In honor of what would have been David Bowie’s 77th birthday, Wilco have dropped a cover of the beloved 1969 track “Space Oddity” from Bowie’s titular album. The cover is in partnership with NPR and West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s live performance radio show, Mountain Stage.
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Mountain Stage recently announced the release of a compilation album due out April 19 from Old Boy Records, with “Space Oddity” as the first single. Live On Mountain Stage: Outlaws and Outliers is in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the program, and will feature performances from the program over the years. Artists include Rhiannon Giddens, Margo Price, John Prine, Jason Isbell, Indigo Girls, Tyler Childers, Birds of Chicago, and Allison Russell, just to name a few.
Mountain Stage to Release Star-Studded Live Album Celebrating 40 Years
“As a gratefully, if not begrudgingly, Earth-bound band, it’s always an honor and a challenge to tackle any of David Bowie’s space-soaring arrangements,” Wilco said in a statement. “Striving to reach the heights of his freedom and talent is a wise goal for any band. We thankMountain Stage for letting us give this song another home on Earth.”
At 40 years, Mountain Stage is the second longest-running nationally broadcast radio show, coming in just behind the Grand Ole Opry. “For over 40 years, Mountain Stage has been one of the most prominent voices in both the promotion and celebration of roots music,” said Jody Whelan of Oh Boy Records in a press release. “This record showcases some of the most legendary performances from the show’s history, but also looks to the future and highlights a new generation of performers we’ll be celebrating for the next 40 years.”
The compilation album is available to pre-order now, and Wilco’s rendition of “Space Oddity” can be heard on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
The full tracklist is as follows:
- Wilco – “Space Oddity”
- Watchhouse – “The Wolves”
- Molly Tuttle – “You Didn’t Call My Name”
- Tyler Childers – “Going Home”
- Lucinda Williams – “Joy”
- Eric Church – “Sinners Like Me”
- Margo Price – “Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)”
- Gillian Welch and David Rawlings – “One More Dollar”
- Birds of Chicago – “Lodestar”
- Kathy Mattea – “Red-Wing Blackbird”
- The Indigo Girls – “Closer To Fine”
- John Prine – “Souvenirs”
- Steve Earle – “You Know the Rest”
- Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn – “What’cha Gonna Do”
- Sierra Ferrell – “I’d Do It Again”
- Tim O’Brien – “Cup of Sugar”
- Rhiannon Giddens – “Black is the Color”
- Alison Krauss – “Let Me Touch You For a While”
- James McMurtry – “Canola Fields”
- Jason Isbell – “Traveling Alone”
- Sam Baker – “Isn’t Love Great”
Featured Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images
