The Rock ‘N’ Roll Song That’s Been Traveling Through Space Since 1977

In 1977, NASA launched twin Voyager 1 and 2 space probes meant to leave our solar system and head into interstellar space. On board were identical gold-plated phonograph records, simply known as the Golden Records, meant to tell the story of Earth to any intelligent alien life they might encounter out in the cosmos. These records contain many sounds, and out of every rock ‘n’ roll tune we could’ve sent to show what life on Earth was like, NASA chose the legendary Chuck Berry song “Johnny B. Goode.”

The space probes were sent off in different directions and are meant to float through the galaxy — and possibly beyond — for billions of years. Of course, while NASA remains in contact with the transmitters on each craft, they’re actively performing explorative science experiments. Both probes have now left our heliosphere, and have made it roughly one light-day away, carrying the sounds and music of our species beyond our cosmic front yard.

At this point, they’ve hit the sidewalk but they have a long way to go to reach the neighbor’s house, so to speak. It’ll take tens of thousands of years for these crafts to get close enough to other star systems where alien life could potentially exist, and if they survive until then — and if other beings ever actually find them — Chuck Berry’s classic will be part of the introduction to our planet.

NASA chose a diverse selection of music to include on the Voyager records that would serve to express the range of musical interests from across the globe. Several of the songs are from non-western cultures and in languages that would be impossible to understand for the casual English speaker. But it also included recognizable tracks by Blind Willie Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” fit into the selection because it’s a phenomenal piece of songwriting that encapsulated what rock ‘n’ roll was at the time the Voyagers launched.

Now, not everyone on the committee selecting Voyager’s music was supportive of the choice. Member of the committee and ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax thought the track was adolescent, but head of the committee and renowned scientist Carl Sagan simply made the point that adolescents are kind of a major part of Earth, so we probably shouldn’t leave them out.

It was a good thing the committee at large didn’t dismiss Chuck Berry’s hit. In the 50 years since the Voyager probes started their journey, rock ‘n’ roll has split off into several subgenres and become one of the dominant forms of music around the globe. If alien life were to encounter a rockless record somewhere out in the celestial countryside of the universe, it certainly wouldn’t have painted an accurate picture of our world — because rock music will likely be around for a very long time.