Gallery: The Best Break-Out Bands on Rolling Stone's Cover

To American audiences it may have seemed like David Bowie broke overnight, but in truth his success came only after a decade spent working tirelessly in his native England. The LP that finally put him over the top was the glam rock opera The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, which he promoted on a groundbreaking tour that saw Bowie personifying the alien-like rocker onstage. For most careers this would be a pinnacle, but Bowie was just getting started.

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This article appears in the November 9, 1972 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available in the online archive.

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