On This Day in 1969, David Bowie Released the Breakout Hit That Soundtracked the Moon Landing and Was Later Covered by an Astronaut

On this day (July 11) in 1969, David Bowie released “Space Oddity” as a single from his self-titled album. Nine days later, the BBC used the song as background music during coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. As a result, it reached No. 5 in the United Kingdom. Years later, it would be his first hit on the Hot 100 and his first No. 1 in his home country. Many artists have covered the space-themed classic. The most notable of those came in 2013 when a Canadian astronaut recorded an acoustic rendition aboard the International Space Station.

Bowie’s labels, Phillips in the UK and Mercury in the US, rushed to release this single ahead of the Apollo 11 mission. They hoped that the worldwide attention on the moon landing and resulting interest in space and astronauts would draw attention to the single and make it a hit. The strategy paid off.

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A Hit Three Times Over

“Space Oddity” became a hit in Bowie’s home country after the BBC used it during coverage of the moon landing. However, it didn’t initially do well in the United States. Then, it became the title track and single from Bowie’s 1972 album. Upon that release, it reached No. 15 on the Hot 100, giving him his first hit on the Hot 100. Three years later, he released it again, and it became his first UK No. 1.

Bowie didn’t write the song for the occasion, though. Instead, he penned the song about alienation after seeing the Stanley Kubrick classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, according to Songfacts. Had he written the song for the Apollo 11 mission, Major Tom likely wouldn’t have floated into space at the end.

David Bowie Discusses “Space Oddity”

“In England, it was always presumed that it was written about the space landing, because it kind of came to prominence around the same time. But it actually wasn’t,” David Bowie explained. “It was written because of going to see the film 2001, which I found amazing. I was out of my gourd anyway. I was stoned when I went to see it, several times,” he revealed.

“I’m sure they really weren’t listening to the lyric at all. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to juxtapose against a moon landing. Of course, I was overjoyed that they did,” Bowie said about the BBC’s use of the hit. “Obviously some BBC official said, ‘Oh, right then, that space song, Major Tom, blah blah blah, that’ll be great.’ ‘Um, but he gets stranded in space, sir.’ Nobody had the heart to tell the producer that.”

The “Most Poignant” Cover of “Space Oddity”

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded an acoustic version of “Space Oddity” while aboard the International Space Station in 2013. Singer/songwriter Emm Gryner, who was a member of David Bowie’s backing band around the turn of the century, assisted. She added overdubs and incorporated sounds that Hadfield had recorded about the ISS and posted on his SoundCloud account.

When the music video hit YouTube, it garnered millions of views. Bowie said it was “Quite possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created.”