"Spaceman" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released on his 1972 album ''

Son of Schmilsson ''Son of Schmilsson'' is the eighth album by American singer Harry Nilsson. Background Nilsson was being pressured to produce a follow-up album similar to his 1971 breakthrough, ''Nilsson Schmilsson'', but instead, he created a more eccentric wo ...

''. 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 Paul John Buckmaster (13 June 1946 – 7 November 2017) was a Grammy Award-winning British cellist, arranger, conductor and composer, with a career spanning five decades. He is best known for his orchestral collaborations with David Bowie, Sha ...

said that he asked Nilsson if he could put a string section on the song, and Nilsson agreed. Buckmaster brought more than strings: He included the medieval instruments shawm and

sackbut The term sackbut refers to the early forms of the trombone commonly 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 th ...

. 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 ''Avenue 5'' is a science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space e ...

'' (2020), and in the first and final episodes of first season for the 2020

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

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

Personnel

* Harry Nilsson –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

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

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

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acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Chris Spedding – acoustic guitar * John Uribe – acoustic guitar * Klaus Voormann –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

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

(credited as Richie Snare) –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Richard Perry –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* "Moxie" –

bass harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica includ ...

Armstrong, Curtis (February 2006). ''Son of Schmilsson'' remastered re-release liner notes
page 13
Quoting 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