Happy belated this week, David Bowie (Jan. 8). I’m not some fanboy who typically keeps track of birthdays and other sundry details, but the British singer-songwriter shared the occasion with my first-born (Elvis too), as I’m reminded once a year. As it happens, today (Jan. 14th) also marks the anniversary of David Robert Jones changing his name to “Bowie” in 1966 to avoid confusion with the already-established Davy Jones of The Monkees.
In hindsight, Bowie turned out to be the more famous of the two, forging a famously avant garde career that ranged from trippy folk in the ‘60s, to glam rock in the ‘70s, mainstream pop/disco in the ‘80s and, generally, hard rock after that (with numerous other left-turn diversions in between).
For my taste, though, it’s always been classic Bowie, and in particular Ziggy Stardust (the album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ was released in 1972), that’s spun my spaceship, with the likes of later efforts like ‘Let’s Dance’ a stain on the name in my view.
So, lest we forget the late great rock star (he would have turned 75 this year), here’s a timely reminder of when Ziggy played guitar.
Lyrics
Ziggy played guitar
Jamming good with Weird and Gilly
And the Spiders from Mars
He played it left hand
But made it too far
Became the special man
Then we were Ziggy’s band
Ziggy really sang
Screwed-up eyes and screwed-down hairdo
Like some cat from Japan
He could lick ’em by smiling
He could leave ’em to hang
They came on so loaded, man
Well-hung and snow-white tan
So where were the spiders
While the fly tried to break our bones?
With just the beer light to guide us
So we bitched about his fans
And should we crush his sweet hands?
Oh
Mm-hmm
Ziggy played for time
Jiving us that we were voodoo
The kids were just crass
He was the nazz
With God-given ass
He took it all too far
But, boy, could he play guitar
Making love with his ego
Ziggy sucked up into his mind, ah
Like a leper messiah
When the kids had killed the man
I had to break up the band
Oh, yeah
Ooh
Ziggy played guitar