50 years ago: David Bowie’s Career Takes Off – Thanks to Men Landing on the Moon

Space Oddity David Bowie

Writer(s): David Bowie (see lyrics here) Released: July 11, 1969 First Charted: August 16, 1969 Peak: 15 US, 17 CB, 11 GR, 10 HR, 1 CL, 1 CO, 12 UK, 16 CN, 9 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.77 UK, 1.02 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 121.03 video, 284.35 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: July 20, 1969 marked one of the greatest achievements of mankind when American astronauts walked on the moon. The event was televised throughout the world, with an estimated 600 million people watching. In the U.K., the BBC’s coverage included a song called “Space Oddity” by a then fairly-unknown David Bowie. Inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, he crafted a “haunting ballad about alienation” TC in which Major Tom is a “disillusioned astronaut cutting off all contact with the planet Earth.” DT The song was Bowie’s first single with Mercury Records following his split from Deram Records. He’d been releasing music for five years with the King Bees, the Manish Boys, as Davy Jones with the Lower Third, and under the name David Bowie. However, he’d failed to achieve any chart success until “Space Oddity” reached #5 in 1969. A reissue in 1975 went all the way to #1. An early version appeared in Bowie’s Love You Till Tuesday promotional film. The song alluded to the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and lampooned the British space program. He recorded a new version in anticipation of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The song was produced by Gus Dudgeon (who later worked with Elton John on the similar-themed “Rocket Man”) HL after Tony Visconti said no. Visconti went on to work with Bowie on numerous albums, but thought “Space Oddity” was too gimmicky. TB It ended up celebrated as “one of Bowie’s finest narrative songs.” TB In the U.S., Bowie hit the Billboard Hot 100 with “Changes,” “Starman,” and “The Jean Genie” before “Space Oddity” hit #15 after a 1973 reissue. The 1968 album, Man of Words, Man of Music, from which the song originated, was rechristened Space Oddity and charted in 1972 after Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars had introduced American audiences to Bowie. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for David Bowie TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Pages 333-4. HL Michael Heatley and Spencer Leigh (1998). Behind the Song: The Stories of 100 Great Pop & Rock Classics. Blandford Books: London, UK. Pages 128-9. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 134. SJ Bob Shannon and John Javna (1986). Behind the Hits: Inside Stories of Classic Pop and Rock and Roll. Warner Books, Inc.: New York, NY. Page 36. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 37. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Pages 114-5. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 7/20/2011; last updated 4/13/2023.

Today in Music (1968): “Hey Jude” spent 9th week at #1, giving Beatles their biggest hit

Hey Jude The Beatles

Writer(s): John Lennon, Paul McCartney (see lyrics here) Released: August 26, 1968 First Charted: September 4, 1968 Peak: 19 US, 17 CB, 14 HR, 41 AR (1990 live version by Paul McCartney), 12 UK, 13 CN, 113 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, 1.06 UK, 10.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 329.03 video, 529.30 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The birth of “Hey Jude” is a story familiar to anyone versed in Rock and Roll History 101: Cynthia Lennon was soon to be the ex-wife of the famous Beatle. To soothe the couple’s young son, Julian, John’s band mate Paul McCartney offered words of encouragement in the best way he knew how – through song. He changed “Jules” to “Jude” because it was “more mellifluous.” DJ Julian said Paul hung out with him more than his own dad. TC However, there are alternative versions of the inspiration for the rock-and-roll era’s greatest single. In his autobiography, Many Years from Now, McCartney confirms that he thought of the song on the way to visit Cynthia and Julian, TC but that the song was really about himself. KL Meanwhile, Lennon concluded the song was Paul’s commentary on the strain that John and Yoko’s relationship put on the bond between John and Paul. RS500 Regardless of its origin, “‘Hey Jude’ kicks ass on a par with Van Gogh or Beethoven in their prime.” PW As the first single from the Beatles’ new Apple Records label, it was history’s highest debut (at #10) on the U.S. charts at that time. FB It became the best-selling single of the sixties DJ and the Beatles’ biggest U.S. hit. At over seven minutes, “Hey Jude” was the longest single ever released at the time. SF More than half the song’s length is borne out of the “na na na“ fade-out coda that repeats 19 times. RS500 Those four-plus minutes alone were more than most radio stations allowed for a single, but “there’s such spirit in the tune and the performance that it’s hard to cut.” TC Interestingly, the featured orchestra was paid double their usual fee just to clap and sing along. RS500 Producer George Martin was wary that radio wouldn’t play “Hey Jude,” to which John cheekily retorted, “They will if it’s us.” RS500 When Lennon’s assumption proved correct, the real winners were DJ’s who could take longer bathroom breaks as the listening public absorbed similarly lengthy hits like “American Pie” and “Layla.” Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Beatles FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 247. TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Pages 239-40. DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Pages 74-5. KL Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits: The Stories Behind Every Number One Single Since 1952. London, Great Britain: Omnibus Press. Page 143. RS500 Rolling Stone (12/2004). The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. SF Songfacts PW Paul Williams (1993). Rock and Roll: The Best 100 Singles. Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc.: New York, NY Page 137. Related Links: Last updated 9/15/2023.