I was always a soul guy.
I loved Motown. And the Sound of Philadelphia.
Give me the Temps, the Four Tops, and, of course, Teddy.
I came to rock a little later than most of my friends. So naturally I has a soft spot in my heart for 'blue-eyed' soul. I still love the Righteous Brothers. Hall & Oates remain my local heroes.
Eventually I slid over to rock. I never really lost my love of soul and dance music, but rock took over my life.
Then I found a way to combine the two.
I heard the voice of David Bowie. Luckily, I heard him before I saw him. Bowie, the original androgynous, gender-bender glam rocker, had a voice straight out of the Sound of Philly.
I fell hard for Ziggy Stardust, Bowie's iconic pop icon, along with the Spiders From Mars. Part of it no doubt was rebellion. Bowie's stage act, the red Mohawk, the wild outfits
Bowie not only provided great music, he did something else every kid back then wanted to do. He drove our parents crazy.
Yes, Bowie looked like nothing that had ever appeared on stage before.
The difference is that Bowie's look never overshadowed his voice, or the music.
It turns out Bowie had an affinity for soul sounds as well. After Ziggy, Bowie did what he always did. He changed. And adapted.
That is what brought him to Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound Studios, to record his 'Young Americans' LP.
As part of that experiment, Bowie recorded several live shows at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby. 'David Live' remains a standard for live recordings, and of course added to Delco's rock lineage.
Raise your hand if you think you've heard your voice screaming in the background at one of those show. Yeah, I know the feeling.
My wife, too. She was at those shows. She's an even bigger Bowie fan than her husband. And yes, we realized after we started dating that we had many of the same albums and had been to many of the same concerts.
But Bowie was special. Those Tower shows made him one of us. He was Philly. And we loved him for it.
The key to Bowie was ability to change. Maybe that's why so many referred to him as a chameleon.
One thing did not change. The music. And that voice.
From teaming with Bing Crosby on the Christmas classic 'Little Drummer Boy,' to 'Heroes,' you only needed one note to know that was David Bowie.
Now the voice is silent. Bowie died last night at 69, just a few days after his birthday and the release of his newest album, 'Blackstar.'
I'll always be a Bowie fan.
Sure, I loved Ziggy. I enjoyed the notion of being a 'Rebel, Rebel.' And yes, I got a kick out of the reaction of my mom and dad to the album covers.
But most of all it was the music.
Thanks for the ride, Ziggy.
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