Starman to Blackstar Edition Part 1

Chameleon: That’s long been the word used to describe David Bowie, pop music’s shapeshifting extraterrestrial. He shifted personas, genres, and looks, emerging from swinging London with psychedelic folk before steamrolling through glam rock, disco, funk, new wave, alt-rock, and even jazz. Less remarked was Bowie’s savvy about shifting through commercial phases—he wore pop stardom like a costume, too. He drifted in and out of the spotlight, and on and off the charts, before one final chart-topping farewell 10 years ago this month. Join Chris Molanphy as he takes us from station to station across the chart career of David Bowie, on a journey from Starman to Blackstar. Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for monthly early-access episodes, bonus episodes of "The Bridge," and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts.

You can listen to Starman to Blackstar Edition Part 1 online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Starman to Blackstar Edition Part 1 is an episode from Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia by Slate Podcasts.

This episode is 1:04:32 long.

This episode was published on Jan 17, 2026.

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