Story of The 1968 Classic Rock Hit That Put This Legend on The Map | Professor of Rock

Space Oddity by David Bowie was a track inspired by a milestone Science Fiction movie, but passed on by the most prolific producer in music history. How a song about a fictitious astronaut overcame the label of being a “novelty song” to becoming a transcendent masterpiece in the 70s and beyond by a genius of Rock.
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​#70s​ #Vinyl #Story
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Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 motion picture- 2001: A Space Odyssey permanently altered the course of sci-fi cinema. The movie was revelatory for its filmmaking, its ground-breaking special effects, and a spectacular depiction of human spaceflight. Kubrick’s acclaimed direction, and the legendary story-telling of writer Arthur C. Clarke made 2001: A Space Odyssey the film responsible for boosting literary science fiction into the mainstream. 2001: A Space Odyssey captured the imagination of moviegoers around the world, and fascinated a budding rock icon who changed his name from David Jones…to David Bowie.
Bowie loved sci-fi movies and novelists, and he had great enthusiasm for American pop culture. He found 2001: A Space Odyssey exhilarating- watching the movie several times during its first run in theaters in ’68. The movie was an awakening for Bowie that inspired a steady flow of ideas for a song he was constructing. David had just broken up with his actress/model girlfriend, Hermione Farthingale, and it left him shaken with confusion & sadness. Which for an artist is the perfect recipe for greatness.
It was a period where he fell into that sea of heartbreak & loneliness that many of us have floundered in. The concept of space travel, and floating ABOVE terrestrial struggles was very appealing to David’s psyche at the time. Bowie began writing “Space Oddity,” centered around a fictional astronaut he named "Major Tom." Major Tom.. in outer space... became a metaphor about isolation. There is no official comment from David Bowie about why he chose ‘Major Tom’ as the astronaut’s name, but there is a very credible theory:
As a young lad growing up in the greater London area of Bromley, England, David saw posters of music hall performer Tom Major, who was the father of Prime Minister John Major. Regardless of the source, “Major Tom” became a running character in future Bowie compositions- “Ashes to Ashes,” “Hallo Spaceboy,” and his music video “Blackstar.” “Major Tom” was also the mythical hero of German musician Peter Schilling in his 1982 cult new wave hit “Major Tom (Coming Home)."
After Bowie wrote the lyrics for “Space Oddity” he teamed up with his friend “Hutch” Hutchinson to record a demo of the song on cassette in 1968.