David Bowie has been in the public eye for almost five decades. His innovative, artistic works mix the eclectic with the intellectual. Winner of numerous platinum, gold, and silver album certificates, Bowie and his distinctive vocals have earned him a place of prestige in music history.
It was on this day, July 11th, in 1969 that David Bowie released his song “Space Oddity,” a music single about a fictional astronaut, that soon shot to the top of the favorites list. The song title alludes to the science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was released the year before.
Bowie’s song was received even better than he could have anticipated. It was featured in BBC’s televised coverage of the Apollo 11 launch. It was awarded the 1969 Ivor Novello Award. In all, “Space Oddity” became so popular that the album it was featured on, originally called David Bowie, was renamed Space Oddity in its 1972 reissue. The album still holds that name today.