Just a few days after his 69th birthday and the release of a new album, glam-rock icon David Bowie died “peacefully” Sunday evening surrounded by family, reports the Associated Press.

Bowie had been battling cancer for the past 18 months.

Bowie was born David Jones in south London in 1947, and changed his last name to Bowie after he entered the music scene to avoid confusion with The Monkees’ lead singer Davy Jones.

Bowie had breakout success in 1969 with the release of “Space Oddity,” which introduced space explorer Major Tom. Bowie charted nearly 24 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 during his career, reports USA Today.