David Bowie (born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947) is an English musician; actor; producer; and arranger. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image; Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator; particularly for his work in the 1970s. He has been cited as an influence by many musicians.Although he released an album and numerous singles earlier; David Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in the autumn of 1969; when his space-age mini-melodrama "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK singles chart. "Space Oddity" is a song written and performed by David Bowie and released as a single in 1969. It is about the launch of Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who becomes depressed during an outer-space mission. Supposedly released to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing, it appears on the album Space Oddity. The BBC featured the song in its television coverage of the lunar landing.David Bowie (born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947) is an English musician; actor; producer; and arranger. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image; Bowie is widely regarded.