Iconic singer David Bowie dies at 69

(AP Photo/Peter Kramer, File).

Bowie had a small, but pivotal role in David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” spinoff film “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me” as missing Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Phillip Jeffries, whose sudden reappearance and unusual tales help set the tone for the film, which was derided at the time, but has since gained more esteem.

(AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett, File).

On the iTunes albums chart, which updates frequently throughout the day to reflect digital purchases from users, Bowie’s “Blackstar” peaked at No. 1 on Monday. Bowie – as himself, not any of his stage personae – performed “The Little Drummer Boy” with none other than Bing Crosby.

“Bowie was the father of glam rock and the ancestor of those who have astounded the world”, he wrote. “I’ve always felt that what I do is use music for my way of expression”.

“David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer”, read a statement on Bowie’s Facebook page dated Sunday.

In memory of Bowie we have compiled some of his greatest and most memorable songs which show how and why he was loved and respected by so many. No more details were provided.

He released a music video on Friday for the new song “Lazarus”, which shows a frail Bowie in bed and singing the track’s lyrics. It comprised only seven songs, but had been well received by critics.

To millions of fans, his appeal was on all levels – visually, intellectually, sonically.

Tributes to the British rock legend are seen outside his former home in Berlin on Monday.

A sly undercurrent of apposite whimsy was always embedded in Bowie’s music, which came through most clearly during this era in a 1977 Christmas TV special. “But my daughter loves me, so it’s good”.

Jimmy Fallon discusses the release of David Bowie’s latest album on the “Tonight Show”.

Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

“And yet it was very familiar”, Byrne said.

“Good-bye, David Bowie. You are now among #Heroes. He has truly changed my life”.

He was born David Jones in south London two years after the end of World War Two. He was a frequent contributor and editorial board member of Modern Painters magazine. As you’d expect from a community of visual creatives, many of these have taken the form of graphics and illustrations – whether drawn in response to Bowie’s death or plucked from projects celebrating happier occasions. He later relented, however.

“I’m not a natural performer”, he said in the 2002 interview. “I don’t enjoy performing terribly much”. “It was a great privilege when I got to meet him later in life”.

He tweeted: “David’s friendship was the light of my life”. He was a master of reinvention, who kept getting it right.

After a highly publicized 1980 divorce from model Angela Barnett (with whom he had his son, Duncan), Bowie married model/actress Iman in 1992. They had one son, Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones, whi is now 44.