"Spaceman" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...

, released on his 1972 album '' Son of Schmilsson''. One of the highlights on ''Son of Schmilsson'', with its dramatic opening fanfare and a cross between folk with a heavy R&B rhythm, the song explains the desire and downfall of the narrator, who wished to be a spaceman and now wants to go back to Earth but is stuck in space. The song was one of the three Nilsson's songs that became a hit of the year, the other two being "Remember (Christmas)" and "You're Breaking My Heart". Arranger Paul Buckmaster said that he asked Nilsson if he could put a

string section The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...

on the song, and Nilsson agreed. Buckmaster brought more than strings: He included the medieval instruments

shawm The shawm () is a Bore (wind instruments)#Conical bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 13th or possibly 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissanc ...

and

sackbut A sackbut is an early form of the trombone used during the Renaissance music, Renaissance and Baroque music, Baroque eras. A sackbut has the characteristic telescopic slide of a trombone, used to vary the length of the tube to change Pitch (m ...

. He said that someone named Moxie, "the genius of the harmonica in London at the time," played bass harmonica in a "chugging" rhythm style, part of the rhythm section. "Spaceman" featured prominently in a trailer for the HBO comedy series '' Avenue 5'' (2020), and in the first and final episodes of first season for the 2020

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

comedy series ''

Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

''. The song was covered by the American band

the Roches The Roches were an American vocal trio of sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, from Park Ridge, New Jersey. Career In the late 1960s, eldest sister Maggie (October 26, 1951 – January 21, 2017) and middle sister Terre (pronounced "Terry" ...

on the 1995 tribute album '' For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson''.

Personnel

* Harry Nilsson – vocals,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...

– piano *

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

– acoustic guitar *

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of th ...

– acoustic guitar * John Uribe – acoustic guitar *

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German graphic artist, artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, includ ...

– bass *

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

(credited as Richie Snare) – drums * Richard Perry – percussion * "Moxie" – bass harmonicaArmstrong, Curtis (February 2006). ''Son of Schmilsson'' remastered re-release liner notes
page 13
Quoting Paul Buckmaster. * Paul Buckmaster – orchestral arrangement

Chart performance

References

External links

*http://www.allmusic.com/song/spaceman-mt0034225631 *http://www.discogs.com/Nilsson-Son-Of-Schmilsson/release/682504 1972 songs Harry Nilsson songs RCA Victor singles Song recordings produced by Richard Perry Songs about spaceflight Songs written by Harry Nilsson {{1970s-song-stub