Bowie’s song “The Man Who Sold The World” became a surprise and introduced his music to the generation of the 90s. The cover itself became one of the most well-known Nirvana’s recordings. And Bowie’s early glam period in the 70s affected early Seattle punk rockers.
Bowie played several shows in Seattle over the years. His biggest concerts in Seattle were at the Tacoma Dome in 1983, 1990 and 1995. The last times David Bowie played in Seattle were two shows in 2004.
KEXP, a Seattle radio station, had an all-Bowie day on Friday, when his new album was released. The stream is still available online and many people outside of Seattle visit the website to listen to it.
David Bowie’s death was just as spectacular and mysterious as his life. His impact on Seattle music and the rest of the world will live on, making him one of the brightest stars on the rock’n’roll vault of heaven.
David Bowie was a true musician and inspired so many others to follow the same path. It is so sad to see him go. Hail to the goblin king!
David Bowie, definitely made a mark on this world.. which is not really easy to do.. I was actually introduced to David Bowie’s music through Nirvana back in 1994 when they did the cover “The Man Who Sold The World”.. I was a huge Nirvana fan.. as I’ve never been to Seattle, I didn’t realize the mark he made there until reading this article. What you said in this article is true, his death was just as spectacular and mysterious as his life.. He remained creative all the way to the very end.. or shall we say his new beginning.. depending on how one looks at death.. Thank you for sharing this amazing article.. keep smiling
He was an inspiration to so many people! It’s so that he’s no longer here but we have his music to keep him alive in our hearts. I heard that his final album went to number one, to bad he’s not here to see that!
My condolences go out to each and every member of David Bowie’s family. I was very shocked and upset about hearing the news of his passing. I didn’t even know that he was sick! And, here I was waiting to hear news about when he was going to play in a Labyrinth sequel! This is very upsetting. We are losing way too many beloved celebrities. I wish that all of the world’s favorite celebrities could live forever (other than my wish for my beloved family members to live forever, too). And, he was so young!