Editing Space rock (section)

===Origins: 1950s-1960s===
{{See also|Progressive rock|Psychedelic rock}}
Humanity's entry into [[outer space]] provided ample subject matter for [[rock and roll]] and [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] songs from the mid-1950s through the early 1960s. It also inspired new sounds and sound effects to be used in the music itself. A prominent early example of space rock is the 1959 concept album ''[[I Hear a New World]]'' by British producer and songwriter [[Joe Meek]]. The album was inspired by the [[space race]] and concerned humanity's first close encounter with alien life forms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicomh.com/music/features/joe-meek_0805.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008102511/http://www.musicomh.com/music/features/joe-meek_0805.htm|url-status=dead|title=Joe Meek: The RGM Legacy|archive-date=8 October 2012|access-date=7 January 2021}}</ref> Meek then went on to have a UK and US No 1 success in 1961 with "[[Telstar (song)|Telstar]]", named after the newly launched communications satellite and thus intended to commemorate the new space age. Its main instrument was a [[clavioline]], an electronic forerunner of the [[synthesizer]]s.

[[The Beatles]]' song "[[Flying (The Beatles song)|Flying]]" (1967), originally titled "Aerial Tour Instrumental", was a psychedelic instrumental about the sensation of flying, whether in a craft or in your own head space.<ref>AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger</ref> [[Jimi Hendrix]] is also an early innovator of the genre, with such tracks as "[[Third Stone from the Sun]]", "[[1983... (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)]]" and "[[The Stars That Play with Laughing Sam's Dice]]".

[[Pink Floyd]]'s early albums contain pioneering examples of space rock: "[[Astronomy Domine]]",<ref>Bruce Eder, [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1530785|pure_url=yes}} Astronomy Domine song review], ''[[AllMusic]]''</ref> "[[Pow R. Toc H.]]"<ref>Nicholas Schaffner, "Saucerful of secrets: the Pink Floyd odyssey", (Dell, 1992), {{ISBN|0-385-30684-9}}, p.66.</ref> and "[[Interstellar Overdrive]]"<ref>Richie Unterberger, [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1530791|pure_url=yes}} Interstellar Overdrive song review], ''[[AllMusic]]''</ref> from their 1967 debut album ''[[The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]]'' are examples. Their second album ''[[A Saucerful of Secrets]]'' contained further examples: "[[Let There Be More Light]]" and "[[Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun]]" with explicit [[science fiction theme]]s, and their third, ''[[More (soundtrack)|More]]'' (1969) had "[[Cirrus Minor (song)|Cirrus Minor]]".

[[File:Hawkwind Donington 1982.jpg|thumb|[[Hawkwind]], an influential space rock band]]