"This Pretty Planet" Goes Into Outer Space!

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 2, 1998--For Tom Chapin, America's foremost writer and performer of family music, the outer space debut of his song "This Pretty Planet" continues a remarkable journey for the tune, a beloved homage to Mother Earth. Yesterday, the third full day in orbit for the space shuttle Discovery crew, NASA played Chapin's "This Pretty Planet" to wake up John Glenn and his fellow astronauts. The song was selected for the occasion by the wife of Discovery pilot Steven Lindsay.

"This Pretty Planet" has had an impact well beyond what Chapin could have imagined when he, along with John Forster, penned it in 1988 for his first family album "Family Tree." Several years ago, after Christopher Reeve's tragic accident, Dana Reeve revealed on national television that she sang the song to her husband during the early days of his recovery. "This Pretty Planet," a duet with Judy Collins and featuring Chapin's daughters Lily and Abigail, has also become an unofficial Earth Day anthem and a staple in schools nationwide.

For Chapin, whose body of work over the past 10 years now includes seven family music recordings, including his latest "In My Hometown," the impact of "This Pretty Planet" is both gratifying and a bit overwhelming. "A song is like a child," he says. "It takes on a life of its own and sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of its way and watch."