Ongoing History Daily: When David Bowie finally hit upon a sound

David Bowie spent most of the 60s as a struggling singer-songwriter and part-time mime. He tried all sorts of different styles and approaches, but none of them gave him any traction. His breakthrough came at the same time as the Apollo moon missions.

Around the exact time of the Apollo 11 flight, Bowie released “Space Oddity,” which became a hit not only because of its spaceman themes but because the BBC used it as coverage for the moon landing. The song is notable for an eerie keyboard sound. The demo featured a Stylophone, a brand-new children’s instrument that was essentially a miniature synthesizer.

When it came time to record it for release, producer Tony Visconti connected Bowie with Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman to reproduce those parts using a Mellotron, a temperamental machine that used pre-recorded sound on magnetic tape connected to a keyboard. Rick was one of the few people who knew how to tame one of these things. That’s what we hear on the final version