Hey, Summer Campers!
Today’s Blog post goes out in loving memory of the Starman whom the world said goodbye to after he lost his battle with cancer earlier this year. Legendary rock star, David Bowie brought innovation and originality to his music, giving the world something that nobody had ever heard before. Launching himself into super stardom at a young age, believe it or not, he got his start at summer camp!
Indeed, his first recorded rock performance took pace at his scout camp on the Isle of Wight in August of 1958 under the same organization as a previously posted pop star who was a former camper with Corf Scout Camp: Paul McCartney. A fellow camper and longterm friend to David, George Underwood has an excellent recall of the performance back when they were just 11.
They played old classics like ‘Gamblin’ Man’, ‘Putting on the Style’, ‘16 Tons’, ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’, and more—George playing bass and David on ukulele . “We put a washboard bass in the back of the van, and David’s ukulele, and between us we managed to conjure up a couple of songs around the campfire,” George is quoted in the 2011 book ‘David Bowie: Starman’.
“And that was our first public performance,” George goes on to say. “Neither of us had any claim to virtuosity–but we wanted to sing.” Following his dreams, David paved his own career path to pop stardom from his passion. Quite an influential singer, his voice is appreciated for its versatility and distinctive ability to soar wildly high and yet drop to a crooner’s rich quality in his lowest register.
Along with the guitar, the extremely talented David Bowie also played the keyboard, harmonica, saxophone, stylophone, viola, cello, koto, thumb piano, and drums. Forever remembered in the hearts of his fans the world over, David Bowie began his musical performances at summer camp. What will you begin? As always, thanks for reading, Campers!
- John