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Author
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Topic: 50s & 60s (and later) space-themed songs
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Rodina
Member Posts: 836
From: Lafayette, CA
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted 08-14-2002 07:37 PM
  
I've been slowly putting together both modern and old songs which are expressly space-themed songs and am going to burn a CD mixed in with various funny (and serious) bits relating to the space race. (e.g., "The Eagle has Landed", a bit from the Nixon-Khrushchev kitchen debates, a question/answer from a contestant in the 1961 Miss America pageant ("Do you think it is important for America to get to the Moon before the Russians?" "I don't think we will ever reach the moon, because this is where we are born and I think this is where we are to stay.", Radio Moscow's announcement of Sputnik, etc.)I've got the following tunes (some which won't go on the CD, just because I hate the song, but rather than doubling efforts, I list them all). I'm not looking for a song that just mentions the Moon (Dean Martin's "That's Amore") but songs which are either explicitly about the space program or are very heavy on the space references. They can be extremely negative about the space program, for all I care, but I'd like them pretty specific to the space program. - Barry Gray "Fireball XL5"
- Hugh Blumenfeld "Shoot the Moon"
- Frank Sinatra "Fly Me to the Moon"
- Peter Schilling "Major Tom"
- David Bowie "Space Oddity"
- Elton John "Rocket Man"
- Tasmin Archer "Sleeping Satellite"
- The Bonzo Dog Band "I'm the Urban Spaceman"
- Shawn Colvin "I don't want to live on the Moon"
- Grateful Dead "Standing on the Moon"
- Blink 182 "Aliens Exist"
- Jamiroquai "Cosmic Girl"
- Dinah Washington "Destination Moon"
- Rush "Countdown"
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-14-2002 07:58 PM
You might find other titles in this Space.com story: Space Milestones In Song |
liftoff1
Member Posts: 235
From: Cumberland, Wisconsin
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 08-14-2002 08:31 PM
A couple of more: - "Spaceman" Harry Nilsson
- "Terraform" Randy VanWarmer
- "First Indian on the Moon" Paul McCartney
- "Telstar" The Ventures
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Rizz
Member Posts: 1208
From: Upcountry, Maui, Hawaii
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 08-14-2002 08:56 PM
- "Blue Moon" The Marcels
- "Walking on the Moon" The Police
- "Magic Carpet Ride" Steppenwolf (this ones a stretch, buy possible filler)
- "Up Up and Away" The 5th Dimension (for the pioneer leapers)
By the way, this is a killer idea. Good luck and have fun with it.  With all of the images available, it would be cool to record quick 1 second frames of the space program continuously, kinda like they did at the beginning of The Dish. Those images along with your music selections would be a gas. |
BigWaveDave
Member Posts: 202
From: Waikoloa, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Jan 2002
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posted 08-14-2002 11:30 PM
How about: - Journey: "Spaceman"
- The Stones: (I don't know the name, mostly instrumental from the late 60's early 70's)..."you're so very lonely, your a million light years from home."
- and my personal favorite, Hendrix: "Third Stone from the Sun"
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Rodina
Member Posts: 836
From: Lafayette, CA
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted 08-15-2002 12:50 AM
Thanks for the input, all! I'll let you know what I come up with.I'm just now learning how to burn a CD, so I may not do the multimedia presentation, but if you want to put something together after I do up this CD, I'd love to see what you come up with. |
thump
Member Posts: 575
From: washington dc usa
Registered: May 2004
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posted 07-02-2004 05:12 PM
Aside from sci-fi movie songs, do you know of any popular songs with a space theme? Not much knowledgeable about music, but two come to mind, Major Tom (Peter Schilling 1980's) and Space Oddity (David Bowie 1970's?). Any more?Editor's note: Threads merged |
ColinBurgess
Member Posts: 2031
From: Sydney, Australia
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 07-02-2004 06:24 PM
"Armstrong" by Australian country and western singer Reg Lindsay expresses the wonderment of that day, and can be found on most music downloadable sites. Someone in one of those older posts mentions "Telstar" by the Ventures - the group who actually made this a hit was the Tornadoes. I also have here an exceedingly rare track laid down but never released by the New Christy Minstrels, called "You 'n' I, Jim 'n' I, in Gemini" which was meant to be a tribute to the GT-4 flight. Another very rare track that was played a lot on radio here in Australia at the time, but I've never been able to locate, was "There's An American Man on the Moon Tonight" - a bit of a spoof song by Judy Carne from "Laugh In." For pure unadulterated hokum, try for "The Epic Flight of John Glenn" by Walter Brennan. |
Laura
Member Posts: 23
From: Memphis, TN
Registered: Apr 2004
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posted 07-02-2004 10:06 PM
- Jethro Tull, "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me" - I believe this was inspired by the lonliness of Collins' position as CMP.
- Gary Wright, "Dream Weaver" - Wright sings about traveling through space throughout this song, so I'm sure this counts - even if it is supposedly a "dream."
- Jonathan King, "Everyone's Gone To The Moon" - I've never heard this one; it peaked in 1965 at #17 on the charts. The lyrics are ultra-depressing: "Streets full of people, all alone/rows full of houses, never home/Church full of singing, out of tune/ Everyone's gone to the moon." Everybody sing!
- Billy Preston, "Outa-Space" - I haven't heard this one either; but my handy Billboard book says that it went all the way to #2 in 1972, so I'm sure that someone here knows if it's worth anything.
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Matt T
Member Posts: 1368
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2001
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posted 07-03-2004 03:31 AM
In case you missed them - - 'Fragments of Skylab' - Robert Fripp, an instrumental piece.
- 'The Return of Alan Bean' - Stina Nordenstam, the chorus is about how it feels to get back from the moon.
And both are dreadful. |
trajan
Member Posts: 109
From: Chester, Cheshire, UK
Registered: May 2004
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posted 07-03-2004 02:39 PM
Not a song, but it is notable that the '80's classic ZX Spectrum computer game had a screen called "Skylab Landing Bay" |
dave
Member Posts: 414
From: Hinckley
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted 07-03-2004 05:06 PM
I have a favourite space related song,its a track from English singer-songwriter Kate Bush 1985 album "Hounds of Love".The track is called "Hello Earth" and even begins with some brief air to ground comm from STS-1's re-entry (Joe Allen I believe). It's a beautiful, sweeping and powerful song (like much of her work) and even 20 years later still sends shivers down the spine! Check it out if you can. |
liftoff
Member Posts: 45
From: Watt, Switzerland
Registered: Jun 2008
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posted 07-29-2009 03:42 PM
Frank Sinatra once sang "Fly Me to the Moon". Does anybody have a list of songs (artist and song title) from the sixties and seventies which relate to space and rockets?Editor's note: Threads merged |
flight_plan
Member Posts: 58
From: Lincs
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted 07-29-2009 03:42 PM
- Rocket Man - Elton John
- Space Oddity - David Bowie
- Dark Side of The Moon - Pink Floyd
I will get some more like Close Encounters of the Third Kind soundtrack but cant remember who by. |
spaceman1953
Member Posts: 953
From: South Bend, IN
Registered: Apr 2002
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posted 07-29-2009 03:53 PM
Google-ing "The Ballad of John Glenn" took me to the John Glenn Archives that list a whole bunch of recordings for him. |
Delta7
Member Posts: 1505
From: Bluffton IN USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 07-29-2009 03:55 PM
- Space Cowboy ~ Steve Miller (although some call him Maur-ice ~ Woo woo!)
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neke
Member Posts: 55
From: PA
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 07-29-2009 06:05 PM
Here are a handful I have, with links to lyrics etc. where I could find them:(NOTE: you will see it is a bad idea to get me started on music...) - Billy Bragg - "The Space Race is Over" - I love Billy Bragg, I love this song...out of this short list it is definitely the most explicitly about the Apollo program etc.
- Sumosonic - "Sputnik" - weird little homage to satellites and the Russian space program...I like this song despite its slightly excessive syrupiness (is that a word). Sumosonic was a mid-late 90's project of the Jazz Butcher -- who I'm guessing none of you have heard of either.
- Modest Mouse - "Space Travel is Boring" - I'm not actually that familiar with the Modest Mouse version, but it's the original; I know the Sun Kil Moon version.
- The Long Winters - "The Commander Thinks Aloud" - This one has much more abstract, less directly space related lyrics, but it was inspired by the Columbia disaster.
- Big Dipper - "Lunar Module" - No online lyrics for this one. One of my favorite bands, not one of my favorite songs of theirs, and there's really not much about lunar modules in this one, just one line. But I felt it deserved an honorable mention for the title alone...
And one more that just came up on random play in my iTunes: Wintersleep - "Astronaut" |
AstroAutos
Member Posts: 803
From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 07-29-2009 06:07 PM
Buzz Aldrin - "Rocket Experience"Classic...  |
SpaceSteve
Member Posts: 428
From: San Antonio TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2004
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posted 07-29-2009 09:04 PM
Here're a couple (three) more: - The Martian Hop by The Ran-Dells
- Third Rock from the Sun by Joe Diffie
- Oh, and Rocket Man by William Shatner!
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teachspace
Member Posts: 74
From: river edge, nj usa
Registered: Sep 2003
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posted 07-30-2009 10:41 AM
- It's Only A Paper Moon - Perry Como (yes, I'm older!!!!)
- Everyone's Gone To The Moon - Jonathan King
- Moon River - Andy Williams
I did something similar in the late 60's but only used selected lines from each song. I intertwined the music with space mission audio, quotes, etc. Good luck. |
LightningBoots
New Member Posts: 5
From: Bracknell, UK
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 07-30-2009 11:14 AM
Re-entry and Space Race from Bruce Dickinson's 'Skunkworks' album. Re-entry specifically is all about going to the moon and back.Moonloop (and it's various versions) from Porcupine Tree's 'The Sky Moves Sideways'. 17 minutes of ambient wooshing about with some Apollo radio chatter thrown in for good measure. Hello Earth by Kate Bush (Hounds Of Love album) and less-specifically 'Rockets Tale' from 'The Sensual World'. Cracking tune, that. Supersonic Rocket Ship by The Kinks for authentic 60s flavour. |
tegwilym
Member Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 07-30-2009 03:25 PM
Let's not forget Eric Idol's "The Galaxy Song". Or is that just a silly thing? Now on to something completely different. |
dsenechal
Member Posts: 539
From:
Registered: Dec 2002
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posted 01-11-2010 10:18 PM
- Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns
- Ride-O-Rocket - Brothers Johnson
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Shuttlefan
Member Posts: 173
From: 41366 Schwalmtal, Germany
Registered: Oct 2002
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posted 01-12-2010 04:40 PM
Kraftwerk "Spacelab", from the masters of German electronic rock. Was Chris de Burgh's "A spaceman came traveling" already mentioned? Maybe Paul McCartney's "Venus and Mars" would count as well. |
Shuttlefan
Member Posts: 173
From: 41366 Schwalmtal, Germany
Registered: Oct 2002
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posted 01-12-2010 04:47 PM
How could I forget? Manfred Mann's "Solar Fire" album! It's all space and has all: Sun, Pluto, Saturn and Earth. |
Shuttlefan
Member Posts: 173
From: 41366 Schwalmtal, Germany
Registered: Oct 2002
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posted 01-12-2010 04:57 PM
A bunch of songs from Alan Parson's Project: "Sirius", "Gemini", "Total Eclipse", "The Eye in the Sky". |
GoesTo11
Member Posts: 1309
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-12-2010 05:25 PM
"Why Me?" by the Planet P Project!Actually their whole (lone, self-titled) album has a space/astronaut theme; it's worth checking out. I bought it for that one song and was pleasantly surprised, but I'm a sucker for '80s synth rock |
Blackarrow
Member Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 01-12-2010 05:29 PM
It's not really about space, but I don't think any collection of space-themed songs would be complete without Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea." It features in several films and TV programmes about the space race and is very evocative of the Mercury era. It includes the following lyrics: "It's far beyond the stars
It's near beyond the Moon,
I know beyond a doubt
My heart will lead me there soon." Listen to the song, close your eyes, and imagine driving through Cocoa Beach with the wind in your hair as engineers struggle to prepare an Atlas booster for your date with destiny somewhere beyond the sea where the sky turns to black.... |
mjanovec
Member Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 01-12-2010 06:27 PM
One of my favorite space-themed songs is Louis Prima's "Beep Beep." In fact, I have the 45 single in my jukebox and play it quite regularly.Also, the Brian Eno album "Apollo Atmospheres" is excellent...which many people will recognize as the soundtrack to the film For All Mankind. I often use this as background music when observing through my telescope. |
Darron
Member Posts: 22
From: Port Salerno, FL, USA
Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 01-12-2010 10:03 PM
One not included here- an instrumental by Johnny Harris' Orchestra, "Footprints On The Moon," got considerable airplay through the summer of '69.We've had other threads on space music that also mention Roger McGuinn/The Byrds ("Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins," "Mister Sapceman," et.al.) and Justin Hayward/The Moody Blues- notably their album, "To Our Children's Children's Children".... and speaking of Hayward, don't forget his masterful work on the Jeff Wayne/Richard Burton "War Of The Worlds" project! |
SpaceSteve
Member Posts: 428
From: San Antonio TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2004
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posted 01-12-2010 10:53 PM
I just thought of three by The B52s: "Planet Claire", "Is That You Mo-Dean?" and "Hallucinating Pluto" . |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 01-13-2010 07:28 AM
One of my favorite albums when I was growing up was Sheldon Allman's "Folk Songs for the 21st Century." Allman was the original voice of Tony the Tiger and the singing voice of Mr. Ed, in addition to composing the "George of the Jungle" theme song. This is the track listing from his 1960 album:Side One:
1. Radioactive Mama
2. Rocket To The Moon
3. Univac And The Humanoid
4. Space Opera
5. Girl In The Fourth Dimension
6. Change
7. It Conquered The World Side Two:
1. Crawl Out Through The Fallout
2. Schizophrenic Baby
3. Big Brother
4. Extra Sensory Perception
5. Free Fall
6. X Square Plus 2
7. Walking On The Ground The album was a real hoot! I have only seen a couple of tracks of it released as mp3s. I would love to get my hands on it again! |
ea757grrl
Member Posts: 729
From: South Carolina
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 01-13-2010 11:08 AM
"Contact Lost," a brief instrumental on Deep Purple's "Bananas" album, was inspired by, and composed immediately after, the loss of Columbia. |
Rob Joyner
Member Posts: 1308
From: GA, USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 01-13-2010 03:34 PM
quote:
Originally posted by SpaceSteve:
I just thought of three by The B52s: "Planet Claire", "Is That You Mo-Dean?" and "Hallucinating Pluto" .
Also by the B-52s: 'There's a Moon in the Sky' and 'Cosmic Thing' |
Spacefest
Member Posts: 1168
From: Tucson, AZ
Registered: Jan 2009
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posted 01-13-2010 06:46 PM
We at Astronaut Central have a playlist on my Nano we pipe over the PA system at our public events, which includes most of what is reported here, plus:- Allegheny Moon - Patti Page
- Bad Moon Rising - CCR
- Bark at the Moon - Ozzy
- Drops of Jupiter - Train
- Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller
- Full Moon of Hawaii - Hoppin Haole Bros. (!)
- Harvest Moon - Neil Young
- Man in thhe Moon - Conway Twitty
- Mercury Blues - David Lindley
- Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven
- Neon Moon - Brooks & Dunn
- New Blue Moon - Traveling Wilburys
- Rocket in My Pocket - Little Feat
- Surfing with the Alien - Joe Satriani
- Venus - Frankie Avalon
- Satellite - Dave Matthews Band
- Moonshadow - Cat Stevens
- Purple People Eater - Sheb Wooley
- Moondance - Van Morrison
- Clair de Lune - Debussey
- Blue Moon of Kentucky - Patsy Cline
- Man on the Moon - REM
- Moonage Daydream - Dsvid Bowie
- Moonlight Drive - Doors
and... - Longer Boats - Cat Stevens
- After the Gold Rush - Neil Young
(both about alien visitation)
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mikej
Member Posts: 481
From: Germantown, WI USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted 08-05-2014 04:14 PM
I recently learned that archive.org has a large collection of music, and I found a college radio show that I liked. As I was listening to the archived shows, I was rather surprised when the DJ pointed out that the show was taking place a few days after the anniversary of the first human space flight and announced that she the entire show was going to be space-related.It's an hour's worth of space-themed "traditional, old-school rockabilly, doo-wap, and post-rockabilly", all cool music celebrating the very early space age: 4/15/2010 Last Roundup radio show. |
mach3valkyrie
Member Posts: 719
From: Albany, Oregon
Registered: Jul 2006
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posted 09-06-2014 03:29 PM
"Here They Come" by Ten Years After, 1971. |
Ronpur
Member Posts: 1211
From: Brandon, Fl
Registered: May 2012
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posted 09-07-2014 07:01 AM
While it isn't 50 and 60s era, I have always enjoyed Countdown by RUSH. STS-1 launch audio was used in it, and they were at the launch, which inspired the song. |
AstronautBrian
Member Posts: 287
From: Louisiana
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 09-07-2014 08:25 PM
"The Real Thing" by Russell MorrisAlthough not really a song about space, it is the song played at the beginning of my favorite movie "The Dish." Every time I hear the song, I think of the video montage at the beginning of the movie. |
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