David Bowie, 1974

David Bowie

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"Space Oddity": 7 Facts About David Bowie's Cosmic Ballad | GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

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Investigate these seven intriguing facts about Bowie's spacey first hit single
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Mar 9, 2018 - 6:26 pm

Earlier this year, the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame officially announced its 2018 class of inductees. The list includes classic recordings such as Public Enemy's "Fight The Power," Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," and the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black,"  among others.

Also among the class of new inductees is David Bowie's singularly spacey early hit, "Space Oddity."

Originally released in 1969, right around the time of the momentous Apollo 11 moon landing, the song captured the sentiment of our global fascination with humanity's strange journey to reach the stars. Paired with a profound arrangement of orchestral backing tracks and touches of classic '60s British whimsy, the song also cemented the beginnings of what would become Bowie's trademark "far out" persona and career-spanning incorporation of cosmic motifs.

In celebration of the song's induction into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, let's dive a bit deeper into the history of "Space Oddity." So take your protein pills and put your helmet on, because here are seven intriguing facts about Bowie's spacey, psychedelic first big single.

1. Bowie Initially Had Trouble Finding A Producer

In the two years following the lukewarm reception for his 1967 self-titled debut, Bowie had grown wiser and weirder (in the best way possible) as a songwriter, but still found trouble landing a producer to work on his new batch of songs. Beatles collaborator George Martin turned down working on "Space Oddity" out of hand; meanwhile, Tony Visconti, who would later become a lifelong production partner for Bowie, claimed the song was "a cheap shot" at the impending Apollo 11 mission. Though Visconti did end up contributing some arrangement work to the song, he delegated the project to eventual Elton John collaborator Gus Dudgeon.

2. BBC Delayed Its Release Due To Astronaut Safety Concerns

"Space Oddity" was released on July 11, 1969, just five days before the launch of the Apollo 11 moon mission. Unfortunately, due to concerns over the song's less-than-optimistic lyrics regarding the fate of Major Tom, the BBC actually refused to broadcast the song on-air until the Apollo 11 astronauts had safely returned from their mission. Because of this delay, the song was essentially kneecapped at its outset and had trouble building momentum on the charts. Nevertheless, by September 1969, the song was able to gain traction on the U.K. singles chart — becoming Bowie's first single to do so — eventually climbing to No. 5.

3. Success Upon Re-Release

While "Space Oddity" eventually charted well in the U.K., it initially hit a brick wall in the U.S., failing to climb crack the top 100 following its 1969 release. Oddly enough, despite Bowie's debut album having been released as a self-titled LP, Philips Records (Bowie's label at the time) released his second album in November 1969 also under the title David Bowie. When the album was finally re-released internationally by RCA in 1972, it was renamed Space Oddity to reflect the success of the single. It was with this release that "Space Oddity" hit the mark in the U.S., where it climbed all the way to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Bowie's first stateside hit.

4. A Stellar Lineup Of Collaborators

As is often the case with anything touched by Bowie, the team of creatives assembled to help launch the rocket that "Space Oddity" was truly cosmic. Playing the distinctive mellotron sections on the track was a then-little known session player named Rick Wakeman, who would eventually find worldwide success with the progressive rock outfit Yes. In charge of the fantastic string arrangements that signal the blastoff of Major Tom's interstellar tin can was the late Paul Buckmaster, a classically-trained arranger and composer who went on to contribute GRAMMY-winning arrangement work to recordings by Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks, and countless other members of classic rock royalty. Also onboard was the multitalented Visconti, who helped arrange the track's flute and woodwind sections, despite his misgivings about signing on as overall producer.

5. The Continuing Adventures Of Major Tom

The song's protagonist stands tall among the cast of unforgettable character that Bowie brought to life in his songs across his prolific career. And while "Space Oddity" envisions Major Tom's journey as a pseudo hippy-inspired tale of escape from the material shackles of living on the ground, Bowie's later references to the character in 1980's "Ashes To Ashes" and 1995's "Hallo Spaceboy" reframe the narrative in a darker light. To cement this connection, Bowie also reused some notable set pieces from the "Space Oddity" music video as backdrops for "Ashes To Ashes."

6. Teasing The Legacy

Bowie's relationship with "Space Oddity" took turns of its own across the nearly 50 years of his career that would pass between its recording and release in 1969 and the singer's untimely death in 2016. Despite the song's popularity with Bowie's fans, he rarely if ever played it live after the mid-1970s. During his 2004 A Reality Tour, however, he would often tease audiences by strumming the first few chords of the song, before breaking off to ask the crowd with a wry smile. "You remember this one …but we're not playing that one," said Bowie. Clocking in at 112 show dates, Bowie's A Reality Tour was the longest tour run of his entire career, and though he teased the song often, not once during the tour did he ever play it in its entirety.

7. The First Music Video In Space

In 2013, while stationed aboard the International Space Station, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield posted a video of himself performing "Space Oddity" aboard the ISS in orbit around Earth. The video has the distinction of being the first music video ever to be shot and performed in outer space. Upon Hadfield's return to Earth, he revealed to the U.K.'s Telegraph that Bowie exchanged messages of praise with him for making the film (though the two were never able to meet face to face). "For [Bowie] to have [seen] it performed in a place he’d always dreamed of, and in a way that was sensitive to the ideas of the song, gave him great joy," Hadfield explained. "[He] loved the song and that was the best reaction for me."

"Fight The Power": 7 Facts Behind Public Enemy's Anthem | GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

Queen circa 1975

Queen

Photo: Terry O'Neill/Iconic Images/Getty Images

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'A Night At The Opera': 7 Facts On Queen's Masterpiece | GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

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The band's fourth album spawned perhaps one of the most epic rock operas of all time; get the 411 on the making of this classic LP
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Apr 27, 2018 - 3:39 pm

"I see a little silhouetto of a man/Scaramouche, scaramouche will you do the fandango?"

The lyrics are so iconic, inevitably you'll know the song they belong to in an instant — Queen's epic "Bohemian Rhapsody."  

While the rock opera has arguably outshined the rest of the album that spawned the unlikely hit, A Night At The Opera was Queen's aptly titled fourth studio LP. Released Nov. 21, 1975, it contained other would-be favorites such as "Love Of My Life" and "You're My Best Friend." By all accounts, it wasn't an easy album to get down on tape, but it also became one of Queen's most successful and influential works of art.

Marking A Night At The Opera's latest achievement, it was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame as part of the class of 2018, an honor recognizing significant recordings that have shaped our musical heritage. To celebrate, let's take a closer look at these seven facts about the making of this classic Queen album.

1. The Marx Brothers Inspired The Title

As fans of the Marx Brothers' filmography, it seemed to make perfect sense that Queen — lead singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon — would name their fourth album after one of their films. A Night At The Opera comes from the 1935 Marx Brothers comedy of the same name, which the band reportedly watched in the studio during the recording of the LP Their 1976 follow-up, A Day At The Races, also borrowed its title from the Marx Brothers.

2. The Album Cost A Fortune

There was nothing cheap about recording A Night At The Opera, both from a time and financial standpoint. Getting the massive "Bohemian Rhapsody" down took three weeks alone, and the rest of the album stretched on as Queen worked tirelessly with producer Roy Thomas Baker. Most notably, the album cost the equivalent of $500,000 today to make in 1975, which earned the distinction of being the then-most expensive rock album ever made. This could have something to do with the fact the band recorded in six studios across the U.K.

3. Manager Drama Makes The Cut

Prior to 1975, Queen struggled to make ends meet despite having success with their three previous albums. It turns out the issue was a management deal gone horribly wrong. The band fought to free themselves from the bad relationship, and when they were successful, Mercury penned a scathing revenge track recounting the experience — "Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To …)."

"'Death On Two Legs' was the most vicious lyric I ever wrote," Mercury said, according to QueenOnline.com. "It was so vindictive that Brian felt bad singing it. No one would ever believe how much hate and venom went into the singing of that song, let alone the lyrics themselves."

4. Recording "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Queen's magnum opus, and arguably their most recognizable song of all time, is the rock opera "Bohemian Rhapsody." Clocking in at more than six minutes, it defied all conventions. And while we know some of the song's references — Scaramouche is a character from the Italian clown tradition, Galileo refers to the famous astronomer and Bismillah is the first word in The Qu'ran — we may never know the song's true meaning since Mercury never revealed it. To get "Bohemian Rhapsody" on tape, particularly the choral parts, Mercury, May and Taylor reportedly sang 180 overdubs. By the end of the process, the tape had been used so many times it was see-through.

5. Making Music Video History

With its growing popularity, Queen realized they would need a music video for "Bohemian Rhapsody," largely because they didn't want to appear on the British TV show "Top Of The Pops." So the band set aside £3,500, brought on director Bruce Gowers and threw together a music video in just four hours in a space they were using to rehearse for a tour. The result was a rather simple video visually dominated by the band's singing heads. But like the song itself, the end result became so popular it's credited with helping usher in the MTV music video craze of the '80s.

6. Wayne's World? Excellent …

Remember that scene in Wayne's World where Mike Meyers and crew lip sync "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the car? That moment has become a classic music moment in film, but it also gave way to a resurgence of interest in the popular A Night At The Opera track. When the Wayne's World soundtrack hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1992, "Bohemian Rhapsody" also landed at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, bringing the Queen hit to a new generation of fans.

7. GRAMMY Awards Recognition

Besides A Night At The Opera's induction into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame this year, the album earned Queen other GRAMMY recognition. Most notably, "Bohemian Rhapsody" earned the rockers their first two GRAMMY nominations at the 19th GRAMMY Awards, including nods for Best Arrangement For Voices (Duo, Group Or Chorus) and Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus. "Bohemian Rhapsody" earned induction into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame on its own in 2004 and Queen was also honored with the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

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Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt

Photo: Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns

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'Heart Like A Wheel': 7 Facts About Linda Ronstadt's Album | GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

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Investigate the album that led the mid-'70s into country rock, showcasing talent that went on to win many GRAMMY Awards and reshape American pop music
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 16, 2018 - 3:20 pm

"And it's only love, and it's only love/That can wreck a human being and turn him inside out" — "Heart Like A Wheel" by Anna McGarrigle

Linda Ronstadt's fifth studio album, Heart Like A Wheel (1974), was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame among other recordings receiving the special award in 2018. Like other seminal records on the list that swept into popular consciousness, this particular hit had an impact that changed the game and opened up a new musical period, especially for American pop and what came to be known as "country rock."

A great live performer and song stylist, surrounded by some of the world's greatest rock and country musicians, Ronstadt's voice carried a heartfelt urgency that could slide expressively from pure ringing tone to emotion so thick it threatened to saturate the microphone. At times on Heart Like A Wheel, Ronstadt's passion and authenticity soars in a belt out of her phrasings or even holler. Let's go for a spin around Linda Ronstadt's life in the '70s, and deeper into Heart Like A Wheel, with these seven fascinating facts.

1. The Eagles Take Flight

Commercial success versus artistic culture is barely a conflict if, at the time, success can't help but follow the artists creating the culture. This was the case with Linda Ronstadt's legendary backup band, the Eagles.

This phenomenon was especially apparent at the 18th GRAMMY Awards (1975) as the Eagles won their first GRAMMY the same year Ronstadt did, in Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus for "Lyin' Eyes." With the Eagles' Glenn Frey and Don Henley both backing up Ronstadt on Heart Like A Wheel, they enjoyed side-by-side commercial success while making a cultural impact.

At Linda Ronstadt's Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2014, her Parkinson's condition left her unable to attend. Frey's acceptance speech on her behalf summarized events that led to their musical partnership, beginning at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in 1970. "Linda and I, we became friends, and in the spring of 1971, she hired me and a singing drummer from Linden, Texas named Don Henley to play in her backup band. From the first rehearsal, I felt we were working on a style of music none of us had ever heard before," said Frey. "While touring with Linda that summer, Don and I told her that we wanted to start our own band, and she, more than anyone else, helped us put together the Eagles."

2. The Song That Put Country Rock On The Map

Described in the contemporary Rolling Stone album review as a "soulful wail," Ronstadt's vocals on "You're No Good" took American pop music to a place it hadn't quite been before. With a strong lyric to a rocking beat, it combined soul and country flair.

On the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Feb. 15, 1975, "You're No Good" was No. 1. A triumph for her producer Peter Asher as well as Ronstadt, it led the album's ascent to double-platinum status. But the song wasn't always an obvious choice for a single. In fact, it had started as the song Ronstadt always used to close her live sets. Putting it on the album was recalled as an afterthought.

3. Romantic And Musical Partner, J.D. Souther

In that same speech, Frey said he loved Ronstadt "at first sight" but "a guitar-slinging, love-rustler from Amarillo, Texas, named John David Souther … beat me to the punch." A romantic figure, especially as a true country singer/songwriter, author Marc Eliot said Souther was considered for the Eagles but one of the other members objected. He performed with Frey as a duo on their 1969 self-titled album Longbranch Pennywhistle, and he produced Ronstadt's 1973 album Don't Cry Now and wrote "Faithless Love" for Heart Like A Wheel. Years later when Glen Campbell covered it as his lead single on Letter To Home, the classic brought J.D. Souther a GRAMMY nomination for 1984 for Best Country Song.

The Rolling Stone review described "Faithless Love" as "perhaps the strongest ballad he's written to date," and it praised Souther's singing harmony as well as Herb Pedersen's banjo. "I don't think I realized how world-class J.D. was because everybody that I knew was writing good songs," Ronstadt said in a recent interview. "I didn't know how good they were going to be." This GRAMMY Hall Of Fame induction provides lasting recognition of that level of excellence.

4. The Title Track's Folksinging Sisters

The album's title track was penned by Anna McGarrigle, who was part of Montreal's folk scene. The lyric quoted above, that love "can wreck a human being," was called out by Rolling Stone because it "distills the themes of the album [and] … underscores the essence of Ronstadt's vocal personality."

With her sister, the album Kate & Anna McGarrigle was released in 1976, and Ronstadt's enthusiasm with the sisters is evident in their many filmed appearances together. Kate McGarrigle had married Loudon Wainwright III in 1971 and they are the parents of Rufus Wainwright.

Also appearing on the title track was Maria Muldaur, whose hit "Midnight At The Oasis" had been nominated for Record Of The Year for 1974 at the 17th GRAMMY Awards. Muldaur was also an enthusiastic singer of other compositions by the McGarrigles.

5. Topping The Everly Brothers' On The Charts

It is a quality of great interpreters that they can take somebody else's hit and make theirs even bigger. The Everly Brothers' "When Will I Be Loved" went to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960 but Ronstadt took it to No. 2 in 1975, rearranging the verses for her version.

The winner of Record Of The Year at the 18th GRAMMY Awards, "Love Will Keep Us Together" by the Captain & Tennille, dominated the year and also kept Ronstadt's No. 2 version of "When Will I Be Loved" from hitting No. 1. The record was considered alongside "You're No Good" as Heart Like A Wheel's lead single.

6. Her First GRAMMY Win Goes Country

On the B-side of Ronstadt's No. 1 hit "You're No Good," a more dignified song by Hank Williams, "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)," showed the country side of her abilities, which won her Best Country Vocal Performance, Female at the 18th GRAMMY Awards. The woman singing angelic harmonies against Ronstadt on the album version is Emmylou Harris, who went on to win that same category at the 19th GRAMMY Awards for Elite Hotel. The two ladies joined with Dolly Parton at the 30th GRAMMY Awards to win Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for their 1987 album Trio.

7. Powerhouses Behind The Scenes: James Taylor And Peter Asher

With so many legends around her during her ascent in music, Ronstadt was a magnet for the best. A close look at other GRAMMY winners associated with Heart Like A Wheel shows one name that already had one GRAMMY win and many more nominations going into the project, before her album turned so many people's careers for the better. James Taylor's lullaby "You Can Close Your Eyes" closes Heart Like A Wheel, and his star status was in a sense hovering over the album. Taylor won Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male at the 14th GRAMMY Awards for "You've Got A Friend," a huge success as a single, and its B-side was Taylor's lullaby.

It's also worth noting that Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor had also served as the background singers on Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" from Young's bestselling album of 1972, Harvest.

Heart Like A Wheel's producer Peter Asher had quit running A&R for the Beatles' Apple Records in order to manage Taylor just a few years earlier. By the mid-'70s, Taylor, with the help of Asher, was leading a powerful soft rock sound that grew mighty with Ronstadt and the Eagles' first wins and then spread, for example with Emmylou Harris' win the following year.

Other personnel on the album who went on to win GRAMMY Awards are singer Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney; instrumentalists John Boylan, Jimmie Fadden, Timothy B. Schmit, and John Starling; engineers Dennis Ferrante, Val Garay, and George Massenburg who also received the Technical GRAMMY Award in 1998. Two of Peter Asher's later wins were Producer Of The Year at the 20th and the 32nd GRAMMY Awards and he is credited with having a significant hand in crafting the California soft rock sound.

Reflecting on Linda Ronstadt's legacy and the tragic event of her voice being silenced by Parkinson's disease in 2013, The New Yorker wrote, "The sound of Ronstadt's voice — invincibility, bravery, emotion channeled into intelligence and art — is the sound of overcoming anything." For diehard fans and newcomers alike, Heart Like A Wheel remains some of her career's most compelling evidence of what makes Ronstadt so special.

"Space Oddity": 7 Facts About David Bowie's Cosmic Ballad | GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

Billy Joel performs at Madison Square Garden, 2015

Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden, 2015
Photo: Al Pereria/Getty Images

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The GRAMMYs, Billy Joel, Phish: 9 Big Music Moments At Madison Square Garden

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From iconic concerts to philanthropic shows and Music's Biggest Night, revisit just a few of the iconic New York venue's musical highlights
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Jan 23, 2018 - 8:04 pm

To celebrate the diamond anniversary of Music's Biggest Night, the 60th GRAMMY Awards will return to New York City's iconic Madison Square Garden to honor excellence in music performance, recording and craft on Jan. 28.

Watch Spike Lee's Star-Studded 'NY Stories' Film

In honor of the GRAMMY Awards' latest musical milestone, here's a look back at nine of music's biggest moments that went down at the beautiful venue where this year's show will be held.

George Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh, 1971

To spread awareness and raise funds for relief efforts for refugees in East Pakistan who were fighting to found the now-independent nation of Bangladesh, former Beatles guitarist George Harrison, along with close friend and collaborator Ravi Shankar, hosted a back-to-back pair of benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 1, 1971, raising nearly $250,000 through UNICEF. Boasting sets by Harrison, Shankar and GRAMMY-nominated Bengladeshi classical musician Ali Akbar Khan, along with Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, among others, the concerts attracted more than 40,000 combined attendees. Recordings of the event were later compiled and released as a concert film and live album, with the latter taking home Album Of The Year honors at the 15th GRAMMY Awards.

John Lennon's Final Live Appearance, 1974

Stepping onstage as a surprise guest during a Thanksgiving concert held by Elton John on Nov. 28, 1974, John Lennon made what turned out to be the final live appearance of his career at Madison Square Garden. Lennon's three-song set with John — consisting of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," "I Saw Her Standing There" and the then-recent Lennon hit featuring John, "Whatever Gets You Thru The Night" — was the result of a promise he had made that he'd join the "Candle In The Wind" singer onstage if their collaboration charted No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — a feat he did not believe would ever occur. Instead, the song became the only No. 1 hit of Lennon's solo career, and he made good on his promise. In a further flash of his old trademark wit, Lennon also introduced the duet of the Beatles' hit "I Saw Her Standing There" as "a song written by an old estranged fiancée of mine called Paul."

No Nukes: The MUSE Concert For A Non-Nuclear Future, 1979

Hosted by the nascent activist group Musicians United for Safe Energy, formed in 1979 by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, Harvey Wasserman, and John Hall, the No Nukes concert series was held at MSG in September 1979, and comprised five nights of music aimed at promoting safe alternatives to nuclear energy in the wake of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident earlier that year. Featuring musical appearances by Crosby, Stills And Nash, James Taylor, Chaka Khan, Doobie Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron, Tom Petty, among others, the concert series is particularly notable for its companion live album and documentary film, both titled No Nukes, which contain the first official live audio recordings and performance footage of Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band, who played sets during two of the five concerts.

Barbra Streisand: The Concert, 1994

GRAMMY-winning songstress Barbra Streisand's 1994 concert tour — her first live appearances in 27 years — was heralded by Time as "the music event of the century." Her appearance at Madison Square Garden provided the source material for a live album and HBO concert special, both monolithically titled Barbra Streisand: The Concert. Backed by an all-out media promotion blitz across radio, TV and print, Streisand earned the distinction of being the highest-paid concert performer in history at the time, and the MSG show became the highest-grossing single concert of 1994. The HBO special achieved the highest ratings ever for a concert special in the network's then-histor, and earned five Emmys and a Peabody Award. The live album also earned GRAMMY nominations for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Ordinary Miracles") at the 37th GRAMMY Awards.

The GRAMMYs' First Trip To MSG, 1997

The 39th GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 26, 1997, was the inaugural paring of Music's Biggest Night and the Garden. The night of notable firsts was a major step forward for the GRAMMYs — marking the show's first big step from auditoriums to a major arena. Among other highlights, the evening saw 14-year-old country music phenom LeAnn Rimes become the youngest GRAMMY winner ever when she took home GRAMMYs for Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance ("Blue"). 

The Concert For New York City, 2001

Organized by former Beatles bassist Paul McCartney in response to the devastating terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Concert For New York City represented a city in turmoil collectively standing together and making the decision to show the world that, even in the face of tragedy, music can sow hope where despair seeks to take root. Held at Madison Square Garden five weeks after the attacks, the event honored the New York City fire and police departments, the victims of the attacks and their families, and the people of New York City who were still working to rescue, recover and rebuild. The concert featured more than 60 music luminaries, including the Who, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, David Bowie, John, Eric Clapton, Bon Jovi, Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, Backstreet Boys, and James Taylor, among others.

Verizon Ladies First Tour Hits MSG, 2004

With support from Verizon, in 2004 GRAMMY winners Beyoncé, Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys set out on the first major tour highlighting female stars in the urban music scene. Booked in support of Elliott's fifth album, This Is Not A Test!, Keys' Best R&B Album GRAMMY-winning sophomore release, The Diary Of Alicia Keys, and Beyoncé's Best Contemporary R&B Album GRAMMY-winning solo debut LP, Dangerously In Love, the three-act show sold out MSG on April 12, 2004, making the night the third-highest-grossing appearance of the entire tour.

Billy Joel's Record-Setting Appearances, 2006

The eternally touring favorite son of both New York's small club and grand arena music scenes, Billy Joel smashed MSG's record for most sold-out appearances in a single tour by selling all 12 scheduled appearances at the New York arena in 2006. The record was first set by Elvis Presley in 1972 with four shows, and was then held by Springsteen And The E Street Band, who sold out 10 nights with his 1999 Reunion Tour. The achievement also earned Joel the distinction of being the only non-athlete to earn a retired number ("12") on a jersey hanging in the arena. This coming summer will mark another MSG triumph for Joel, as his July 18, 2018, concert will mark his 100th performance at the venue.

Phish: The Baker's Dozen, 2017

The GRAMMY-nominated psychedelic jam band Phish set an intriguing record with their Baker's Dozen shows at Madison Square Garden in the summer of 2017 — the longest string of consecutive nightly appearances by a band. Trey Anastasio & Co.'s well-established reputation for both possessing a deep catalogue, and the ability to expand those songs into extended live grooves that often time out north of 25 minutes, was on full display during the 13 consecutive shows that made up the aptly named concert series. To wit, they played a total of 26 sets, comprising 237 songs across the two-week residency, and they never played the same song twice.

David Bowie in 1969

David Bowie in 1969

Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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David Bowie's "Space Oddity" Getting Special Reissue For 50th Anniversary

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The 1969 single, from the GRAMMY winner's second album, was his first hit and the world's introduction to Major Tom
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
May 10, 2019 - 1:38 pm

On July 11, 1969, the world was properly introduced to the visionary shapeshifter David Bowie with "Space Oddity," the lead single to his second studio album, David Bowie [Space Oddity]. The song became the GRAMMY winner's first hit (of many) in the U.S. and his native U.K.

Now, thanks to a 50th anniversary vinyl reissue via Parlophone, we can experience the launching of our favorite spaceman all over again.

The 50th anniversary box set, which is available for pre-order now, will be released on July 12. It will include two 7" vinyls, the first of which features the original single edit of "Space Oddity," cut from the original analog master tape, along with "Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud" on the B side, another track from Bowie's sophomore album.

The second record will feature two all-new mixes of both tracks, from longtime Bowie collaborator and GRAMMY-winning producer Tony Visconti. Visconti's mix of "Space Oddity" will also be released as a digital single on July 12.

"This is Major Tom to Ground Control. / I'm stepping through the door / And I'm floating in a most peculiar way. / And the stars look very different today." Bowie's compelling storytelling and dreamy sounds explored on "Space Oddity" undeniably still resonate in our minds and our music to this day.

The song's otherworldly nature was born from sci-fi inspiration. As the press release details, it was "inspired by Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, [and] gained huge popularity when it was adopted as the unofficial theme of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission which launched five days after the single's release."

More Bowie: David Bowie's '…Ziggy Stardust…' | For The Record

This special-edition vinyl follows several other recent ones from U.K. record label Parlophone to continue the legacy of the incomparable Bowie, including several demo track releases. Last month, they announced The Mercury Demos, originally recorded in 1969. At the start of the year they revealed the forthcoming Spying Through A Keyhole, another set of early Bowie demos, including what is believed to be the first demo recording of "Space Oddity."

During his prolific career reshaping music, art and fashion, Bowie won five GRAMMY Awards, as well as a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. In 2018, "Space Oddity" was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, joining his "Changes" and The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

"Space Oddity": 7 Facts About David Bowie's Cosmic Ballad | GRAMMY Hall Of Fame