It seems almost like a lie, considering that his death after a secret battle with liver cancer on January 10th left the world in shock and mourning, but David Bowie has never had a #1 album in the U.S.
Yeah, for real. Bowie has created 25 studio albums, and helped shape the musical and aesthetic values of Western culture for over forty years. He is universally recognized as one of the most influential human beings to have ever picked up an instrument, and he has never had a #1 album in America. But this looks like it’s about to change.
Bowie’s final release, a parting gift for his legion of fans called Blackstar, is poised to take the #1 slot of the Billboard 200 chart. If Blackstar goes to #1, it will not only be Bowie’s first in the states, but will replace Adele’s 25, which has been sitting at the coveted top spot for the last 7 weeks.
While Blackstar may be the rocker and icon’s first potential #1 album in the states, it will not be his first to breach the top 10. Seven of his 25 albums charted in the U.S. top 10 during his lifetime. These include his 2013 LP The Next Day, Let’s Dance, ChangesOneBowie, and a fair number of 70’s albums. Surprisingly, this list does not include the glam-defining The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust, but Station to Station, Young Americans, David Live, and Diamond Dogs all breached the top 10.
This masterfully crafted and intensely personal final album is not only a return to the demented ethereal art-rock sound of 1976’s Station To Station, but in typical Bowie fashion, is self-referential and peppered with strange hints. Music journalist Michael Azerrad pointed out in a tweet that a “black star” is a medical term for a kind of cancer lesion.
Mysterious till the end, David Bowie’s last album may just be his first #1.
Featured image via screen grab
Leave a Reply