Nobody has mentioned "Panic in Detroit," which is the Bowie song which succeeded in grasping me by the hair.

Bowie was at it for a long time and turned out such a quantity of work. To impress somebody as removed from it all as I was, that is what he had to do: arrive young, work hard, produce a lot of songs, and just keep going regardless. What a work ethic he must have had, regardless of the flaming dramatis personae of his alter egos. In the end, though his tastes rarely coincided with mine (I went to hear Elly Stone who was touted as an influence on David Bowie, and sneaked away at intermission, going, Ewww, not for me), I have to take my hat off to all that hard work and accomplishment. John Lennon was no respecter of persons, and even he respected Bowie.
(Hate to digress, but: to read Yoko Ono speaking of David Bowie as exceptional since 'John and I had very few friends'....freezes my blood.)