Today (January 28, 2010) is the 54^th birthday of German musician Peter Schilling. In Germany he still seems to be well-known and has a large catalog of music, but in the U.S. he is known best for his only international hit single "Major Tom (I'm Coming Home)" from his 1983 album Error in the System. Though the original song was recorded in German, the international hit version was sung in English. It is assumed that the song is a re-telling of David Bowie's 1969 song "Space Oddity" about the character being caught in an accident in outer space. I have always liked this synth-pop song, so this week's Flashback Video is "Major Tom (I'm Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling...

The song would reach #14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, though it did hit #1 on the Germany, Austria, Canada and Switzerland charts. Unfortunately, this would be Schilling's one and only hit in the United States. He is a "one-hit wonder" at least in terms of his American success. In 2009, Shiny Toy Guns recorded a cover of "Major Tom (I'm Coming Home)" that was featured in a commercial for the 2010 Lincoln MKZ. It was later released as a single and on the remix album Girls Le Disko. Here is that Lincoln commercial featuring the cover version of the song...

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Peter Schilling. (That's happy birthday in German, I am told). Thanks for at least one classic 80s song. Your one international hit song is still one more than most musicians ever get.

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