Outa-Space
Encyclopedia
"Outa-Space" is a Funk/R&B instrumental
recorded by Billy Preston
that originally appeared on his 1971 A&M Records
-debut album, "I Wrote a Simple Song
". Preston created the sound of "Outa-Space" by running the sound from a clavinet
through a wah wah pedal and then improvising a groove while calling out chord changes to the backing-band. He later added organ and hand claps to the track. Preston came up with the title "Outa Space" due to the instrumental's spacy sound. While he thought that it would be a hit, A&M was skeptical and initially issued it as the B-side of "I Wrote a Simple Song". However, Radio DJs began flipping the single and, while "I Wrote a Simple Song" only reached number seventy seven on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, "Outa-Space" climbed all the way to the number two spot, showing that Preston's feelings about it were correct. While it just missed making it to the top of the Pop Chart, "Outa Space" did spend one week at number one on the R&B Singles
chart.. The single was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of one million copies. "Outa Space" also won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1972.
In the 90's Intel Corporation
used the song to promote their MMX
-enabled Pentium processors.
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
recorded by Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
that originally appeared on his 1971 A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
-debut album, "I Wrote a Simple Song
I Wrote a Simple Song
This album continued Preston's inclusion of gospel-themed songs which had started with the 1967 album Club Meeting. Preston's friend George Harrison provided slide guitar accompaniment on the title track....
". Preston created the sound of "Outa-Space" by running the sound from a clavinet
Clavinet
A Clavinet is an electrically amplified keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has appeared particularly in funk, disco, rock, and reggae songs.Various...
through a wah wah pedal and then improvising a groove while calling out chord changes to the backing-band. He later added organ and hand claps to the track. Preston came up with the title "Outa Space" due to the instrumental's spacy sound. While he thought that it would be a hit, A&M was skeptical and initially issued it as the B-side of "I Wrote a Simple Song". However, Radio DJs began flipping the single and, while "I Wrote a Simple Song" only reached number seventy seven on the Billboard Pop Singles chart, "Outa-Space" climbed all the way to the number two spot, showing that Preston's feelings about it were correct. While it just missed making it to the top of the Pop Chart, "Outa Space" did spend one week at number one on the R&B Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart.. The single was certified gold by the RIAA for sales of one million copies. "Outa Space" also won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1972.
In the 90's Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
used the song to promote their MMX
MMX
MMX is a single instruction, multiple data instruction set designed by Intel, introduced in 1996 with their P5-based Pentium line of microprocessors, designated as "Pentium with MMX Technology". It developed out of a similar unit introduced on the Intel i860, and earlier the Intel i750 video pixel...
-enabled Pentium processors.