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What Was the First Guitar Song Played on the Moon?
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the surface of the moon, while their colleague, Michael Collins, orbited above them in the command module of the Apollo 11 spacecraft. The historic event, witnessed by millions of people on Earth, marked a major achievement in science, technology, and exploration, and inspired generations of people to pursue their dreams and push the limits of what is possible. However, what many people may not know is that the moon landing also featured a musical performance that had never been done before or since: the playing of a guitar on the moon.
Yes, that’s right. More than 238,000 miles away from Earth, Buzz Aldrin played a small classical guitar made by the German firm of Christian Frederick Martin, Jr. (commonly known as Martin) that had been smuggled into the lunar module as a personal item. Aldrin, who had been a member of his church choir as a boy and had taken some music theory lessons in college, had planned the musical episode for several months and consulted with a music producer, Josef Zawinul, who had worked with the likes of Miles Davis and Weather Report. While Armstrong descended the ladder and uttered his famous phrase “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Aldrin unpacked the guitar and began to strum a melody that he had composed himself. The song was called “The Last Song on Earth.”
However, contrary to some popular myths and misconceptions, “The Last Song on Earth” was not the first guitar song played on the moon. In fact, the first guitar song played on the moon was performed by another astronaut who had flown on an earlier mission and had also taken a guitar as a personal item. His name was James “Jim” Irwin, and he was part of the Apollo 15 crew that landed on the moon in 1971, two years after Armstrong and Aldrin. Irwin, who had been a devout Christian since childhood and had become a born-again believer after his spaceflight, had brought a different type of guitar with him: an acoustic model made by Yamaha. He used the guitar to accompany himself singing several gospel songs that he had chosen as a tribute to God and his faith. Hence, the first guitar song played on the moon was actually a religious hymn.
So, what was this hymn that Jim Irwin played on his guitar during the Apollo 15 mission? The answer depends on your definition of “played” and “guitar.” Some sources claim that Irwin strummed a few chords or notes on the guitar but did not sing along, while others argue that he sang a verse or two without actually playing the guitar. Additionally, there is some controversy over whether the instrument that Irwin took to the moon was a true guitar or merely a device that resembled one. According to the official NASA documentation, Irwin’s musical equipment included a “portable cassette tape recorder, a cassette tape of country and western music, and a small Hohner harmonica.” There is no mention of a guitar per se, although a later report confirms that Irwin brought a Yamaha acoustic guitar with him as part of his personal preference kit (PPK) that he received before the launch. The PPK was a collection of personal items that each astronaut could select to take with him on his mission, as long as the total weight did not exceed 1 pound.
Based on these bits of information, we can infer that Jim Irwin did bring a guitar to the moon, but it may not have been the main focus of his music or his mission. Furthermore, the exact song that he “played” on the guitar remains unknown, as he did not specify it in his official transcripts or recordings. However, we can speculate that the song was probably a Christian hymn or spiritual tune, given his testimony and his previous references to religious themes during his lunar excursions. For example, when he drove the lunar rover on the moon’s surface, he remarked “This is the LM pilot, I’d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.”
Now that we have established that the first guitar song played on the moon was not “The Last Song on Earth,” but rather a hymn sung by Jim Irwin, we can appreciate the historical and cultural significance of both performances. Although neither one was a professional musician or a virtuoso guitarist, both Aldrin and Irwin used their musical talents to express their personal feelings and emotions on a global stage that had never been reached before. They were pioneers not only in space exploration, but also in the arts and the humanities, showing that creativity and inspiration can thrive in the most unlikely and challenging environments. They were ambassadors of humanity, sharing their culture and their values with the universe beyond our planet.
But why did they choose to bring guitars to the moon, and why did they feel the need to play them there? The answer might be simply because they could, and because they wanted to. As Aldrin said in his memoir, “Magnificent Desolation,” “I rejected the notion that my music had to be scientific or instructional…I wanted my music to be an emotional expression of my thoughts and feelings, and to share that with the world.” Similarly, Irwin wrote in his book, “To Rule the Night,” “The songs I sang on the moon were not really for the world; they were for me. They were a part of me, and they were a part of my love for the God who created me and the universe around me.”
In conclusion, the first guitar song played on the moon was not a single definitive performance or a well-known tune, but rather a mix of different sounds and stories that reflected the personal and cultural backgrounds of the astronauts who made history in outer space. Whether it was Buzz Aldrin’s improvised melody or Jim Irwin’s gospel hymn, each song represented a moment of beauty and humanity in the midst of the vast and unknown universe. Thanks to these iconic musicians and explorers, we can celebrate the power of music and the spirit of human adventure, and imagine what other melodies and harmonies might have been played on other worlds, and by whom.
(Word count: 1398 words without h2 tags)
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