My 100 Favorite Charted Pop Songs: Spaceman

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Yawn, just another overcast day here in the land of the horse race. Our local meteorologist explained it this morning on his vlog: given our geographical location (the Ohio Valley) and the low sun angle, once we get socked in with clouds we stay socked in. So we’ll see the sun in March, but I won’t make you wait that long for the next song on my list of 100 favorite charted Billboard songs. Here’s today’s tune. Spaceman - Harry Nilsson Most of you won’t remember this. If you remember Harry Nilsson, it’s for “Everybody’s Talkin’” from Midnight Cowboy and writing “One,” the Three Dog Night hit. (I also have him in an episode of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir in the late 60s.) I hear him every time the VA calls: my VA ringtone is his song “You’re Breaking My Heart.” If you think there were a lot of astronaut songs in the 60s and early 70s, you’re right. I used “Rocket Man” by Elton John earlier, and there was “Space Oddity” by Bowie and “Space Cowboy” by Steve Miller. Back in those days, astronauts were heroes. I’ll tell you that the world stopped — for a very good reason for once — when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon in 1969. Everybody, even songwriters, wanted to be astronauts. This is a killer song, with that electric piano beginning and Ringo Starr’s emphatic drumming augmenting Nilsson’s great vocals. You may not remember it, but I dang sure do! Spaceman Written by Harry Nilsson Recorded by Harry Nilsson From Son of Schmisson, 1972 Peak chart position: #23 Today’s country song: “That’s What It’s Like to Be Lonesome” Just a lot of lunacy: