Music History

60 years ago today, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. There’s a song about that.

The space race between America and the USSR moved to the next level 60 years ago today when a Soviet pilot named Yuri Gagarin blasted off aboard Vostok 1 to become the first man in orbit. The date was April 12, 1961, sixty years ago today. He stayed in orbit for 108 minutes.

Public Service Broadcasting is an alternative art-rock band that specializes in setting old newsreel and other historical audio to music. In 2015, they released The Race for Space, which was themed around the space race. Among the tracks was “Gagarin.” What better time to feature it than today?

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38858 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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