Spaceship Superstar

Spaceship Superstar is the first official single by the Canadian rock band Prism. The song was written by Jim Vallance.[2][3] It was also the first single from the band's self-titled debut album Prism. "Spaceship Superstar" reached No. 63 on the Canadian Singles Chart and No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States.[4]

"Spaceship Superstar"
Single by Prism
from the album Prism
B-side"Julie"
Released1977 (1977)
Recorded1977
StudioMushroom,[1] Vancouver, Canada
GenreAOR, space rock
Length
  • 3:20 (single version)
  • 4:09 (album version)
LabelGRT
Songwriter(s)Jim Vallance
Producer(s)
Prism singles chronology
"Spaceship Superstar"
(1977)		 "Open Soul Surgery"
(1977)

The song was used as the wake up song for the Space Shuttle Discovery crew members in 2011.[5] In 1978, Spaceship Superstar received the Certificate of Honour from Performing Rights Organization of Canada (PROCAN).[6]

Composition

The song was written by Jim Vallance under the pseudonym "Rodney Higgs".[7][8] He first worked on the song in 1975, but finished in 1977.[1] By the time the song became a hit, Valance had already left Prism.[9] According to Vallance, the influence on the lyrics of the song came from the George Lucas film Star Wars, which was released as he was writing the song. Musically the song was influenced by "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk, songs from the album Who's Next by the Who, and "Free Ride" by the Edgar Winter Group.[1]

Versions

The album version of "Spaceship Superstar" is 4 minutes and 9 seconds long, while the single version is only 3 minutes and 20 seconds long (excludes the extensive intro). A live version is included on Live Tonite, which is 4 minutes and 17 seconds long.

Usage

On Sunday March 6, 2011 Prism's "Spaceship Superstar" was chosen as the wake up song for the Space Shuttle Discovery crew members. This was a significant point in history as it was the last day that the crews of Discovery and the International Space Station were together before Discovery returned to Earth in the last mission of Discovery.[5]

Personnel

Prism

  • Lindsay Mitchell – guitar, backing vocals
  • Ron Tabak – vocals
  • John Hall – keyboards
  • Jim Vallance – drums
  • Tom Lavin – guitar
  • Although Ab Bryant is considered the bassist and is pictured on the American cover, he did not take part in the recording.

Session Musicians[1]

  • Graeme Coleman – Roland electric piano
  • Peter Bjerring – ARP Odyssey synthesizer
  • Jack Lavin – bass
  • Bruce Fairbairn – backing vocals
  • David Sinclair – backing vocals

Charts
Charts (1977) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[10] 63
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 82
US Cash Box[12] 100

References
  1. "Spaceship Superstar". Jim Vallance. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008.
  2. Polcaro, Rafael (February 27, 2018). "CLASSIC ROCK Great Forgotten Songs #46 – Prism "Spaceship Superstar"". Rock and Roll Garage.
  3. Kurson, Ken (January 11, 2017). "Great Songwriter and Just Plain Great Writer Jim Vallance". Rock and Roll Globe.
  4. "Hot 100: Spaceship Superstar". Billboard.
  5. "NASA News (03.06.11)". NASA.
  6. "Awards 1978-2009". Jim Vallance.
  7. "The Story of Prism". Prism.
  8. "Prism". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  9. Saidman, Sorelle (February 25, 1995). Bryan Adams: everything he does. Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 42. ISBN 9780283062469.
  10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5487b." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  11. "Prism Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  12. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles". Cash Box Magazine. November 5, 1977.
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