Fifty years ago on July 16th, 1969, NASA’s Apollo 11 rocket took off from Kennedy Space Port and traveled for four days before ultimately landing three astronauts on the Moon. There’s a lot to say of the technical and political implications of the journey but we’ll just leave it at this: it was impressive.
Just a week prior, on July 11th, 1969, David Bowie released a 7″ of “Space Oddity“; a song that tells the fictitious tale of Major Tom and landed Bowie in the UK charts for the first time. The track, partially inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, perseveres as one of the most recognizable songs from the deep catalog of everyone’s favorite shapeshifter and was even played by the BBC during the Moon Landing.
All history lessons aside, local artist Zakariya has taken it upon himself to pay tribute to both the fifty-year anniversary of our lunar journey and the memorable tale sown by Bowie by releasing his own version of “Space Oddity.” It’s a respectable cover that doesn’t try to re-invent the wheel but does just enough to establish Zakariya’s touch on the presentation.
It’s a rare treat for artist to be able to pay tribute to both a historical milestone and a well-loved classic simultaneously – so, thanks to Zakariya for that. Additional thanks for letting this release be a very valid excuse to explore a YouTube rabbit hole of additionally interesting covers of the track.