Music legend David Bowie, born David Robert Jones, has passed away after an 18 month battle with cancer that he kept largely secret. He leaves behind his dear wife of 23 years, Iman, and two children, son Duncan Jones, 44, from his first marriage to Angela Barnett, and daughter Lexi Jones, 15, with Iman. He left us with an incredible lifelong body of music which became the soundtrack to so many of our lives. Bowie had hits that we know and love, like Heroes, Young Americans, Let’s Dance, Fame, Changes and Under Pressure, but he also had a wide-reaching body of work which included instrumental and experimental music. He was a prolific musician up until his death and released his last album, Blackstar, on his birthday last Friday.

David Bowie, the infinitely changeable, fiercely forward-looking songwriter who taught generations of musicians about the power of drama, images and personae, died on Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday.

Mr. Bowie’s death was confirmed by his publicist, Steve Martin, on Monday morning.

He died after an 18-month battle with cancer, according to a statement on Mr. Bowie’s social-media accounts.

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family,” a post on his Facebook page read.

His last album, “Blackstar,” a collaboration with a jazz quintet that was typically enigmatic and exploratory, was released on Friday — on 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.”

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.”

Mr. Bowie earned admiration and emulation across the musical spectrum: from rockers, balladeers, punks, hip-hop acts, creators of pop spectacles and even classical composers like Philip Glass, who based two symphonies on Mr. Bowie’s albums “Low” and “ ‘Heroes’.”

Mr. Bowie’s constant visual reinvention was a touchstone for performers like Madonna and Lady Gaga; his determination to stay contemporary introduced his fans to Philadelphia funk, Japanese fashion, German electronica and drum-and-bass dance music.

Nirvana chose to sing “The Man Who Sold the World,” the title song of Mr. Bowie’s 1970 album, in its brief set for the 1993 “MTV Unplugged in New York.”

“Under Pressure,” a collaboration with the glam-rock group Queen, supplied a bass line for the 1990 Vanilla Ice hit “Ice Ice Baby.”

Yet, throughout Mr. Bowie’s metamorphoses, he was always recognizable. His voice was widely imitated but always his own; his message was that there was always empathy beyond difference.

[From The NY Times]

The Times goes on to talk about how Bowie reinvented himself, and how he collaborated with so many musicians to create music that was both true to and elevated their style. He was such a staple of music that this news of his death comes as a great shock. I’m crying but I’m also listening to his incredible music and realizing just how much he gave us. RIP David Bowie. Thank you for giving us your talent, hard work and genius.

This is one of my son’s favorite songs. He’s 11 and he discovered Bowie on his own. When he heard this during The Martian he started singing it.

This is an excellent collaboration which Bowie did with Nine Inch Nails in 1997, “I’m Afraid of Americans.”

Photo credit: WENN.com, Fame Flynet and Getty Images