Live performance at the Bridge School charity event in 1996

Today marks what would have been the 74th anniversary of iconic artist David Bowie. Born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947 in the Brixton district of south London, Bowie was to become one of the most influential and innovative artists of all time.

Timing his first success in the UK with the groundbreaking single “Space Oddity” in 1969, Bowie has reinvented himself musically and thematically over and over again, from the Ziggy Stardust era in the early 1970s to his self-described “plastic soul” from recordings from Philadelphia in the mid-1970s with electronic collaborations from the “Berlin Trilogy” with Brian Eno and in the 1980s with hits like “Let’s Dance” and later experimentation with industrial sounds and textures. Given his changing nature and tendency to navigate and subvert visual aesthetics, it was no surprise that he was a talented actor and a fashion icon.

The body of Bowie’s work is impressive. The world will never see anyone like him again. David Bowie died on January 10, 2016 and left us with the breathtaking swan song, Black Star, who left on his 69th birthday, two days before he died.

Twenty years before his death, David Bowie performed two intimate concerts for Pegi and Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit at Bay Area’s Shoreline Amphitheater in 1996. The shows featured two of the most important collaborators in his career: guitarist Reeves Gabrels and bassist Gail Ann Dorsey. Gabrels had played with Bowie since 1987, while Dorsey had just joined Bowie in 1995, but would continue to perform with him until his death.

Bowie opened both shows, October 19 and 20, with “Aladdin Sane” and “The Jean Genie”, but with different covers each night. On October 19, there were covers of The Coasters (“I’m A Hog For You”), as well as a song by the band Tin Machine de Gabrels (“I Can’t Read”). Both presentations would feature the classics “The Man Who Sold The World” and “Heroes”, with the first night ending with “Let’s Dance” and the second night ending with “White Light / White Heat” by The Velvet Underground.

To celebrate David Bowie’s birthday, watch the two performances (except for “Heroes” on October 20) of the legendary singer-songwriter’s appearance at Bridge School Benefit in 1996 via the JamBase Live Video Archive below:

Setlist