The Apollo Program

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The Apollo Program as it appeared in 1963.

The Apollo Program was an ambitious plan by the United States to launch black musicians to the Moon. Its goal was to allow these musicians to perform on the lunar surface, and then return them safely to the Earth. The program was a huge success, with six lunar landings, each of them more boring than the last (except for the first one, which was totally awesome.)

1 History
2 First Lunar Landing
3 Later Missions
4 See Also

[edit] History

JFK is seen here giving a rousing speech to a sold-out stadium.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy challenged the nation's scientists, and indeed, the whole of America, to reach the moon with great entertainers such as Ella Fitzgerald and James Brown. His proposed goal, "...before this decade is out, of landing a colored musician on the Moon, allowing a reasonable time for performance, and returning him safely to the Earth" was initially met with skepticism by leading scientists. Complaints included 'but there's no space program' and 'what can my country do for me?' Kennedy responded by creating NASA, alloting it a budget of approximately 94% of the total money that existed in America in 1961 (around sixty thousand dollars), and delivering a moving speech containing his most famous quote, "Ask not what your country can do for you; we're actually pretty busy here and you should realize that there's like two hundred million of you, so it might be a while before we can get around to doing anything for you. Seriously, get a job."

Martin Luther King once said that we were all equals, and presented it quite satisfactorily in this cut quote out of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech: "I have a dream to put a brotha for anotha motha on the moon and then aim to reastablish black rights.... somehow when this negro is up there he will spread the word to the brothas on the dark side and they will all migrate down to earth and take these white biaches once and for all!!!!!!

NASA scientists worked around the clock for eight years converting the famed Apollo Theater into a spacecraft that could withstand the harsh trek from the Earth to the Moon. Finally, with the last-minute additions of heat shields (to protect the musicians from the extreme temperatures of re-entry) and cool racing stripes (to protect the musicians from the barrage of cosmic rays, the solar wind, and the interplanetary medium in general), three black performers were ready to be launched to the moon in mid 1969.

[edit] First Lunar Landing

The famous Times cover featuring Armstrong on the moon.

On July 16th, 1969, the three black crew members entered the Apollo Theater for what promised to be a "jive ride". The crew members were Commander/Trumpeter Louis Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot/Pianist Stevie Wonder, and Command Module Pilot/Vocalist Marvin Gaye. With over seven hundred million people watching, the theater lifted off from 125th Street in Harlem. Three days of intense sound checks later, the crew was making preparations to descend to the lunar surface. It was at this point that they realized that Wonder was, in fact, blind, and thus could not fly the lunar module. Cursing irratibly under his breath, Gaye, who had been looking forward to a nap after 77 consecutive hours of driving, climbed into the lunar lander and joined Armstrong.

After touching down, it was determined that Armstrong would be the first on the moon, after he guessed closest to the number that NASA director Ed Harris was thinking. Armstrong descended the ladder and set foot on the lunar surface as billions of people watched in mild amusement. Once standing ankle-deep in the delicious powdery moon dust known as regolith, Armstrong broke out his trumpet. The first song he played was one written specifically for the mission, titled "One Small Step For Man". He then joined Gaye in a 90 minute set, one that would echo through the ages as part of one of mankind's greatest achievements.

[edit] Later Missions

After the successful launching of Louis Armstrong to the Moon, the Apollo Program launched many other black artists. The Apollo Theater made regular returns to the moon over the next fifteen years. Musicians such as Luther Vandross, Ben E. King, and Diana Ross all had lukewarmly received shows in the 1970s. In early 1981, Michael Jackson spent a considerable amount of time on the lunar surface, perfecting the moonwalk that would make him famous. After an extremely poor moon performance by Lauryn Hill in 1999, the Apollo Program was discontinued. However, the program still holds its famous amateur nights, in hopes of discovering an up-and-coming black artist capable of resparking America's interest in space exploration.