Why nine songs? Well because 30 or more didn't seem to be an option.

David Bowie hit with the "Young Americans" and "Changes One" albums pretty much back to back when I was about 14.  Nothing ever really seems to mean as much to you as the music that hit when you're a teenager. Some stuff comes close, but that stuff you hear in your teen years stays with you forever.

For the most part I tried to stay with studio versions and the familiar videos of the songs. Some look and sound dated, but so what? Here's nine of my 30+ favorites.

  • 1

    Changes

    I also swore this song would be played at my funeral, or be the last song I heard on my death bed. The lyrics are just incredible and still relevant today.

  • 2

    John, I'm Only Dancing

    This track was a "non-album single" until the ChangesOne greatest hits compilation came out. There is something really disturbing about the track. It also plays with some gender-bending as the songs character is a female who apparently is dancing with another female (while John is apparently getting pissed off).

  • 3

    Hang Onto Yourself

    This song is pure pop and proto-punk. I always loved the ripping guitar on this track. This track was another one that was before even my time, but I learned to love later.

  • 4

    China Girl

    I had to include a song from the Let's Dance Album. Now think about this, this song was co-written by Iggy Pop and features our own Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar (Stevie played on the entire album and that's basically what catapulted him unto the national scene).

  • 5

    Starman

    Is this a song about a god or about an alien? The song always reminded me of the character in the book "Stranger In A Strange Land".  This is classic Bowie from the Ziggy Stardust era.

  • 6

    Cracked Actor

    This track was from the Aladdin Sane album (get it? A Lad Insane).  If you're finding some of this Bowie a little light for your tastes, sample the opening riff of this track. Tell me that tone at the beginning doesn't sound like Dime or somebody running through a few chords before it starts a classic boogie-woogie pattern.

  • 7

    Oh, You Pretty Things

    This track was original written for Herman's Hermits and featured David Bowie on piano. He later released the track on an album called Hunky Dory. It's once again a track I discovered after the fact. This is a REAL cool video that is surprisingly high quality.

  • 8

    Under Pressure

    Is it a Bowie song, or is it a Queen song? The best I can tell they both performed it live. Bowie's vocal is so strong and trademark Bowie sounding that I could not leave it off of the list.

  • 9

    Heroes

    This track is only last on my list because people only tend to remember the first and last thing they see. I wanted you to remember "Changes" and "Heroes" more than anything else. And with that, I say goodbye to one of my heroes, Mr. David Bowie.

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