On This Day in 1969, David Bowie Released the Breakout Hit That Soundtracked the Moon Landing and Was Later Covered by an Astronaut
On July 11, 1969, David Bowie released 'Space Oddity' as his record labels capitalized on anticipated global interest in the Apollo 11 mission. When the BBC selected the track as background music for its moon landing coverage nine days later, the gambit paid off, propelling the song to number five on the UK charts and eventually establishing Bowie's presence on the American Hot 100 chart.
Despite widespread assumption that Bowie composed the song to commemorate the lunar landing, he actually wrote it after viewing Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Bowie later reflected with bemused irony that the BBC's selection seemed fitting on the surface, yet missed the song's darker narrative arc—Major Tom's permanent abandonment in space offered an unsettling counterpoint to humanity's triumphant space achievement. The track has since attracted numerous covers, most prominently an acoustic rendition recorded by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield aboard the International Space Station in 2013.
- Bowie released 'Space Oddity' on July 11, 1969; BBC featured it during Apollo 11 coverage nine days later, reaching #5 UK and becoming his first major hit
- Song was inspired by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey film, not the moon landing itself—ironically, Major Tom becomes stranded in space
- Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded a notable acoustic ISS version in 2013 that Bowie called 'quite possibly the most poignant version ever created'
Celebrity Cricket Entertainment Music Space Sport Technology