The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
Teenage Kicks®

David Bowie semisesquicentennial

by Jim McGuinn

January 08, 2022

  Play Now [1:58:45]
The Man Who Sold the World, released in 1970, is the third studio album by David Bowie. The U.K. artwork features a photograph of Bowie seated on a chaise longue.
The Man Who Sold the World, released in 1970, is the third studio album by David Bowie. The U.K. artwork features a photograph of Bowie seated on a chaise longue.Mercury Records

This week’s Teenage Kicks falls on January 8, on what would have been David Bowie’s 75th birthday. We’ll feature music from two of his crucial pre-Ziggy Stardust releases – 1970’s The Man Who Sold The World and 1971's Hunky Dory — released 50 years ago last month. This is Bowie setting the stage for a career of near constant re-invention, finding himself and an audience, with songs that would later become classics.

Program playlist, hour 1

Program playlist, hour 2

Portrait of David Bowie looking up and holding his head
Hunky Dory is the fourth studio album by David Bowie. It was released on December 17, 1971.
RCA Records