They're Gonna Blow Up The Moon

October 1957 and the Russians had launched Sputnik into orbit around the Earth. It didn't do much; just went "beep beep beep" but we were fascinated all the same. Each night we went outside and looked up into the sky - and there it was! A tiny speck of light actually moving across the sky. I could hardly believe I was lucky enough to be alive during such an exciting period of Earth's history.

One night our neighbours came into our yard to watch the satellite with us. As usual we stood there marvelling at the scientific wonder of it all until the woman from next door spoke:

"Oooh, I don't like what they're doing these days."

"What do you mean?"

"Well this sputnik thing," she said. "If they keep going like this it might blow up. It might knock a piece off the moon and then where would we be?"

That was the day I realised that adults were fucking stupid and sometimes us kids were smarter than they would ever be. 

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This is my favourite rockabilly song from that period - Sputnik (Satellite Girl) by Jerry Engler:

Original video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owaJjwHGMOk

And that wasn't the only one. Back in those days the hit parades were full of songs about satellites and sputniks:



Rock Old Sputnik - Nelson Young

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZb1boVtKXc

Satellite Baby - Skip Stanley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd7UmBdSTHU

Beep Beep Beep - Bobby Day & The Satellites
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEtzHdZs74M

My Satellite - Jesse Belvin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28skmNYKslk

Rockin' Satellite - The Three Honeydrops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpzDbTkLx5I

Sputnik Rock - Ralf Bendix (German)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXIzbLN6khM

Part way through the previous song, Ralf Bendix sings the words, "Cindy Oh Cindy" which refers to a song of that name recorded by Eddie Fisher in 1956
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jZVpTtYyPs 

There Goes Sputnik - The Teen-Clefs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pSLM_afETc

The Sputnik Story - Bill Thomas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR2c24mxKsA

Sputnik Rock and Roll - Rock Krister and his Kristals (Swedish)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K7IGblkglI

Sputnik Dance - The Equadors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_fARQcrL6c

Shake It Over Sputnik - Billy Hogan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P_qQM1Fdnw

Sputnik - Los Loud Jets (Mexican version of the Jerry Engler song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx7wstnjS_U

Sputnik And Mutniks - Ray Anderson & The Home Folks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tTXu6hkCm0

Gonna Ride That Satelite - Jimmy Gartin & The Highlanders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LqyR5i-jsY

Beep Beep - Louis Prima
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IAZsprQzoI

Satellite Fever & Asiatic Flu - Lonnie Miley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhUKnmve0pE

Satellite Rock - Jimmy Copeland & The J-Teens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhi7qmfW3Wg

Satellite Rock - The Rebelaires
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UikCoxo6Mc

Satellite Love - Lil Randolph (aka Madame Queen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klBWOw3jIcU

Gonna Git Me a Satellite - Little Ernest Tucker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9_IbEp_TDQ

Satellite - Teresa Brewer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hi8wPYJjCI

Satellite Rock - Joe Tate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch3wW9kTUUA

Satellite Baby - Roosevelt Sykes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdfiB3y6bTA

Rockin' Satellite - Ray Sawyer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgGH0NyDJCw