15 David Bowie Songs That Showcase His True Genius

14. Space Oddity (1969)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYMCLz5PQVw After the failure of his debut album in 1967, Bowie returned at the turn of the decade with the song that launched him from little-known folk-pop troubadour into a genuine star. Space Oddity was his first really big hit, ingeniously timed to make the most of both the Apollo 11 moon landing and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (released the year before). Written after he was dropped by Deram Records when his debut had flopped, Space Oddity is one of the rare songs that is simply perfect for its time and place. It capitalised on the public's enthusiasm for almost anything space related and the notoriety it gained by being initially banned by the BBC could have only helped in getting Bowie's name out there. The song is otherwordly, like the man himself, and the single helped make the second self-titled album it comes from (yeah, another self-titled one, though it may have been called Space Oddity or Man Of Words/Man Of Music depending on when and where you bought it) a chart success, especially in the UK.