One of the coolest music projects ever was the Golden Record, phonograph records attached to the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. These phonograph records contain information about the species that sent these probes, including greetings in various languages, nature sounds, and samples of our music.
There is exactly one rock song: “Johnny B. Goode” from Chuck Berry. But another song was also considered for inclusion: “Here Comes the Sun” from The Beatles. But when NASA asked EMI for permission to include the song, they refused. This means long after our sun has gone nova and we approach the heat death of the universe, Chuck Berry’s art will survive while the Beatles will be forgotten for eternity.
All because some lawyers were worried that some aliens might end up listening to “Here Comes the Sun” without the appropriate licensing.
© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Ad Choices