David Bowie passed away yesterday at age 69 after an 18-month battle with cancer.
Back in 2009, I read that Bowie and Elvis shared the same birthday – January 8. So, I Googled both names together to see if there were any other connections. What came up was a website called The Ziggy Stardust Companion. They listed a number of things connecting Elvis and David Bowie, and I decided to do an ElvisBlog article commenting on their points. That article is reprinted below.
Elvisblog strives to bring you articles you won’t find on any other Elvis websites or blogs. Certainly, that is accomplished with this topic discussing a connection between Elvis and David Bowie. That can’t be possible, you say. Well, there is one website that thinks there is a case to be made. According to The Ziggy Stardust Companion, “David Bowie and Elvis Presley have many similarities, and Presley also served as inspiration for some aspects of the Ziggy Stardust phenomenon.”
For those of you who don’t know, Ziggy Stardust was a stage persona David Bowie assumed during concerts in the 70s. I linked to the Ziggy website from Google Images, where I found this picture:
This is both sides of a 45RPM record (inside the paper sleeve) that RCA released in Thailand in the mid-70s. “Space Oddity” was Bowie’s first hit, reaching #15 in the US, and who knows why RCA didn’t just use the original “B” side for its Thailand release. Instead, they picked “Fool,” which was already an obscure Elvis “B” side on “Steamroller Blues,” his #17 hit in 1973.
Elvis recorded with RCA from 1956 to 1977, and David Bowie was with RCA from 1973 to 1980. Besides recording for the same company, here are some of the other similarities between Bowie and Elvis as stated on “The Ziggy Stardust Companion.”
They share the same birthday. Elvis was born on January 8, 1935, and David Bowie was born on January 8, 1947. This is an easily verified connection between the two performers.
Elvis and Bowie experimented and got into trouble with their hair styles in high school. Well, we know Elvis wore his hair differently than his classmates, and if Bowie’s later preference in hair styles is any indication, he was a rebel in high school, too.
Bowie says that he first discovered the power of music when he saw his cousin get up and dance to Elvis’ “Hound Dog.” Excuse me, but this hardly seems like a major connection between Elvis and David Bowie.
Bowie had his clothes designer Freddi Burretti copy Elvis’ jumpsuits for Bowie’s own use at Ziggy Stardust concerts. Well, “copy” would be a stretch. Perhaps “inspire” might be a better word. Bill Belew and Gene Doucett never designed anything for Elvis like these Bowie/Ziggy jumpsuits.
Bowie’s manager – Tony DeFries – was a big fan of Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker and would quote from Parker’s book to anyone who would listen. This is another pretty weak connection between Elvis and Bowie. If it is true, I wonder if DeFries took a 50% cut of Bowie’s earnings, like the Colonel did with Elvis.
Tony DeFries used the announcement “David Bowie has left the building,” as was done for Elvis Presley concerts. I have been unable to verify this, so I am skeptical.
The lightning bolt motif Bowie wore for the Aladdin Sane album cover was partly inspired by a ring that Elvis wore – which had a lightning bolt emblem along with the letters TCB. Of course, Elvis was more famous for his TCB pendants than his ring, but that’s beside the point. Do you really think Elvis’ lightning bolt inspired this?
David Bowie was a big fan of Elvis. At short notice, he crossed the Atlantic on a plane to attend an Elvis concert in New York in 1972, even though he had a strong fear of flying. “The Ziggy Stardust Companion” printed this quote that Bowie made in 1996 concerning the Elvis concert he attended.
“[Elvis] was a major hero of mine. And I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him actually meant something. I came over for a long weekend. I remember coming straight from the airport and walking into Madison Square Garden very late. I was wearing all my clobber from the Ziggy period and had great seats near the front. The whole place just turned to look at me and I felt like a right idiot. I had brilliant red hair, some huge padded space suit and those red boots with big black soles. I wished I’d gone for something quiet, because I must have registered with him. He was well into his set.”
As he looked out from the stage and saw this freaky-looking character take his seat up front, I’m sure Elvis thought to himself, “Man, I’ve got a lot in common with this guy.”
© 2009 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved
Elvis and David Bowie Morphed
One news report on Bowie’s death mentioned that he kept changing his appearance and personna and had several distinct successful careers. In that reguard, he and Elvis had a direct parallel. There was Elvis the young brash rocker in the 50s, Elvis the movie star in the 60s, and Elvis the record-breaking concert performer in the 70s. I wonder why The Ziggy Stardust Companion missed that connection.
David Bowie was a unique entertainer. He will be missed. Goodbye David. Say hi to Elvis for us.
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© 2016 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
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