On This Day in 1977: Voyager 2 Takes a “Golden Record” of Sounds and Music Into Space

On August 20, 1977, the second Voyager space probe was launched into space. On it, the spacecraft carried a “Golden Record” of images, sounds, and music with the intention of representing Earth. The probe was sent in hopes that if extraterrestrial life is out there, they might be able to catch a glimpse of our planet and the nature of humanity through the Golden Record.

The probe carried a number of different types of media. Greetings in 55 different human languages were sent, as well as a large number of images of Earth. Just as well, a pretty hefty catalog of music was also sent into space as well.

There is quite a bit of variation in the music featured on the record. This makes sense, considering the record was curated to give outside civilizations a basic idea of human beings’ love of music.

What Music Made It Onto the Voyager’s Golden Record in 1977?

Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky made up the composers’ section of the record. Works by folk, classical, and traditional musicians from around the world also made it onto the album, including Guan Pinghu, Kesarbai Kerkar, and Valya Balkanska. Azerbaijani folk music was another notable addition.

Blues and rock and roll also made it to the album, notably with tracks by Chuck Berry and Blind Willie Johnson. Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” was one addition that some claimed was controversial and “adolescent”. Carl Sagan famously said in reply, “There are a lot of adolescents on the planet.”

Sagan and his team also wanted to include the classic Beatles hit “Here Comes The Sun” on the Golden Record, as did the Fab Four themselves. For reasons rumored to involve corporate greed, EMI declined to license the song for the Golden Record. It’s a shame that no Beatles classics made it onto the album; we’d imagine extraterrestrials would vibe with Abbey Road.

[Buy Tickets To See The Beatles’ Paul McCartney Live]

The cover of the Golden Record contained instructions on how to play it, as well as a stylus. The record was almost entirely curated by legendary astronomer Carl Sagan with some help from his team.

Less than a month later, the Voyager 1 probe was launched (notably out of order). Voyager 1 carried an additional copy of the Golden Record on board. Both probes have since traveled billions of miles into space, and have yet to find intelligent life. If they do manage to reach someone out there, we hope they have good music taste.

Photo by Everett/Shutterstock

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.