Iconic rock musician <a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/david-bowie”>David Bowie</a> died Sunday, January 10. He was 69 years old.

A post on his Facebook page confirmed Bowie “died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer.” It was reported Bowie died at his home in New York City; his battle with cancer had been kept private.

A video for “Lazarus” from his new album <em><a href=”http://news.rhapsody.com/2016/01/08/david-bowie-the-art-rock-icon-creates-a-hypnotic-masterpiece-with-blackstar/”>Blackstar</a></em&gt;, which was released on his birthday two days before his death, is an ominous portrayal of a man struggling to survive. It seems to be Bowie’s final statement, revealing his unwavering artistic vision as he’s seen writhing on a hospital bed, fighting off impending death; the poignancy is now palatable.

<em>Blackstar</em> has been heralded as one of Bowie’s best releases in the past two decades. For the album, Bowie collaborated with a jazz quartet and the music features his typically experimental approach to creating dynamic art rock.
<p class=”story-body-text story-content” data-para-count=”278″ data-total-count=”776″>A tribute concert at Carnegie Hall featuring <a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/the-roots”>The Roots</a>, <a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/the-mountain-goats”>The Mountain Goats</a>, <a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/perry-farrell”>Perry Farrell</a>, <a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/jakob-dylan”>Jakob Dylan</a>, <a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/cyndi-lauper”>Cyndi Lauper</a> and others will be held March 31 to honor Bowie.</p>
<img class=”size-thumbnail wp-image-4640″ src=”http://news.rhapsody.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/12471372_10154657273030200_5091728392463038041_o-150×150.png&#8221; alt=”David Bowie influenced generations of musicians.” width=”150″ height=”150″ /> David Bowie influenced generations of musicians.

Bowie, who was born in London in 1947, was one of the ’70s most influential musicians. Over the course of his career he also assumed a number of personas, including Ziggy Stardust, Alladin Sane and others. He’s known for such signature songs as “Changes,” “Heroes,” “Space Oddity,” “Under Pressure,” “Let’s Dance” and “Rebel Rebel.”
<p class=”story-body-text story-content” data-para-count=”250″ data-total-count=”2067″>Dubbed The Thin White Duke, Bowie was incessantly inventive and would boldly embrace everything from androgyny and high art to electronic music and old-school Philly funk in his look and music. With each evolution, Bowie was always inimitable yet immediately recognizable. His otherworldly visions introduced fans to diamond dogs, aliens, astronauts, rebels and heroes — all given equal play in his unique alternate universes.</p>
<p id=”story-continues-6″ class=”story-body-text story-content” data-para-count=”598″ data-total-count=”3153″>Outside of creating his own music, Bowie also acted as producer for <a href=”?ocode=social_user&amp;pcode=social_user&amp;cpath=Link&amp;rsrc=artist”>Lou Reed</a>’s <em><a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/lou-reed/album/transformer-rcalegacy”>Transformer</a></em&gt; and wrote songs for <a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/iggy-pop?”>Iggy Pop</a> (“China Girl”) and <a href=”http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/mott-the-hoople”>Mott the Hopple</a> (“All the Young Dudes”).</p>
<img class=”alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-4665″ src=”http://news.rhapsody.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Pasted-image-at-2016_01_08-12_01-PM-1-150×150.png&#8221; alt=”Pasted image at 2016_01_08 12_01 PM-1″ width=”150″ height=”150″ />Bowie also took his art to the big screen, appearing in movies <i>The Man Who Fell to Earth</i> and <i>Labyrinth</i>. He co-wrote <i>Lazarus</i>, an Off-Broadway play that was inspired by <i>The Man Who Fell to Earth. </i>The play features Michael C. Hall (of<i> Dexter </i>fame) and it has been reported their will be a cast album of the play. (No release date has been set.)

Bowie is survived by his wife, the supermodel Iman Abdulmajid, and two children, son Duncan Jones and daughter Alexandria Zahra Jones.