(iverson's) currentbuzz: Telstar, A Satellite, A Connection, A Really Cool Song

Why talk about Telstar? Today in history, Telstar linked TV between the U.S. and Europe, and ironically enough for Cubs Fans, the first huma image was Ernie Banks notes Wired Magazine.

For those of us of a certain age, Telstar was a cool ("groovy" wasn't even in use yet) instrumental. This was at the very beginning of the age of garage bands and teen clubs where you could go and hear your school mates play guitar and dance. And not have to do ballroom dancing or the cha cha. Oh, Telstar, as magical as one's first kiss.

This novelty record was intended to evoke the dawn of the space age, complete with sound effects that were meant to sound "space-like". A popular story at the time of the record's release was that the weird distortions and background noise came from sending the signal up to the Telstar satellite and re-recording it back on Earth. However, is more likely that the effects were created in Meek's recording studio, which was a small flat above a shop in London. It has been claimed that the sounds intended to symbolize radio signals were produced by Meek running a pen around the rim of an ashtray, and that the "rocket blastoff" at the start of the record was actually a flushing toilet, with the recordings made to sound exotic by playing the tape in reverse at various speeds.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

President Kennedy was supposed to launch this historic moment in communications with a trans-Atlantic press conference, but the transmission signal was acquired before JFK was ready, so Ernie Banks may have been the first human image relayed across the Atlantic. Needing to kill a little time, the producers picked up a TV broadcast of a major league ballgame between the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs from Wrigley Field.

Source: wired.com