44 years ago today, Apollo 11 landed on the moon! In honor of the anniversary, I put together a playlist of space-themed songs!
1. “Moondance” (Van Morrison)
This is one of my favorite songs (non space-themed included) of all time. “Moondance” was recorded in New York City in August 1969!

 
2. “Across the Universe” (The Beatles)
Lennon and McCartney wrote this soothing song after learning about Transcendental Meditation. I love their peaceful mantra: “Jai guru deva om.”

 
3. “Rocket Man” (Elton John)
At TLB, we love singing the chorus from Elton John’s 1972 hit in class!

 
4. “Jupiter” (from Gustav Holst’s The Planets)
Each movement of Holst’s orchestral suite is named after a planet. “Jupiter” is my favorite.

 
5. “Blue Moon”
There are so many great versions of this Rodgers & Hart 1934 classic: Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra and more. I love Billie Holiday’s:

 
6. “Space Oddity” (David Bowie)
This single was rush-released in the US on July 11, 1969 to coincide with the Apollo 11 moon landing and then re-released in 1973.

 
7. “Dancing in the Moonlight” (King Harvest)
This feel-good 1973 song was the band’s biggest hit!

 
8. “Satellite” (Dave Matthews Band)
I love these lyrics and 3/4 timing! During “Space Week” at TLB, we sang it with students while tapping along with triangles.

 
9 . “Clair de Lune” (Claude Debussy)
This gorgeous piece of music is perfect for relaxation and naptime- for kids and adults!

 
10. “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”
I learned this 1909 song when writing a time-travelling curriculum for our music studio. I love this version from the 1953 film of the same name by Doris Day and Gordon MacRae. Such a cute song!

 

There are lots of other great space songs, like “Fly Me to the Moon” (Frank Sinatra) and “Man on the Moon” (REM). What others can you add to the list?

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