Outa-Space
| "Outa-Space" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 French picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Billy Preston | ||||
| from the album I Wrote a Simple Song | ||||
| A-side | "I Wrote a Simple Song" | |||
| Released | December 20, 1971 | |||
| Genre | Funk, psychedelic soul | |||
| Length | 4:10 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Billy Preston, Joe Greene | |||
| Producer(s) | Billy Preston | |||
| Billy Preston singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Outa-Space" is an
wah wah pedal. The song was created by Preston improvising while calling out chord changes to the backing band. He later added organ and hand claps. Preston named the song "Outa-Space" for the instrumental's spacy sound.[1]
While he thought it would be a hit, A&M was skeptical and issued it as the
B-side of "I Wrote a Simple Song" in December 1971.[1] However, radio DJs began flipping the single and, while "I Wrote a Simple Song" only reached #77 on the Billboard Hot 100,[2] "Outa-Space" peaked at #2, showing that Preston's feelings about it were correct.[1]
A version with vocals, entitled "All Spaced Out," was performed on an episode of The Midnight Special on August 31, 1973.[3]
Chart performance
"Outa-Space" was kept out of the top spot by "
UK Singles Chart.[6]
"Outa-Space" won the
Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1972. Billboard ranked it as the #22 song for 1972.[7]
Song in Pop Culture
- In the 1990s, Pentiumprocessors.
References
- ^ a b c d Hogan, Ed. "Billy Preston 'Outa-Space'". AllMusic. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ "Billy Preston: Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0PLCH0TYB0&t=2255s
- ^ "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 85.
- ^ "Billy Preston". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972
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