On January 11th, 2016, the world lost music’s legendary singer-songwriter David Bowie after  an 18-month battle with liver cancer. Bowie’s death came as a tragic shock to the world, as Bowie preferred to keep his personal life private. A mere 2 days before his death, Bowie’s latest album, Blackstar, was released on his 69th birthday.

Born David Robert Jones, Bowie released twenty-five studio albums over the course of his extensive five-decade long career. He is estimated to have sold over 140 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bowie had a large fan base and always knew how to keep his audiences interested in his works. Bowie was a pioneer of the glam rock genre in the 1970s with The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Bowie’s sound however was constantly evolving from album to album.

Bowie was also known for his frequent “reinvention” of himself every few years, creating new characters to portray such as Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, and the Thin White Duke. All of the characters he portrayed were known for being very eccentric, questioning societal norms. In addition to taking on stage personas, Bowie also dabbled in acting, starring in films such as The Man Who Fell to Earth, Just a Gigolo, and as the Goblin King in Labyrinth.

Bowie is survived by a wife and two children. Despite many of his fans never meeting him, Bowie’s death has left a hole, both in the music industry and in the hearts of anyone who has ever listened to his brilliant music. With his release of his final album along with any piece of work preceding it, may his legacy last for centuries.