Cancer has taken the life of legendary musician, actor and fashion icon David Bowie, who is dead at age 69.

Bowie died Sunday after an 18-month battle with cancer, according to the New York Times:

His last album, “Blackstar,” a collaboration with a jazz quartet that was typically enigmatic and exploratory, was released on Friday — his birthday. He was to be honored with a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 31 featuring the Roots, Cyndi Lauper and the Mountain Goats.

He had also collaborated on an Off Broadway musical, “Lazarus,” that was a surreal sequel to his definitive 1976 film role, “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”

Bowie’s stardom spanned decades and was recognizable to different generations for different reasons.

For some, Bowie will forever be tied to his song hits of the 1960s and 1970s, such as 1974’s Rebel Rebel. Others were introduced to Bowie through his role in the cult-favorite movie Labyrinth, released in 1986. Beyond that, Bowie released seven original albums between 1991 and 2003, including 1997’s Earthling which included the hit single, I’m Afraid of Americans.

The song, embedded on YouTube above, featured Bowie being chased by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and put Bowie back on the cutting edge of rock and roll.

More from the Times:

Mr. Bowie wrote songs, above all, about being an outsider: an alien, a misfit, a sexual adventurer, a faraway astronaut. His music was always a mutable blend: rock, cabaret, jazz and what he called “plastic soul,” but it was suffused with genuine soul. He also captured the drama and longing of everyday life, enough to give him No. 1 pop hits like “Let’s Dance.”

If he had an anthem, it was “Changes,” from his 1971 album “Hunky Dory,” which proclaimed:

“Turn and face the strange / Ch-ch-changes / Oh look out now you rock and rollers / Pretty soon now you’re gonna get older.”

As we have done in the past, NonDoc presents this Spotify playlist as a tribute to David Bowie.

  • Tres Savage

    Tres Savage (William W. Savage III) has served as editor in chief of NonDoc since the publication launched in 2015. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and worked in health care for six years before returning to the media industry. He is a nationally certified Mental Health First Aid instructor and serves on the board of the Oklahoma Media Center.

  • Tres Savage

    Tres Savage (William W. Savage III) has served as editor in chief of NonDoc since the publication launched in 2015. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and worked in health care for six years before returning to the media industry. He is a nationally certified Mental Health First Aid instructor and serves on the board of the Oklahoma Media Center.