Forty years ago, Elton John's single “Rocket Man” was released around the world. In April 2012, Elton was told that European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut André Kuipers had made a special point of playing “Rocket Man” over the airwaves of the International Space Station (ISS) on the song’s 40th anniversary. On April 17, 2012, the exact anniversary of the song’s release around the world, Elton played the song during his show, “The Million Dollar Piano,” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and later sent a recording of that performance to the astronauts at the European Space Agency (ESA). The ESA has since created a video combining images from the space station with Elton’s live version of “Rocket Man,” and it can be viewed here on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa5RwoFDCxc&list=PLBEEC56653F456DC8&index=1&feature=plpp_video

Kuipers said, "This song has been an inspiration to many people who are interested in space, and especially those who wanted to become astronauts, including myself. It is certainly one of the most played songs here on the ISS, and we know it will accompany more astronauts into space in the future."

Hearing about “Rocket Man” being played in space, Elton sent the following special message to the ESA, Kuipers and the crew of the ISS:

"When I was a boy, ‘Dan Dare’ was a comic book hero, and space travel just a romantic idea, not a reality. I was 14 years old when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space; my song writing partner Bernie Taupin was just 11. Bernie and I did not meet until 1967, and two years after we met, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the moon”.

"Our generation was smitten with the glory and excitement of space travel. 'Rocket Man' - and indeed 'Dan Dare' on the Rock of the Westies album - came from those boyhood dreams of travelling beyond the stars and looking back on Earth”.

"Not long after the ‘Rocket Man’ single was released, my band and I were invited to the NASA headquarters in Texas and shown around by Al Worden, Apollo 15 command module pilot. It was thrilling to find that real astronauts liked our song, ‘Rocket Man,’ which was about an imaginary astronaut”.

"Now, 40 years later, it's amazing to hear from the astronauts at the European Space Agency that they like the song and that it has been on the playlist on the International Space Station. I send my best wishes to ESA and all the crew, and my thanks for keeping those boyhood dreams alive."

History of Elton John’s “Rocket Man”

“Rocket Man” was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and released in April, 1972. In Britain, the single was released as a maxi-disc, an innovative format comprising three tracks – “Rocket Man” (from Honky Chateau, Elton's forthcoming album), “Holiday Inn” and “Goodbye” from Elton's then current album, “Madman Across The Water” - in a full-colour picture sleeve. Announcing the release, DJM Records said that the first 50,000 copies incorporate a mini-LP sleeve with the lyrics of the songs, plus photos of Elton and colleague Bernie Taupin.

Elton's American record company connected the release of “Rocket Man” to the launch of Apollo 16, and took out press advertisements saying “On the morning of April 16, 1972, Apollo 16 was launched into orbit on a journey to the moon. A few mornings earlier Uni Records launched a new Elton John single into a world-wide orbit. WHAT A TRIP! Both launchings bound to set new records.”

On April 28, 1972, Elton and the band played a concert at Hofheinz Pavilion, University of Houston, Texas, the second date of their 1972 American tour. Ahead of the show, the Rocket Man met the “Rocket Men” at the Manned Space Centre in Houston, Texas, where Al Worden, Apollo 15 command module pilot, took Elton, Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone on a conducted tour of the NASA headquarters.

Back in April 1972, “Rocket Man” received excellent reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. In the USA Record World wrote, “While the astronauts are on the moon, Elton John explores the outer limits of the possibilities of pop music. This should be a huge hit; it's one of his best.” The British music paper Melody Maker said, “Elton returns with a fine new composition, packaged on useful maxi-single, taken from his forthcoming album Honky Chateau.”

Meanwhile, the journalist from Disc completely lost his cool and exclaimed, “This is by far the best thing Elton John has ever done - it's quite superb...this band is great, the song is great, Bernie Taupin's lyrics are great and if the Honky Chateau LP is going to be like this you're going to have to listen to it in little doses or you'll go mad. After two hearings, I was so busy singing along that I couldn't get myself organised into taking notes about the structure of the record. Consumer, not critic, that's me, and I can consume music like this for evermore.”

The single entered the UK charts on April 22, reaching the number 2 position and staying on the chart for 13 weeks. In the USA the single entered the Billboard chart on May 6 and reached the number 6 position, staying in the US chart for 15 weeks. These were the highest positions achieved so far by an Elton John single in the UK and the USA. Elton John still performs “Rocket Man” at all of his concerts, including “The Million Dollar Piano,” a three-year residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Tickets may be purchased online at www.thecolosseum.com, or on www.ticketmaster.com keyword: “Elton.”

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