Telstar
"Telstar" is a 1962 instrumental performed by UK band, The Tornados. It was the first single by a British band* to reach #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was also a #1 hit in the UK. It first topped the UK charts for 5 weeks (October - November 1962) and then peaked at the US Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks (Dec '62 - Jan '63).
The record was named after the AT&T communications satellite Telstar, which went into orbit in July 1962. The song was released five weeks later in August. It was written and produced by Joe Meek, and featured a clavioline, a keyboard instrument with a distinctive electronic sound. It estimated to have sold at least five million copies worldwide.
* Up to that point, and since World War II, there had only been 3 UK names that topped the U.S. chart: in May 1962 "Stranger on the Shore" by clarinetist Acker Bilk; the second was "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" by Laurie London (1958), whilst the first was "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" by Vera Lynn (1952
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