Being a guitarist myself, I've long had an admiration for David Bowie's devotion to the 12 string guitar. He had at least 10 that I know of, and that's a pretty good appreciation for the instrument.
I did a YouTube search last night for some of his songs with a 12 string, because I like the jangle so much, and I was delighted to become reacquainted with some of his earliest songs, mainly Oh You Pretty Things! To be honest I had no idea that he also played the piano, too.
As I sat there watching this song and digging the piano playing by Bowie, I was also amazed by the lyrics. Not so much how funky they were, but I was saddened & stunned at the same time because no one writes lyrics like they did back then anymore. (Just think of any dreamy song by Led Zeppelin and compare it to any top 40 song of today).
So, Oh You Pretty Things sent me down a rabbit hole with The Spiders from Mars, and mainly Mick Ronson.
I always thought them to be quite cartoonish especially in the early 70's, comparing them with the likes of The New York Dolls and others. But holy cow Mick Ronson was a monster talent.
Quoting randomly from the wiki, he recorded five albums with Ian Hunter, did extensive touring with Van Morrison & Bob Dylan. He produced albums for Lou Reed, John Mellencamp, Roger McGuinn & Morrissey. He recorded albums with Roger Daley, Elton John, David Cassidy, Chrissie Hynde and Pure Prairie League, as well as recording five solo albums himself. All before dying of cancer at age 46 in 1993.
Just, incredible.
Anyway .... here's a cool biography video called The Mick Ronson Story from 2017.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kY8tpn-M-7k&pp=ygUlQmVzaWRlIEJvd2llOiBNaWNrIFJvbnNvbiBTdG9yeSwgMjAxNw%3D%3D
and Oh You Pretty Things from 1972
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IBgU0tiLy2s&pp=ygUgZGF2aWQgYm93aWUgb2ggeW91IHByZXR0eSB0aGluZ3M%3D