He didn't just release songs.

"David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer", reads a message posted Sunday on his Facebook page. By Monday, he was gone - the singer had been fighting cancer for 18 months.

Taking on an experimental approach to rock music and pop culture Bowie came back in 1972 embodying the "glam rock" age with his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust.

Only a few times over the many years did the pair reveal details about their life together. He had a striking androgynous look in his early days and was known for changing his appearance and sounds.

With "Fame" - which he co-wrote with John Lennon - he brought what he called "plastic soul", as a white British artist, to Soul Train. In 1969, he released a hit song, "Space Oddity", about a fictional astronaut named Major Tom who is lost in space.

Bowie reportedly died in his NY home, where he was continuing to write music through his illness. "Probably in the past year I have become more aware of that, not from a spiritual standpoint, really, but from the teachings". David's lifetime of musical achivement was recognized in 1996 as he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

David Bowie passed away on January 10th, 2016. Earning positive reviews from critics, it represented yet another stylistic shift, as he gathered jazz players to join him.

The man who fell to earth has returned to the stars.

David's filmmaker son, Duncan Jones, also confirmed the news on Twitter, sharing an old photograph of himself and his famous father.

Bowie continued to excel in the '80s, releasing the greatest commercial success of his career with 1983's Let's Dance, the title track of which was his final Number One in the U.S.

He said: "When he performed, he just had an incredible aura". “I don’t enjoy performing terribly much. I never met such a brilliant person.

FILE - Singer David Bowie arrives with his wife, Iman, to attend the CFDA fashion awards in New York, June 7, 2010.