3 Spacey Songs From the 70s That We Love to the Moon and Back

In the 70s, people were obsessed with space. The final Apollo missions took place at the start of the decade, and by the end, the Star Wars franchise had already won over tons of fans with its first film, Episode IV: A New Hope (then titled Star Wars). Here are a few spacey songs from the 70s that will take you beyond the stars and into new sonic galaxies.

“Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band” by Meco

For those reading who didn’t know that “space disco” was a thing, prepare to be amazed. Meco Monardo, otherwise known as Meco, added his own disco flair to John Williams’ Star Wars theme in 1977. Surprisingly, it actually went No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song appeared on Meco’s album, Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk, which essentially takes Star Wars music and makes it danceable. Honestly, there are worse things to be known for if you ask me.

“Rocket Man” by Elton John

“Rocket Man” was actually inspired by a short story by Ray Bradbury of the same title. Even though the song itself is a pretty good time, the story that inspired it is actually kind of sad. In the made-up, futuristic world of Bradbury’s tale, being an astronaut is a fairly normal job for people to have. The downside is that such a career requires people to be away for months at a time. The plot follows a family of three, in which the father is a so-called “Rocket Man”. The travel keeps him away from his family for extended periods, and he tells his son to “never be a Rocket Man.” Simultaneously, he misses space when he’s away.

“Space Oddity” by David Bowie

“Space Oddity” is perhaps the most popular space-related song from this era. Technically, the track was actually released in 1969 so as to match up perfectly timing-wise with the Apollo 11 landing. The single did okay, but it achieved even more commercial success when it was reissued in the 70s in both the US and the UK. Similarly to Meco of “Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band” fame, Bowie was inspired by a movie when he wrote this song. Only for him, the muse was 2001: A Space Odyssey, which the glam rock icon went to see while stoned.

Photo by: Larry Hulst/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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