David Bowie, legendary English musician, died yesterday, after an 18 month battle with cancer. To accurately describe David Bowie’s impact on music is difficult, at best. For many, David Bowie is much like his musical career: so varied in its scope, it’s difficult to sum up. Dabbling in music forms from progressive rock to eclectic art rock, Bowie and his musical career ran as colorful and varied as the outfits he frequently donned in his shows.

As the flamboyant persona Ziggy Stardust, David Bowie brought glam rock into the spotlight, refined it, and defined everything that it was. Taking influences from artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Lou Reed, Bowie molded the pop world irrevocably and permanently.

Columbia Record’s branding, sought to brand Bowie, seems to truly sum him up well: “There is old wave, New Wave, and then there is Bowie.” There may never be another David Bowie, but his influence is far from over. Artists such as Lady Gaga, Kurt Cobain, and even Marilyn Manson have stated in interviews that they owe much to Bowie’s music. Closer to home, Scituate High School chorus sang the 1971 Bowie classic “Changes” as part of the 2015 graduation ceremony.

Not only was Bowie a massively important musician, he also had a varied film career. In 1976’s surreal The Man Who Fell from Earth, Bowie played an extraterrestrial who crash landed on Earth searching for water. Ten years later, Bowie played the Goblin King Jareth, in Labryinth, directed by Muppet’s creator Jim Henson. Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, enjoys a significant film career as well, directing 2009’s acclaimed sci-fi drama Moon.

In 2012, David Bowie’s music actually reached beyond Earth. Commander Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut aboard the International Space Station, recorded the world’s first extraterrestrial track, a cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” Yesterday, Hadfield was quoted as saying, “Ashes to ashes, dust to stardust, rest in peace, star man.”And rest in peace he may, knowing that he had one of the largest and most lasting legacies in modern music.