“Let’s Beetle in the rocket, in the rocket to the moon!”
Singer Johnny Davis sang this in 1964 as a Beatle novelty song. But this was just one of many songs that tied rock and roll to the space program.
I was fortunate to be one of the many watching Ed Sullivan the evening of February 9, 1964, when the Beatles appeared. We were watching the black and white television in my parents’ living room, with the TV tray pushed aside so I could see better. Years later, I watched Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on that July afternoon in 1969 from the same house, this time on a color TV from our screened-in back porch area. The same TV tray was sitting beside me, probably holding a glass of Tang in celebration. On the radio…the quickly released “Space Oddity” by David Bowie rushed into production to capitalize on the moon landing. These moments seemed like bookends about the beginning and the culmination of the man on the moon race, but this moment could have been markers for music’s involvement in that same space race.
Even before that fateful day in July 1969, music had already become an integral part of the national narrative of the space race, seemingly connecting the wiring of Houston’s Mission Control to the cables of the amps and instruments of rock and roll. This unique connection between two seemingly disparate worlds is a fascinating aspect of the space race.
Many songs have attempted to tie the space race with rock and roll.
In October 1957, the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik, was launched into orbit. It didn’t take long for music to become a part of this historic event, weaving its way into the space race story and becoming an integral part of the historical context.
In November 1957, Skip Stanley told us about “Satellite Baby.” Jerry Engler released “Sputnik” on the Brunswick label that same year. These songs, along with Roosevelt Sykes’ “Sputnik Baby,” and Al Barkle with The Tri-Tones’ “Sputnik II,” were among the first to capture the public’s fascination with space exploration, marking the beginning of a musical trend that would continue for years to come.
In 1958, Teresa Brewer sang about “Satellite,” along with Ray Anderson and The Home Folks singing “Sputniks And Mutniks.” Space Man sang about “Man In Orbit” in May 1961, with the flip side titled “Blast Off.”
Songs like “Men Into Space,” “There Goes Sputnik,” “Planetary Run,” “Stratosphere Boogie,” “Space Age,” “Gonna Build A Rocket,” “Rockin’ Satellite,” “Sputnik Dance,” “Space-Time,” “Sputnik (Satellite Girl),” “Rocket Ship,” “Weightless Blues,” “Rocking To Telstar,” “Space Guitar,” “Space Man In Orbit,” “Rocket Race,” “Journey To The Stars,” and “Up There In Orbit,” each offered a unique take on the space race, reflecting the diverse musical styles and cultural influences of the time.
Artists released many more of these songs with a tie to space. But one of the most iconic of the time was “Telstar” by The Tornados. Named after the Telstar communication satellite, it reached number one on the Billboard charts in December 1962. Reviewer Tim Wheeler wrote, “Telstar was one of the earliest pop tracks influenced by science fiction.” After listening to the song, the question on everyone’s lips was: Was this song what space sounded like?
The trend continued as the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned missions unfolded over the years. Along with them, the space-themed songs continued. Frank Sinatra’s recording of “Fly Me To The Moon” came out in 1964, and other melodies like The Byrds’ “Mr. Spaceman,” “Interstellar Overdrive” (Pink Floyd), “20,000 Light Years From Home” (Rolling Stones), “Space Cowboy” (Steve Miller), “In the Year 2525” (Zagger and Evans), “Everyone’s Gone To The Moon” (Jonathan King). Many others took the “ignition-sequence-started” Jetson generation towards the moon.
To expand on one more perfect tie between music and the space race, let’s examine this 60’s version of a mixtape. The three Apollo 11 astronauts who went to the moon in July 1969 were provided small Sony recorders with music they had earlier handpicked for the event. Among the songs that Neil Armstrong (the first man on the moon) listened to from the lunar surface was “Moon Moods” from the album Music Out of the Moon, which was an album of songs performed on the Theremin musical instrument. What a fun connection that highlights the enduring influence of space exploration on popular culture.
Let’s all live long, prosper, and keep rockin’.
#GoldenAge60s * #RockandRoll
