"Spaceship Superstar" is the first official single by the Canadian rock band

Prism Prism usually refers to: * Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light * Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron Prism may also refer to: Science and mathematics * Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...

. The song was written by

Jim Vallance James Douglas Vallance (born May 31, 1952) is a Canadian songwriter, arranger and producer. He is best known as the songwriting partner of Canadian musician Bryan Adams. Vallance began his professional career as the original drummer and main son ...

. It was also the first single from the band's self-titled debut album. "Spaceship Superstar" reached No. 63 on the Canadian Singles Chart and No. 82 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart in the United States. The song was used as the wake up song for the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' crew members in 2011. In 1978, "Spaceship Superstar" received the Certificate of Honour from Performing Rights Organization of Canada (PROCAN).

Composition

The song was written by

under the pseudonym "Rodney Higgs". He first worked on the song in 1975, but finished in 1977. By the time the song became a hit, Vallance had already left Prism. According to Vallance, the influence on the lyrics of the song came from the

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chai ...

film ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'', which was released as he was writing the song. Musically the song was influenced by "

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

" by

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize t ...

, songs from the album ''

Who's Next ''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Who. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album '' ...

'' by

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

, and " Free Ride" by the Edgar Winter Group.

Versions

The album version of "Spaceship Superstar" is 4 minutes and 9 seconds long, while the single version is only 3 minutes and 20 seconds long (excludes the extensive intro). A live version is included on ''

Live Tonite Live Tonite is a live album recorded by Canadian Rock Band Prism in 1978 at Detroit's Royal Oak Music Theater. The album features songs from Prism's first two studio albums " Prism" and " See Forever Eyes". The album was originally released on ...

'', which is 4 minutes and 17 seconds long.

Usage

On Sunday March 6, 2011 Prism's "Spaceship Superstar" was chosen as the wake up song for the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' crew members. This was a significant point in history as it was the last day that the crews of ''Discovery'' and the International Space Station were together before ''Discovery'' returned to Earth in the last mission of ''Discovery''.

Personnel

Prism *

Lindsay Mitchell Lindsay Christopher Mitchell (born 28 May 1949) is an English-born Canadian musician and songwriter who achieved success as the guitarist and founder of the Canadian rock band Prism. Early life Born on May 28, 1949 in North London, England, Mitc ...

guitar, backing vocals *Ron Tabakvocals *John Hallkeyboards *

drums *

Tom Lavin Tom Lavin is a Chicago-born musician and record producer and founding member of the Juno Award winning (1981) Canadian group, Powder Blues. Leader, Tom Lavin has written many of the band’s best-known songs including ‘Doin’ It Right’ a SOCAN ...

guitar *Although Ab Bryant is considered the bassist and is pictured on the American cover, he did not take part in the recording. Session Musicians *Graeme Coleman

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

electric piano *Peter Bjerring

ARP Odyssey The ARP Odyssey is an analog synthesizer introduced by ARP Instruments in 1972. History ARP developed the Odyssey as a direct competitor to the Moog Minimoog and an answer to the demand for more affordable, portable, and less complicated "per ...

synthesizer *Jack Lavinbass *

Bruce Fairbairn Bruce Earl Fairbairn (December 30, 1949 – May 17, 1999) was a Canadian record producer. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999, and is considered one of the best of his era. His most successful productions are '' Slippery When Wet'' a ...

Composition

Versions

Usage

Personnel

Charts

References

External links