Songs about rocketships......

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

MaxQ

Tripoli 2747
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
4,505
Reaction score
128
Location
Central Viginia - USA
...or spaceflight in general...

This one reminds me of the 1950s...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pkiSPoZiIU



Destination-moon-luna.jpg
 
Last edited:
I have a reel-to-reel tape from the '60's called "SPACE ESCAPADE" by Lex Baxter and his orchestra.
Titles are:

Shooting Star
Moonscape
Mr. Robot
The City
A Distant Star
The Commuter
Winds of Sirius
The Other Side of the Moon
Somewhere in Space
Earth Light
The Lady is Blue
Saturday Night on Saturn

Classics all;)
 
This Steppenwolf tune immortalized by Zefram Chochrane in Star Trek: First Contact:

[YOUTUBE]o1djkR-8xOU[/YOUTUBE]
 
Out Of Limits
He Never Come Back
Moon Child
Fear
Exploration In Terror
War Of The Satelites
Bad
Penetration
Love Goddess Of Venus
Solar Race
Forth Dimension
Twilight Zone

...all from "The Ventures in Space" album...

...and...

"Telstar" by "The Tornados".
 
"Rocket" by Def Leppard is my favorite, and "Rocket Man" by EJ is another good one...
 
There was a song by the Ozark Mountain Daredevils called "Spaceship Orion".
Loved that song when I was in Jr. high.

This is a modern rendition...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TojxDE4ZtxU

wow, one of my favorite bands. I started to listen to them
back in the 70's. I don't know what happened to the band
members because the current guys are a bunch of old
geezers.
 
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" by Klaatu.

[YOUTUBE]_CdjZbWu98A[/YOUTUBE]

The subtitle of this particular song is "The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day" and believe it or not, it was covered by The Carpenters.

[YOUTUBE]pox-DKhrDXI[/YOUTUBE]

How is it that I know this stuff? Well, I have the original album ("Klaatu" here in the US) released by Klaatu back in 1976 and it still holds up quite well 34 years later. "Sub-Rosa Subway" is another notable cut from the album. At the time of its release, Klaatu was believed to by an anonymous side project of the Beatles. Turns out they were a Canadian prog rock group.
 
One of my all-time favorite Mellotron tunes :) I think The Carpenters' version is equally as good as Klaatu's version, just different.

You have a M400?..I'd love to have one.

Now that you mentioned the Mellotron, I'll have to add one of my favorite 'tron tunes that just happens to be about space...............Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, "2000 light years from Home".

Of course the entire "To Our Children's Children's Children" album by the Moody Blues was dedicated in honor of the moon landing that year, so the entire album would offer some good tracks.

The first track "Higher and Higher" has a fabulous simulated Saturn V lift off they crafted themselves, as standard recorded sound just didn't do it for them.
 
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" by Klaatu.

How is it that I know this stuff? Well, I have the original album ("Klaatu" here in the US) released by Klaatu back in 1976 and it still holds up quite well 34 years later. "Sub-Rosa Subway" is another notable cut from the album. At the time of its release, Klaatu was believed to by an anonymous side project of the Beatles. Turns out they were a Canadian prog rock group.

I got that same album in vinyl as well.....now I've done it... dated myself.
 
You have a M400?..I'd love to have one.

Now that you mentioned the Mellotron, I'll have to add one of my favorite 'tron tunes that just happens to be about space...............Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, "2000 light years from Home".

Of course the entire "To Our Children's Children's Children" album by the Moody Blues was dedicated in honor of the moon landing that year, so the entire album would offer some good tracks.

The first track "Higher and Higher" has a fabulous simulated Saturn V lift off they crafted themselves, as standard recorded sound just didn't do it for them.

It's a 35 year machine that was completely refurbished a few years ago including new tapes; no longer white, but a golden oak finish with black trim. I just replaced the pinch rollers and adjusted the keyboard this past weekend. It's playing like new now. They've been showing up on eBay quite a bit lately, but they usually need a couple of grand in refurbishing to make them right.

To Our Children's Children's Children is one of my favorite Moodies albums. The recording quality is outstanding; very spacey. I think 2000 Light Years From Home is one of the best Stones tunes, too.
 
"'39", by Queen, off of the "A Night at the Opera" album.

Written by guitarist Brian May (who studied astrophysics in college, and now holds a PhD in the field), it's about a group of space explorers who board a spaceship for a near-lightspeed trip. They return to Earth a hundred years later, but, due to the time dilation effect, for the explorers, only a year has passed.
 
Last edited:
"Wernher von Braun" by Tom Lehrer. :y:

[YOUTUBE]kTKn1aSOyOs[/YOUTUBE]
 
Last edited:
It's a 35 year machine that was completely refurbished a few years ago including new tapes; no longer white, but a golden oak finish with black trim. I just replaced the pinch rollers and adjusted the keyboard this past weekend. It's playing like new now. They've been showing up on eBay quite a bit lately, but they usually need a couple of grand in refurbishing to make them right.

To Our Children's Children's Children is one of my favorite Moodies albums. The recording quality is outstanding; very spacey. I think 2000 Light Years From Home is one of the best Stones tunes, too.

Yep...Moodies "TOCCC" as they say, is one of my top ten favorite albums of all time, just the right blend of serene stratospheric sound laced with a kind of cosmic spiritual meaning... (for instance "Out and In" and the indian raga like "Sun is Still Shining"). They really attempted to convey the meaning of man landing on the moon as an evolutionary voyage ....I was fortunate enough to see Mike Pinder play live with the MB at Baltimore in '72 when "EGBDF" came out.

ahhh, the good ole days.
Wonder what happened to them.

As for the mellotron, I never tire of listening to how different the "2000 light years from Home" sound is, when compared to Pinder's work, and that of Ian McDonald in early King Crimson, which I also like...
 
Last edited:
"Wernher von Braun" by Tom Lehrer.


That guy is very funny..."Once the rockets go up, who cares where they come down. That's not my department! says Werner Von Braun."

(he's a tad harsh on the effort "to put some idiot on the moon", but I guess so was Homer Hickham's dad. "Once this stunt is over they'll all have to get real jobs."
 
Yep...Moodies "TOCCC" as they say, is one of my top ten favorite albums of all time, just the right blend of serene stratospheric sound laced with a kind of cosmic spiritual meaning... (for instance "Out and In" and the indian raga like "Sun is Still Shining"). They really attempted to convey the meaning of man landing on the moon as an evolutionary voyage ....I was fortunate enough to see Mike Pinder play live with the MB at Baltimore in '72 when "EGBDF" came out.

ahhh, the good ole days.
Wonder what happened to them.

As for the mellotron, I never tire of listening to how different the "2000 years from Home" sound is, when compared to Pinder's work, and that of Ian McDonald in early King Crimson, which I also like...

You were fortunate to see the Moodies with Pinder. I've seen them a few times, including with full orchestras, but only once with Pinder. The post-Pinder concerts just didn't have the magic.

In my own personal opinion, the same thing happened to the Stones when Brian Jones passed and when Ian McDonald left Crimson.
 
Last Rendez-vous By Jean Michel Jarre.

The the saxophone part was supposed to be played in outer space by astronaut Ron McNair, but on January 28, 1986 he and the entire Space Shuttle Challenger crew were killed 73 seconds after lift-off when the shuttle exploded.

I was first exposed to Jarre when I heard his Oxygen album playing in the movie theater while I was waiting to see Star Trek The motion Picture.
 
Back
Top