Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

This 45 RPM record contains a single of Louis Prima's hit song, "Beep! Beep!," which was inspired by the flight of the first artificial satellite. Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. The distinctive beeping of its radio signal could be picked up using radios around the world.

Louis Prima, known as the "King of Swing," recorded this song during a period when he partnered with vocalist Keely Smith, who was also his wife at the time. The song uses a series of space-themed puns in the lyrics as the singer (Prima) imagines that his "baby is gone on a trip to the Moon." As he wonders "when she is coming down to Earth again," Prima laments that "all I hear from her is..." the sound of beeping.

The cultural reaction of Sputnik's flight included not only this song, but also drink and sandwich recipes -- and even the origins of the word "beatnik' to describe intellectuals influenced by the literary movement of the Beat Generation.

The record was donated to the Museum by Thomas and Henry Paone in 2019.

 Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.
Object Details
Country of Origin United States of America Type MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture Manufacturer Capitol Records
 Dimensions 2-D - Unframed (H x W): 17.8 × 18.1cm (7 in. × 7 1/8 in.)
 Materials Paper
Ink
 Inventory Number A20190029001 Credit Line Gift of Henry J. Paone Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.