Most successful musicians change their style somewhat over the course of their career, but few have evolved as rapidly or as adroitly as British rock star Big. The self-ascribed "Chameleon of Pop," Bowie has played many roles during his long career, usually coinciding with major stylistic changes that were often eerily prescient of pop trends. From his early years as a glam icon to his critically acclaimed late 1970s work with Brian Eno and his runaway commercial success in the 1980s, Bowie has remained a fixture in rock music, all the while dabbling in production, stage and screen acting, and art. Today Bowie is the wealthiest rock star in the U.K., a testament to his enormous popular appeal as well as his astute investments.

Big was born David Robert Jones in the Brixton area of London on January 8, 1947, the son of a working class family. A fan of Little Richard, R&B and jazz, Bowie began playing music at age 12, when his parents bought him a saxophone. He performed in a series of small-time groups while in high school, but didn't seriously pursue a career in music until the early 1960s, after graduating from technical school with a degree in art. In 1963 Jones formed his first serious group, Davie Jones and the King Bees, but their first and only single failed to gain much attention. Jones quickly moved on to the Manish Boys, who gained some attention for Jones' then-unusual long hair, but again the group didn't find much commercial success.

In late 1965 David Jones adopted the stage name Big to avoid confusion with London theater star Davy Jones, who later became the "singer" for the made-for-TV band the Monkees. The newly christened Bowie joined the Who-influenced R&B/rock group the Lower Third, who released one single and broke up. Bowie then moved on to the Buzz, a post-mod band that called it quits at the end of 1966.

By this point Bowie was a fairly well-known musician and songwriter in the London music scene and he was offered a solo deal with Deram Records. Deram released Bowie's eponymous solo album -- a folk-influenced pop album -- in late 1967 and got his first big break when he opened for the popular psychedelic band Tyrannosaurus Rex (who shared Bowie's producer, Tony Visconti).

Bowie scored his first U.K. Top 10 hit with 1969's "Space Oddity," the saga of a stranded astronaut, inspired by the movie 2001. Because of the American moon landing, Mercury Records signed Bowie to re-record "Space Oddity" for U.S. release, launching Bowie's career in North America. Working with Visconti on bass and Mick Ronson on guitar, Bowie released his first official solo album, Man of Words, Man of Music (1970), a vaguely psychedelic work whose sole standout track was the "Space Oddity" single. Not surprisingly, the album was later re-released in 1972 as Space Oddity. Meanwhile, Bowie married Angela Barnett, with whom he had a son, Zowie, the following year. On his next release, 1971's The Man Who Sold the World, Bowie came into his own stylistically, but the album's proto-glam guitars and over-the-top lyrics failed to win a wide audience, prompting Mercury to part ways with Bowie.

RCA Records, confident of Bowie's star potential, quickly signed the 24-year-old artist and released his next album, Hunky Dory, in 1972. Hunky Dory featured a more refined "glam" sound copied from T. Rex and lyrics inspired by Bowie's wild time in New York City's underground art scene, where he partied with Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, and other cult figures. Thanks to the U.S. and U.K. Top 10 success of "Changes," Bowie became an international star, as famous for his campy cross-dressing and different colored eyes (the result of a schoolyard fight that left one pupil permanently enlarged) as for his dramatic sound.

Capitalizing on his sudden stardom, Bowie sealed his fame with 1972's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, a sci-fi concept album about a band from outer space. Backed by the Spiders from Mars -- Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder and drummer Woody Woodmansey -- Bowie, as Ziggy, launched a now-legendary world tour, replete with outrageous costumes and outlandish sets. The tour propelled Ziggy Stardust (as well as his earlier albums) to the top of the charts. Ziggy Stardust was widely hailed by critics as one of the best, most influential albums of the decade; the title track became an international hit, while "John, I'm Only Dancing" reached No. 1 in the U.K. (It was not released as a single in the U.S. due to its suggestive lyrics.)

To cap off his most productive year ever, Bowie produced Lou Reed's 1972 hit Transformer and Mott the Hoople's All the Young Dudes, whose title track was written by Bowie himself. He also shocked the international music press by announcing that he was "gay" (Bowie is actually bisexual), becoming the first major rock star to openly discuss his homosexuality. In 1973 Bowie released his next opus, the punning Aladdin Sane, then toured again as Ziggy Stardust. At a London concert in July 1973, Bowie shocked his fans -- and his own band -- by suddenly announcing that "not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do." With that, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars were no more. Later that year, Bowie distanced himself from his Ziggy Stardust character by releasing Pin-Ups, a collection of covers of mid-'60s British hits meant as a tribute to his earliest years as an aspiring London musician.

After re-mixing Iggy Pop's 1973 classic Raw Power, Bowie returned to his own work, recruiting a new backing band for 1974's Diamond Dogs. The album featured a controversial shot of Bowie as a half-man/half-dog and presented a dark, theatrical vision of the future, loosely inspired by Orwell's 1984. Thanks to the radio hit "Rebel Rebel," Diamond Dogs reached No. 5 in the United States. Bowie launched a massive tour, even more elaborate than the Ziggy Stardust outing; however, due to enormous production expenses, the tour lost money even though every night sold out (a scenario similar to Pink Floyd's Wall tour). To commemorate the spectacle, Bowie recorded the double album David Live at their Philadelphia performance.

Though some cuts on Diamond Dogs indicated that Bowie was drifting toward American soul, it was a Continental imitation of that genre, dubbed "plastic soul," which defined 1975's Young Americans. Its standout single, "Fame," an impromptu duet with John Lennon, became Bowie's first (and only) U.S. No. 1 hit. Shortly after the release of Young Americans, Bowie starred in the science-fiction movie The Man Who Fell to Earth, recalling his Ziggy Stardust era persona, as well as his long-time fascination with outer space.

Then, in 1976, Bowie changed his image yet again, dressing in a clean-cut, formal fashion and announcing that he admired Hitler and Nietzsche. In his elegant yet creepy "Thin White Duke" character, Bowie issued 1976's dark Station to Station, which spawned the Top 10 single "Golden Years" and was supported by world tour with an odd 1930s German theater motif.

Taking his obsession with Germany one step further, Bowie moved to the Neukoeln section of Berlin, where he began collaborating with aspiring producer Brian Eno, formerly the keyboard player for Roxy Music. Under the creative guidance of Eno -- now famous for his unusual studio techniques and innovative production style -- Bowie recorded 1977's Low, an experimental mixture of standard rock and synthesizer-driven ambient music. Now widely praised by critics, Low was truly ahead of its time, confusing audiences who were expecting concise pop singles.

After helping Iggy Pop with his album The Idiot and playing piano for Pop on the supporting tour, Bowie returned to Berlin and recorded 1978's Heroes with Eno and former King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. Following an appearance in the film Just a Gigolo and the "Heroes" world tour (captured on the 1978 live album Stage), Bowie relocated to Switzerland. His 1979 release, The Lodger, featured a reunion with Tony Visconti, who played bass on one track, while 1980's Scary Monsters spawned the early MTV singles "Fashion" and "Ashes to Ashes."

In the early 1980s Bowie put aside his various personas to deal with his own life and work on other artistic goals. Turning to acting, Bowie earned positive reviews for his lead role in the Broadway play The Elephant Man and starred in the vampire thriller The Hunger. After recording the hit single "Under Pressure" with Queen (most famous for its bassline, used as the main sample in Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby"), Bowie announced he was giving up drugs and homosexuality, and leaving RCA for EMI. He returned to music with a vengeance in 1983, releasing his most commercially successful album to date, Let's Dance. Produced by Chic's Nile Rodgers, the album was, not surprisingly, full of funky, danceable rhythms and pop sensibilities, spawning the smash singles "Modern Love," "China Girl," "Let's Dance" and "Cat People." 1984's Tonight continued in this vein, and featured the hit single "Loving the Alien" and the title track, a duet with Tina Turner

Bowie capped his most public period with a high-profile appearance at the 1985 Live Aid festival, a starring role in the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth and a supporting role in 1986's Absolute Beginners. During this time Bowie also recorded a cover version of Marvin Gaye's "Dancing in the Streets" with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

Bowie's 1987 effort, Never Let Me Down Again, is best remembered for its epic support tour, the Glass Spider Tour, during which Peter Frampton was Bowie's backing guitarist. Bowie then released a "greatest hits" boxed set called Sound and Vision and followed it up with another world tour, cautioning his fans that it would be his final outing playing old material. It was a huge public relations success, prompting sales of his newly re-mastered albums to skyrocket.

To completely break with his past, Bowie formed a full-fledged band, Tin Machine, with American guitarist Reeves Gabrels and former Iggy Pop musicians Hunt Sales (bass) and Tony Sales (drums). The quartet recorded two albums of Pixies-influenced alternative rock, but never quite achieved mainstream success. Tin Machine broke up in 1992.

Retaining the talented Gabrels in his back-up group, Bowie resumed his solo career with 1993's Black Tie, White Noise, produced by Nile Rodgers. The slightly jazzy, eclectic record featured an instrumental titled "The Wedding" -- a tribute to his new wife, supermodel Iman -- as well as a cover of Cream's "I Feel Free," recorded with Mick Ronson. The success of Black Tie, White Noise coincided with the independent release of Bowie's first interactive CD-ROM project, Jump.

Reuniting with producer Brian Eno, Bowie won back critics with his 1995 concept album Outside, an industrial-tinged effort on which each song was written from the perspective of a different "outsider." In keeping with the theme of the album, it was supported by a U.S. tour with Nine Inch Nails and a European tour with Morrissey. Also in 1996 Bowie appeared as his late friend Andy Warhol in the feature film Basquiat; that July he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1997 Big broke new ground yet again with the Internet-only release of his single "Telling Lies." A full-length album, Earthling, followed shortly thereafter. The electronica-themed release received positive reviews from critics, demonstrating that after more than 30 years in music, Bowie still has his pulse on the modern scene.

Bowie's effort, Hours..., was released on Virgin in the fall of 1999. Bowie kicked off the new album as the musical guest on the '99/'00 season premiere of "Saturday Night Live."