Top 885 Artists-Number 5-David Bowie

Growing up in suburban Philadelphia, it seems like there was never a time when I didn't hear a lot of David Bowie on the radio. DJs like Ed Sciaky and David Dye were big fans of his music, and they helped shaped the tastes of Philadelpia audiences.

And what wasn't to like? There's the big catalog of fine songs: "Space Oddity", "The Jean Genie", "Suffragette City," "Golden Years", "Rebel Rebel", and many more. But what has made Bowie so great is that he was a true rock icon without being stuck as any specific one. In a few years, he morphed from a folkie to the androgynous glam alien Ziggy Stardust to the alienated addict, the Thin White Duke. And along the way, whether working with the Spiders, or producer Brian Eno and guitarists Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew, Bowie also incorporated elements of funk, R&B, and pop into his music.